I’ve already covered how your emotions affect your body. Today, you’ll learn how your body stores stress. As such, I’ll cover the main body areas and their related emotions.
Furthermore, I’ll give you a few tips to correct physical stress manifestations. Luckily, spotting your body tension is a vital step. Once you know there’s a problem, solving it becomes straightforward.
Why does stress in your body manifest physically?
Stress is a natural response to different situations. From work to trauma, stress has multiple triggers. Stress can be useful, as it helps you deal with risks and dangers. However, chronic stress results in real problems.
Stress has a survival purpose. Yet it can get out of hands. It ties into multiple systems as well. That’s because your body tries to adapt to the situation. Stress is a hormonal reaction.
Where do you store stress in your body?
Psychology Today has an outstanding breakdown of how stress causes body tension. Let’s look at the scientific research behind every claim.
Lower back
Anger typically leads to lower back pain. Chronic low back pain can be a sign of repressed anger. Hostility relates directly to your lower paraspinal area.
Stomach and intestines
Fear correlates with anxiety. As the latter manifests in your stomach, fear does the same. Studies on rats have shown that fear can lead to ulcers.
Chest and heart
Broken hearts aren’t merely a saying. Feeling hurt can manifest in your chest and heart. Releasing those emotions can improve chest pains.
Head
Have you had a dozen deadlines in a week? You’ve probably felt it in your head as well. Uncertainty and feeling like you lose control can cause this pain.
Neck and shoulders
These two areas are ideal stress metrics. Specifically, feeling burdens can cause body tension here. There’s a correlation between responsibilities and neck-shoulder issues.
General fatigue
Resentment makes experiences remain as a stressor within your body. You can feel fatigued if you spend too much time blaming others. If left unchecked, it can lead to ulceration.
General numbness
If you feel physically or emotionally numb, trauma might be the reason. Our brain tries to dissociate negative experiences by turning off our feelings.
Breathing
Anxiety attacks often leave you breathless. Repressing too many emotions can make these episodes more frequent. Studies have found a correlation between chronic breathing disorders and anxiety.
Throat and voice
You might feel like you lost your voice when you feel intimidated. That’s natural, as your voice box muscles tense up in stressful situations.
Insomnia
Everyone sleeps less when stressed. While the inner workings are complicated, stressful events typically disrupt your sleep architecture.
How can you release stress in your body?
Stress in your body makes you feel bad. The answer is simple: improve how you feel. Body tension is common. That’s true when stress isn’t present as well. However, you can make a few lifestyle changes to improve your symptoms.
Improving your health
Exercising, eating better, and organizing your day can do a lot. While you don’t want to be a “control freak” feeling control over your life is beneficial. Feeling overall healthier also makes you feel the improvement, motivating you.
Boosting your mood
Improving your emotions gets rid of stress. That might be obvious, but you probably don’t know how much you can do. Hanging out with friends and laughing is great. Watching a movie or playing video games can help you as well.
Mindfulness
Noticing what’s going in around (and with) you lets you find improvement room. Yoga and meditation are excellent examples. You can also use them to unwind after a stressful day.
Your ambient
The surrounding space deeply affects your mood. Aromatherapy and personalizing it are great ways to boost your move. Changing your room decoration can be surprisingly therapeutic.
Loved ones
Finally, your friends, family, and partners are crucial support. They can offer fun times and hear your complaints. Merely hanging out with them does wonders to relieve stress. Yes, that includes talking about everyone’s problems.
The holistic takeaway
Stress in our bodies is a daily occurrence. We can’t escape from it every time. Thankfully, that’s not necessary. Your priority should be learning to handle it—not preventing it forever.
Coping with stress is easier than you think. The right mindset goes a long way, and there are multiple supplements and products to help you as well.
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