Apr
17
2017
Preventing Burnout: Catch The Early Signs of Stress
Author: firmvoic
In our modern society stress is playing a more and more important part in our lives and this has effects on our health. Life is ancient times was much simpler, but nowadays work, children, politics, social media and more create new additional levels of stress detrimental to our health. Medical scientists have demonstrated that stress alone has a negative effect and can lead to many problems such as coronary diseases including strokes. Here we focus on burnout, which can be a consequence of too much stress.
Burnout is one of the things we try to avoid at all cost. Though it is naturally occurring to most people, understanding its mechanics gives you an edge to address the situation better. Awareness of your stress level gives you the sensitivity to take proactive measures to prevent a burn out. Aside from personal care, you also help prevent the negative impact of your stress on your boss, friends, colleagues, and family.
Stress is stress, no matter how small or big it is. Our bodies do not discriminate what it is going through at the moment. On average, we experience dozens of little stresses per day and when accumulated, that can lead to bigger health issues. It is known that feeling stressed out sends a ripple effect and disturbs the biochemical processes in your body which leads to impaired cognitive functions, premature aging and an inefficient metabolism that causes weight gain.
Experts use the term “cortical inhibition” when denoting stress. This phenomenon explains why cognitive function is affected, making even the smartest people do dumb things. Since stress has an impact on a tiny portion of your brain, this can already lead to slight to major dysfunctions on the body. A coherent state of mind (where there is absence of stress) leads to cognitive sharpness, emotional clarity, and calmness. When your body is in this state of coherence, your heart, brain and the entire nervous system are in synergy.
When you are physiologically and psychologically stressed, your entire system gets accustomed to it. In a way, you become desensitized on what exactly stress feels like because you have grown accustomed to it, you may not realize that stress had accumulated so much so quickly that it completely impairs your emotional clarity and good judgment. You may not realize that it’s already taking its toll on you until it shows up as a bad diagnosis from your physician.
As much as stress is inevitable, there is a bright side to it. You can control your response to stress if you become sensitive to how it affects the body. Knowing the signs and assessing if you have it will help you prevent all the negative effects of stress before it starts to manifest in your mental, emotional and physical well-being.
Here are the early signs that you need to look out for:
- Bad Humor / Gallows Humor – Making jokes about negative issues and topics is one determinant of stress. According the Association for Psychological Science, laughing about tough times or negative experiences is one biological response that reduces stress. So if you find yourself joking about death, you might want to take a serious look on how stressed you are.
- Hair loss – Stress causes the arrector pili, the muscle holding your hair strands to go into resting phase. This leads to minor to severe hair loss. Bad nutrition can also another form of stress that leads to hair loss.
- Bad Dreams – According to Dr. Oz, stress has an impact on our subconscious minds – which is responsible for the wild and crazy dreams we have while asleep. Stress impacts the health of our brains making it restless while we sleep.
- Bathroom Irregularities – If you used to go to the bathroom regularly but are now having difficulties relieving yourself, it is a sign of stress. Unless, of course, you made changes on your diet.
The best way to address this issue is by catching it early and defining what needs to be done to prevent burn out. By taking action immediately and maintaining it sporadically, you avoid the unsuccessful method of binge-and-purge approach – a method that most people use to address their stress.
