Increased risk of psychological problems, insomnia, high blood pressure, heart disease or stomach pain are all harmful effects of prolonged stress. Learning to think optimistically, exercising regularly and performing mental relaxation treatments every day are the best ways to quickly eliminate stress and regain joy in everyday life. .

Stress is a condition that almost everyone has encountered at least once. Young children can be stressed due to too much academic pressure, working adults can be stressed because of too much work, women are stressed about weight, men are stressed about having to take care of the family. Stress makes us fall into a state of fatigue, negativity, boredom, and whatever we do, we always think that we might fail.

However, stress can be improved when stressful situations are resolved and or simply by talking to someone who is more optimistic. Stress can become a motivation for us to try harder and succeed. But if we ourselves do not know how to deal with stress, if this state lasts for a long time, it can cause many dangerous harmful effects directly related to the quality of life, health, and spirit.

Harmful effects of prolonged stress that anyone experiences include:

Affects appearance

When we are stressed, we often tend to lose sleep, causing our eyes to become dark circles like “panda” and our skin to become visibly darker and wrinkled. No matter how many expensive skin creams you use, if you often stay up late and lose sleep for a long time, your skin will still not improve.

Insomnia and stress are the leading causes that push the body into the aging process faster. For example, you can see that people who tend to worry a lot and experience prolonged stress will look more mature and older than their real age, with more gray hair.

The harmful effects of prolonged stress are also related to obesity or excessive thinness. Some people, when stressed, tend to crave sweets and eat a lot at night, so they easily become obese, while others have anorexia and lose their appetite, so they become increasingly thin and weak. And whether skinny or fat, it all makes your appearance less than perfect.

Studies also show that people who are stressed often experience hair loss in patches and are prone to acne. People who are obsessed with their appearance may experience more stress if the situation is not resolved quickly.

Increased risk of psychological and neurological problems

One of the serious harmful effects of prolonged stress is the increased risk of many dangerous psychological diseases, such as depression , anxiety disorders or Alzheimer’s. The reason is that when stressed, the body will increase the production of hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline, making us feel more restless and anxious, while reducing the production of dopamine, endorphins, and serotonin, making us less happy.

Some statistics were performed on people who often experience long-term stress (Group A) and people who experience stress rarely or only for a short time (Group B). The results show that people in group A tend to lost the ability to recover mentally and scored very high on depression tests.

Psychological diseases have many potentially dangerous consequences for the patient that no one should be subjective about. If not detected early and treated promptly, the patient tends to hurt themselves and attempt suicide as a way to relieve their negative emotions. Many similar cases have occurred, even the suicide rate due to depression or anxiety disorders is at an alarming level, so these diseases should absolutely not be underestimated.

Harmful effects of prolonged stress – increased risk of many diseases

Don’t think that stress is an emotional problem but not physically dangerous. Studies have shown that stress is the leading cause of many health problems that you should not be subjective about. Because stress often leads to insomnia, anxiety, and restlessness, it also causes serious health deterioration.

Specifically, the harmful effects of prolonged physical stress include:

• Increased cardiovascular diseases: hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol are released into the blood when you are stressed, leading to increased blood pressure and heart rate, increasing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. People with prolonged stress are susceptible to diseases such as myocardial infarction, heart failure or atherosclerosis.
• Increase in stomach diseases : the cause is that stress and insomnia stimulate the digestive system to increase the production of stomach acids, making patients susceptible to gastric reflux, stomach ulcers, gastritis and many other problems. other serious.
• Brain problems: adrenaline and cortisol can dilate blood vessels, causing headaches and migraines. Memory loss is also a harmful effect of prolonged stress that many people are experiencing today, including young people. Research also shows that stress reduces the amount of oxygen going to the brain and increases the risk of brain atrophy and other serious injuries.
• Bone and joint problems : studies have also shown that stress can increase inflammatory responses in the body, including the bone and joint system. At the same time, combined with poor blood circulation, these people often suffer from muscle tension, numb limbs, poor regeneration ability, so they are susceptible to bone and joint problems, and the aging process of bones and joints is accelerated. faster than usual.
• Dental problems : people who are stressed are also susceptible to gingivitis, periodontitis or canker sores
• Weakened immune system : stress reduces the body’s ability to cope with foreign invaders. It can be clearly seen that people who are too busy with work pressure are more susceptible to catching the flu.
• Increased risk of diabetes : the disease can appear in people who tend to overuse sweets to relieve emotions. At the same time, stress also increases blood glucose levels, causing many people to develop type 2 diabetes
• Asthma : People who are stressed can make their previous asthma worse, or if parents experience stress during pregnancy, the risk of their child developing the disease is also very high.
• Increased risk of cancer : Prolonged stress can cause cancer , one of the studies has shown by many scientists. The reason is that stress causes the body to produce many hormones that can inactivate the anoikis process, so it cannot prevent agents and cancer cells. At the same time, because when stressed, the body is susceptible to many diseases, eating inadequately, and the immune system is weakened, so if it continues for a long time, getting cancer is not too strange.
• Prone to stroke: Because it can cause problems related to blood pressure and heart disease, people who are stressed for a long time also have a very high risk of stroke.

