Stress has long been known to be a source of all kinds of problems, from health issues to trouble getting along with people. Keeping stress at bay is a critical life skill, and one that requires many different forms of coping.
Of course, one of the most essential parts of managing stress is knowing where it comes from. Problems from home can compound problems at work, or it can happen the other way around. Getting at the root causes is critical to taking away these triggers that are eroding your quality of life.
There are a number of ways that stress creates difficulties in our lives, and any one of these can be destructive to the relationships that matter most to us.
Addiction From Stress
Escapism is a common method of dealing with stress. There's nothing wrong with bundling up in a chair to read a good book and forget about the troubles of the day. It can also be helpful to disappear into some favorite music as you jog through your neighborhood or walk your dog.
But too many women find escapism through substance abuse. Self-medication with alcohol, recreational drugs, and even prescription drugs can quickly escalate and begin to endanger relationships, job security, and health.
A successful process of rehab for women must include a substitution, a means of supplanting the abuse behaviors with positive actions like the aforementioned exercise or other hobbies. Not only will these actions prevent destructive behavior, they are positive health behaviors that will improve blood pressure and emotions.
Health Problems From Stress
Continuing with that theme, stress can be very dangerous to your health. The immediate impacts include things like indigestion and high blood pressure, but over time, those factors can build into more serious issues like ulcers, heart attacks, and strokes.
These health problems can extend beyond the physiological. The mind can be severely impacted by stress, with our emotions sent reeling as we lash out at others. We can be so overwhelmed by our problems that we turn inward, sinking into a dark depression that many people don't even realize we're experiencing.
Our judgment can be impaired as well. We just don't make good decisions when we have lots of other burdens on our mind. Consequently, we may do reckless things that make our stress even greater.
Medications can treat many of these problems, but other techniques are more sustainable and can provide positive mental benefits.
Relationship Issues From Stress
We don't live our lives alone. We all interact with other people, and we all have some form of relationships with other people. When we are under high levels of stress, those relationships can suffer.
As we've noted earlier, stress can cause us to make bad decisions. These missteps can include anything from poor financial decisions that impact our children and spouse, or errant decisions at work that endanger the job security of others.
Of course, marriages are often the first area affected by stress. Even in our stressed condition, we may shield our children from stress, but we may be impatient or demanding with our spouses. This can undermine the most important relationship we have in terms of attacking stress and improving our quality of life.
Stress is unavoidable. We all have conflicts in our work, family, friendships, and every other aspect of our lives. It is unrealistic to think that anyone lives a stress-free life.
But we do have to think about mastering stress and minimizing its ability to sap our happiness. Reducing stress is a critical first step, but from there we must make sure that we not only avoid negative coping mechanisms but that we also utilize positive choices that will benefit us rather than simply hold our ground.
Working against stress in every positive way that we can think of is the way to assemble a broad approach to handling stress, and it is the most likely way to succeed.
