How Stress Can Affect Your Health

While stress can be a good thing sometimes, stress can also cause short-term and long-term problems if not managed. In 2022, 81% of Americans reported stress caused by supply chain issues, 87% of Americans reported stress caused by the rise of inflation, and 65% of Americans reported stress caused by money and the economy. While life is full of stressful events and factors, do you know how stress deeply impacts the body and our health?

Stress can play a huge factor in your health. How do you know if you're stressed? Some common symptoms of stress are headaches, anxiety, restlessness, angry outbursts, body pain, lack of motivation, drug and alcohol misuse, fatigue, and more. If you think you are stressed, and it's starting to affect your body or health, creating a relationship with a health coach might be the perfect solution.

Besides the short-term effects, stress can have on the body, stress can also cause long-term effects.

Mental Health Problems

Mental health problems increase when stress is high in someone's life, causing anxiety and depression. Knowing what triggers stress can be important when dealing with anxiety or depression. A health coach who knows you and your stress triggers can significantly benefit your life.

A patient of Carla Defuria, TechConnect+ Health Coach, says, "Carla's approach is not only kind, but she also listens and is not judgmental. She helped me in the darkest time(s) in my life, whether the issues stemmed from grief, hurt, anger, low self-esteem, current or past relationships, or family issues. After following her advice and wisdom for eight to twelve weeks, I dropped almost twenty pounds. Carla helped me target what stressful events were coming up in my life and made sure I had reinforcement strategies to help me from falling off the wagon or taking a few steps back with my progress. Especially if I knew an upcoming future event would trigger me."

Start with the source. When you start feeling stressed, think about what event is coming up, what person you may not be looking forward to seeing, or what situation is happening. When you start understanding the source, you can better manage your stress, which may help with anxiety and depression.

Eating Disorders

38% of adults say they have overeaten or eaten unhealthy foods in the past because of stress, while 30% of adults reported skipping a meal due to stress and lack of appetite. Stress plays a huge part in a person's eating habits. When people feel anxious, they can bury their feelings in snacks or completely stop eating altogether. Carla says to fight overeating, try keeping a food diary. Write down what you ate, how much you ate, and how it made you feel when you finished eating. Food journals are a great activity to help you physically see how the food you're eating makes you feel and hopefully help stop binge eating habits. To help undereating, Carla says to exercise lightly before meals to stimulate appetite, stay hydrated, and select enjoyable food that nourishes your body when eating.

Contact your physician

When it comes to your health, you should put yourself first. Look at how stress affects your life, and if you are concerned, reach out to your primary care doctor or a health coach. Reaching out for help might be the first step in managing your stress.