When your car dies or a deadline looms, how do you respond? Long-term, low-grade or acute stress takes a serious toll on your body and mind, so don’t ignore feelings of constant tension. Stress is a natural part of life. However, too much stress can harm our health, especially if it continues every day. This is chronic stress and can put you at risk for heart problems like heart disease and depression.

Understand what’s happening inside your body and learn simple coping skills to combat the negative impacts of everyday stressors.

Types of Stress

There are two types of stress:

1. Emotional – types of emotional stress are relationship problems, pressure at work, financial worries, experiencing discrimination or having a major life change.
2. Physical – Examples of physical stress include being sick having pain, not sleeping well, recovery from an injury or having an alcohol and drug use disorder.

Fight or Flight

Sudden or ongoing stress activates your nervous system and floods your bloodstream with adrenaline and cortisol, two hormones that raise blood pressure, increase heart rate and spike blood sugar. These changes pitch your body into a fight or flight response. That enabled our ancestors to outrun saber-toothed tigers, and it’s helpful today for situations like dodging a car accident. But most modern chronic stressors, such as finances or a challenging relationship, keep your body in that heightened state, which hurts your health.

Effects of Too Much Stress

If constantly under stress, most of us will eventually start to function less well.  Multiple studies link chronic stress to a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, depression, weight gain, memory loss and even premature death, so it's important to recognize the warning signals.

Talk to your doctor about ways to manage stress if you’re experiencing any of these symptoms:

• Prolonged periods of poor sleep.
• Regular, severe headaches.
• Unexplained weight loss or gain.
• Feelings of isolation, withdrawal or worthlessness.
• Constant anger and irritability.
• Loss of interest in activities.
• Constant worrying or obsessive thinking.
• Excessive alcohol or drug use.
• Inability to concentrate.

10 Ways to Cope with Chronic Stress

It’s key to recognize stressful situations as they occur because it allows you to focus on managing how you react. We all need to know when to close our eyes and take a deep breath when we feel tension rising.

Use these tips to prevent or reduce chronic stress.

1. Rebalance Work and Home

All work and no play? If you’re spending too much time at the office, intentionally put more dates in your calendar to enjoy time for fun, either alone or with others.

2. Get Regular Exercise

Moving your body on a regular basis balances the nervous system and increases blood circulation, helping to flush out stress hormones. Even a daily 20-minute walk makes a difference. Any kind of exercise can lower stress and improve your mood ― just pick activities that you enjoy and make it a regular habit.

3. Eat Well and Limit Alcohol and Stimulants

Alcohol, nicotine and caffeine may temporarily relieve stress but have negative health impacts and can make stress worse in the long run. Well-nourished bodies cope better, so start with a good breakfast, add more organic fruits and vegetables for a well-balanced diet, avoid processed foods and sugar, try herbal tea and drink more water.

4. Connect with Supportive People

Talking face to face with another person releases hormones that reduce stress. Lean on those good listeners in your life.

5. Carve Out Hobby Time

Do you enjoy gardening, reading, listening to music or some other creative pursuit? Engage in activities that bring you pleasure and joy; research shows that reduces stress by almost half and lowers your heart rate, too.

6. Practice Meditation, Stress Reduction or Yoga

Relaxation techniques activate a state of restfulness that counterbalances your body’s fight-or-flight hormones. Even if this also means a 10-minute break in a long day: listen to music, read, go for a walk in nature, do a hobby, take a bath or spend time with a friend. Also consider taking a mindfulness-based stress reduction course to learn effective, lasting tools or try a daily deep breathing or imagery practice.

Deep Breathing

Slow, calm and deep breathing can help you relax. Try these steps to focus on your breathing and repeat as needed.

1. Find a comfortable position and close your eyes.
2. Exhale and drop your shoulders.
3. Breathe in through your nose; fill your lungs and then your belly. Think of relaxing your body, quieting your mind and becoming calm and peaceful.
4. Breathe out slowly through your nose, relaxing your belly. Think of releasing tension, pain, worries or distress.
5. Repeat steps three and four until you feel relaxed.

Imagery

This involves using your mind to excite the senses — sound, vision, smell, taste and feeling. This may help ease your stress.

1. Begin by getting comfortable and then do some slow breathing.
2. Imagine a place you love being at. It could be somewhere from your childhood, somewhere you vacationed or just a place in your imagination.
3. Feel how it is to be in the place you’re imagining. Pay attention to the sounds, air, colors, and who is there with you. This is a place where you feel cared for and loved. All is well. You are safe.
4. Take in all the smells, sounds, tastes and feelings. As you do, feel your body being nourished and healed. Feel the calm that surrounds you.
5. Breathe in all the good.
6. Breathe out any discomfort or tension.

7. Sleep Enough

If you get less than seven to eight hours of sleep, your body won’t tolerate stress as well as it could. If stress keeps you up at night, address the cause and add extra meditation into your day to make up for the lost z’s. Try to get seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Make a regular bedtime schedule. Keep your room dark and cool. Try to avoid computers, TV, cell phones and tablets before bed.

8. Bond with Connections You Enjoy

Go out for a coffee with a friend, chat with a neighbor, call a family member, visit with a clergy member, or even hang out with your pet. Clinical studies show that spending even a short time with a companion animal can cut anxiety levels almost in half.

9. Take a Vacation

Getting away from it all can reset your stress tolerance by increasing your mental and emotional outlook, which makes you a happier, more productive person upon return. Leave your cellphone and laptop at home!

10. See a Counselor, Coach or Therapist

If negative thoughts overwhelm your ability to make positive changes, it’s time to seek professional help. Make an appointment today—your health and life are worth it.