In fact, it has been proven that people who are often stressed or stressed for long periods of time often have a shorter life span than people who lead happy, optimistic, and positive lives. The cause may also be related to diseases or because the process of producing and nurturing cells in the body is affected, so they often have a short lifespan. With these harmful effects of prolonged stress, we absolutely cannot be subjective.

Stress affects sexual function

Stress is also the leading cause of many people’s decreased libido and decreased sexual ability, which can occur in both men and women. The reason is that when the nervous system is inhibited, it will cause the blood vessels and smooth muscles of the cavernous body to become vasoconstricted. This condition prevents blood and oxygen from moving smoothly to help men achieve erection and pleasure.

On the other hand, when you feel mentally tired, depressed, or melancholy, you cannot be excited about sex. Of course, in reality, you can still choose to relieve stress by having sex, but this is still only a temporary state. With prolonged stress, a decrease in desire is inevitable. This is also one of the harmful effects of prolonged stress, which makes it even more difficult for couples who have difficulty having children.

Harmful effects of prolonged stress – affects relationships

When we are stressed, we tend to easily become negative, irritable, angry at everything, especially those we are close to, the more easily we become agitated. Sometimes the greetings from people around us have good meanings, but because we are too negative, we perceive it in a bad way so we do not receive sincere intentions from the people opposite us.

Above all, being friends with a negative person who is always irritable and unpleasant is something no one wants. If you continue in this state, the relationships around you will gradually become alienated from you, leaving no one around to share with you. Ugly and negative thoughts, if kept in your mind, will be like a prison that binds you, making you increasingly depressed, tired and lonely.

In fact, when we are stressed, we feel tired and hate ourselves. Negative emotions keep dominating every issue around life, making us look at everything darkly, not understanding why bad luck and pressure keep coming to us. If they cannot overcome the stressful period, it will quickly lead to depression and choosing suicide is like the last step because they cannot escape the difficulties in their own mind.

How to eliminate stress?

How to eliminate stress is the concern of many people today, but it is not easy. The nature of stress is to make our minds accumulate all the ugly things, so our behaviors and perceptions will also work that way. If we are not self-aware and determined to change, it is very difficult to eliminate these things.

Do relaxation treatments

We feel stressed because there are too many negative things accumulating in our heads, so find ways to eliminate these things early. There are many ways to relax and push negative thoughts out of your mind that you can apply to keep your mind in a fresh and optimistic state. Specifically

• Meditation, yoga or simply walking or exercising every day are measures that can help balance the mind, relax the spirit, and relieve negative thoughts early.
• Take a hot bath at the end of the day to help your whole body relax and unwind

• Music is also a therapy that helps relax your mind and stimulates optimism in you. You can listen to meditation music or your favorite music to take care of your spiritual life
• Writing a diary is also a good way to get rid of ugly stories and thoughts at the end of each day
• Make sure to get enough sleep every day to recharge your body, thereby helping you feel more alert and optimistic the next day.
• Steaming with essential oils, using scented candles or drinking herbal teas are also very good for the mind
• Give yourself appropriate rest time, limit work exertion, give yourself at least 1 hour to relax every day or 1 day off a week to recharge your energy.
• Find new hobbies to relieve stress
• Stay away from alcohol, alcoholic beverages, tobacco or stimulants
• Reward yourself with gifts worthy of the efforts you have put in
• Share more with people around you to find useful advice. Being friends with positive people also helps you feel happier and give you more useful advice

See stress as a challenge

In fact, stress is not necessarily bad, what matters is how we perceive it. There is a saying that “Pressure creates diamonds”, because that pressure and stress makes us want to try harder. For example, a person who is stressed because his friends are getting promoted quickly and rich will constantly work hard to be equal to them. So, isn’t stress a “motor” that pushes us to move faster?

So instead of looking at the ugly things that stress brings, try learning how to use it in a more positive way. Instead of complaining that “recently, the stress at work makes me want to quit”, you can acknowledge that you are amazing because you can overcome such a large workload.

Of course, it is not always possible to view stress positively, but consider it as an interesting challenge that we must overcome and minimize its negativity to avoid harmful effects when stressed. long appears.

Meet psychologists

The period from prolonged stress to psychological illness is very short, so if you feel that your mind has too many problems and burdens, you should seek help from psychologists. Stress is still just an emotional problem, so most of it cannot be treated with medication like depression or anxiety disorders, so psychotherapy is the most useful solution for you right now.

Through conversation, a psychologist will help you remove the problems in your mind so that your spirit is more comfortable and no longer worried and thinking too much. The therapist also guides you on how to control your emotions, cope with stress or perform daily mental care therapies to keep your mind in the best state. Therefore, if you can’t find a way to end your stressful days, it’s best to seek help from psychologists.

The harmful effects of prolonged stress greatly affect each person’s health, life, and spirit, so we need to find ways to eliminate them quickly. Each of us also needs to change our lifestyle to be healthier, love ourselves more and learn to think positively to limit these ugly emotions in life.