Although stress has a significant impact on your emotional well-being, it can also produce physical symptoms, especially in extreme cases. We’re not just talking about nausea and sleeplessness.
Experts say that stress can also result in drastic or gradual structural changes and that people working in high-stress environments are prone to developing specific physical disorders.
Indeed, chronic stress can raise the risk of contracting the common cold and a whole host of infectious diseases.
If ever you develop such conditions due to stress, there are ways you can manage these complications and recover from their effects. Let’s take a look at a few of the most important ones:
Get enough sleep
This is common advice that doctors give to stress-induced illnesses. Working overtime and exerting too much at work can render you vulnerable to certain diseases. Throw in inadequate sleep, and you have a severe disaster that’s waiting to happen! That said, make your rest days count.
You may have to call in sick for an extended period, but it’s necessary for avoiding potentially fatal problems along the way. And once you recover, aim to get more hours of sleep a night and prevent the experience from happening again.
Get professional help
In severe stress cases, you might have to check with a pain management expert and ask to get treated for the kind of pain you are feeling. According to Seattle Pain Relief, stress-induced headaches are fairly common in hard workers, but when the condition becomes unbearable and affects your performance at work.
Getting help from the right specialists nearby is a good first step towards recovering from a debilitating headache.
Do some stretches
Stress is also known to cause muscle tension, especially in the neck and back. Sure enough, most working adults point to stress as the main culprit for spinal problems. One way to treat these problems is to do some stretches.
Each day, take time off your desk to stretch your neck and back, especially in the lumbar region. Doing this often can help stave off more serious pain that could grow worse over time.
Mind your bowels
Aside from causing discomfort in the spine, stress can also cause digestive ailments such as irritable bowel syndrome and acid reflux. These problems are often experienced in chronic episodes, and they can cause a great deal of pain if left unmanaged.
The best you can do in these situations is to stop whatever you are doing and give your body time to relax. If you frequently experience acid reflux, it’s best to avoid food and beverages that can worsen your body’s reaction to stressful situations.
This may mean cutting down on caffeine-rich food and acidic fruits such as lemons and oranges. Swap these with legumes and yogurt instead whenever you have the munchies.
Indeed, the mind has control over the body. But it’s still essential to deal with stress-induced conditions as they come. We can avoid complications associated with stress by keeping tabs on our physical well-being and dealing with them as soon as possible.