It’s no secret that stress is everywhere, and I mean everywhere, especially during the ongoing pandemic. COVID-19’s presence constantly showcases how we react to stress and just how much stress impacts our lives.
Stress will forever be part of our world. It can be sharp and pulsating, but it can also help us choose to fight or hide.
Unfortunately, though, stress is omnipresent – which doesn’t help us.
The pandemic has revealed just how debilitating stress continues to be. Many of us enjoy the slower speed of living, but anxiety can still be an everyday occurrence. Personally, when I’ve been stressed during the pandemic, I don’t sleep well and can be more irritable.
However, the pandemic has also led to stress inspiring me. After months of living through this pandemic, the things that typically make me anxious have helped me manifest new goals. In this way, stress looks beneficial, but that’s what can also make it so addictive.
We all understand how stress presents, but do we truly comprehend what it does to us?
Small rushes of stress hormones help us achieve our goals and meet our needs, so as we stress more and more, we may believe that living under constant duress helps us thrive. But when we experience these responses, we eat with less balance, drink less water, and sleep far less. Therefore, those mental and bodily sensations can last for a long period of time, which can lead to anxiety and exhaustion. Chronic stress can reduce our memory retention and also , cause chest pain and depression.
Fortunately, the ways that stress affects us come down to how we manage it. If we realize that stress can be addictive, practice self-care, and work to avoid burnout, then we can stay far healthier and happier, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Stress can make us feel like we can’t live without it, and this addiction can feel reasonable. Still, we all need to realize that while a little bit of stress can help us, surviving on stress alone can’t carry us through life.
Featured Photo by Elisa Ventur on Unsplash.
