Stress not only sets you back but could kill you. Stress sometimes is necessary and healthy to keep us on our toes and actively engaged with an important task otherwise it may be put off completely, however too much stress leads to failure in relationships due to lashing out, excessive comfort eating and depression,  sickness to the body and just all around bad performance in our daily lives. Too often we  as humans grasp tightly to our need to control every aspect of our lives when in reality we can’t control everything, we can only control ourselves, what we think and how we will react to any given situation.

Someone who holds onto things they have no control over, such as  the color of a shirt someone is wearing or the way someone smiles or other people in their lives and the personality they’ve always had since you’ve met them but for some reason it irritates you and you feel the need to change them. Obviously if you’re in a committed relationship with someone, your partner should be willing to listen to your advice on an important issue and be willing to work with you to find a suitable solution.

Given in as respectful manner that you can manage of course, as yelling demands onto your partner is more likely to increase the thing that you hate so much at that moment because who wants to give into a person acting nasty and like a spoiled brat? That just starts another cycle of discontent and confrontation and you will have made things a lot worse. But that’s just an example.

When you let stress from your daily life, work, children, friends, family members and maybe even disappointment with yourself build up to a boiling point of pure resentment. You’re in serious trouble! Your blood pressure can rise and stay at dangerous levels enduring prolonged stress , panic attacks can happen and in some extreme cases people have strokes over issues that were actually minor in hindsight yet they made it this incredibly big problem in their mind and have died.  With that in mind, getting so mad at someone and stressing yourself to the point of seeing red seems really stupid when you could literally kill yourself being upset with someone else.

Here’s a few things that being stressed out can cause from the Mayo Clinic

Quite a large list and i’m sure that isn’t everything, you’re probably wondering what can you do to de-stress? There is a ton of information on the net about that but here are a few of my favorite methods to de-stress myself.

1. Assess and De-stress. Pull out a sheet of paper and write down every thing that is bothering you, the things you keep going over in your head. Cross off all the things you know you have no control over, be realistic about it. If you’re honest with yourself, you will see there are a lot of issues you can’t control, you have now narrowed down the list of things that you can change or influence in someway. Sometimes the easiest way to de-stress yourself is to let go of the need to control the outcome but you have to realize what issues you have no control over so you know what you need to let go.

2. Focus on a hobby. I play guitar, sometimes a 30 minute break of jamming out a song I have made or a cover song is just what I need to clear my head. Music in itself is amazing when you let yourself get taken away with the melody and lyrics and for me playing guitar is something that really amps me up and immediately puts me in a great mood. Maybe you need to pick up a hobby or revisit a old hobby you haven’t done in awhile? Drawing, sewing, dancing, whatever it is. Make time out of your day for you and have some fun with yourself.

3. Get active! Exercise is also one of the best methods of de-stressing. I know you might be groaning if you’re not really into it but trust me. You can not beat a nice walk on a beautiful day or slamming around heavy weights like you’re the Incredible Hulk punching tanks into the nearest building. That’s one of the reason’s I love getting in my daily BodyBeast workout, it let’s me get in a amazing workout that leaves me feeling pumped for the rest of the day. Cardio is also great, so either weight lifting or some intense cardio and you will increase your endorphins, adrenaline, serotonin and dopamine levels. Not only do you fight your stress levels back which will decrease cortisol in your body, one of those little factors that stops your from losing weight despite a healthy diet your mood, will skyrocket, taking away some of your worries. Just remember to try and shut your mind off and focus on what you’re doing and you will feel so much better.

Leave a comment with a way you unwind and de-stress yourself!

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