Stress

What is Stress?

Stress is how your body responds to the demands and challenges of daily life. We often think of stress as a bad thing, but it can serve a purpose. When stress happens in small amounts it can make us feel alive, excited, or focused. You might notice it in times like the first day of school, going on a roller coaster, or starting a new job. This positive stress goes away afterwards and can help us grow as a person and feel proud when we’ve faced the challenge. However, when stress stays around for too long or feels overwhelming, it can start to hurt your health.

How Stress Affects You

Stress can impact every part of your body, and it’s important to know what can happen if it’s long-lasting without relief.

What Happens Under High Stress

You’ve probably noticed your heart racing when you’re scared, or that it can be hard to think straight when you have a lot going on. When something is dangerous, scary, or needs our attention, our senses send a message to the brain. The brain’s command center talks to the rest of the body and tells it to face the problem or run away. This is called the “fight or flight” response.

Your brain signals the release of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline gives you a quick burst of energy, and cortisol keeps you on high alert.
Your body slows down digestion to save energy for dealing with the stressor.
For a very short time, stress can give your immune system a small boost to help your body handle an immediate injury.
Your muscles tense up all at once. This is your body’s natural reflex to guard against injury and pain.

What it Feels Like

You might feel your heart pounding or racing in your chest. Some people feel flushed or get a headache because their blood pressure goes up.
You might get “butterflies” or a knot in your stomach, or even nausea. Stress can cause stomach aches, heart burn, constipation, or diarrhea.
You might notice your jaw is clenched, your fists are tight, or your neck and shoulder muscles feel hard and sore. This tension is a common cause of headaches.
You can feel wired, anxious, or jittery. You might have a lot of energy at first, but this is often followed by feeling very tired, sometimes called a “crash”.
You might have thoughts and feelings of worry, tension, or even fear, often without knowing why.

Once the stressful event has passed, you’re usually able to get back to your baseline.

What Happens if This Continues

When experiencing tough times or trauma, your “fight or flight” can get stuck on high. Your body stays revved up and your stressful or anxious feelings don’t go away. This can impact your everyday life when these feelings:

Occur frequently
Feel out of proportion to the situation
Stay after the situation is over

This prolonged stress reaction can lead to many different health issues like:

High heart rate and high blood pressure, which may lead to hypertension, heart attack, and stroke.
Ongoing digestive issues. Stress can make conditions like Irritable Bowel Syndrome and stomach ulcers worse. The constant release of extra sugar can also increase your risk for developing type 2 diabetes.
Chronically high cortisol levels can lead to weight gain, especially around the stomach, sleep problems, trouble with memory, and feeling run down.
A weakened immune system, making it harder for your body to fight off germs. You might find you get sick more often (like colds or the flu). It can also slow down healing from injuries or sickness.
Prolonged muscle tension can lead to chronic pain in the shoulders, neck, and back. It can also cause frequent tension headaches and migraines.
A higher level of irritability and/or increased isolation.

Anxious feelings that interrupt your thoughts, sleep, and everyday tasks. It might feel like you can’t turn your brain off.

Managing the Daily Grind

Sometimes stress isn't caused by one big event. Instead, it’s the little things that add up like a long commute, a noisy neighborhood, or worrying about bills. These daily challenges can keep your body on high alert for too long.

Try these tips for a calmer day:

two people sitting in the middle of central park

Find Your Quiet Minute - Try to find 60 seconds to just breathe deeply. This tells your brain that you're safe, even if the world around you is loud.

a woman standing on a train with her phone and looking out the window

Focus on What You Can Control - You can’t stop a late train, but you can choose your reaction. Use music or a podcast to give your brain a rest.

a woman standing in front of the window and stretching

Move Your Body Early - A quick walk or a few stretches in the morning helps burn off stress hormones before your day even starts.

two men talking to each other over a fence

Connect with a Neighbor - A simple hello or a quick chat with a friend can trigger feel-good chemicals that lower your stress levels.

a woman laying in bed and reading a book before bed

Unplug Before Bed - Give your brain a break from the news and social media at least 60 minutes before sleep. This helps your cortisol levels reset overnight.

A man sitting on a park bench holding a water bottle

Drink Plenty of Water - Staying hydrated helps your body stay strong so it can handle the physical wear and tear of a busy day.

What You Can Do

Life can get overwhelming, but you can learn to manage how stress affects you. There are many ways that you can prepare yourself for tough times. Make sure to find what works for you.

Learning ways to calm yourself: Practices like deep breathing tell your brain it is safe to turn off the "alarm" and relax.
Building wellness: Focus on small habits like moving your body and getting enough rest. Regular movement helps your body burn off extra stress hormones like adrenaline, while sleep gives your brain time to reset your cortisol levels.
Creating connection: Reaching out to others helps lower your stress chemicals. Talking to a friend can actually trigger feel-good chemicals that help balance out the fight or flight response.

When to Get Help

There are many ways to do each of the tips on this page. Find what works for you as you focus on healing.

You might notice that stressful or anxious feelings are sticking around and are causing more health issues. If this is the case, it might be time to talk to your doctor or get help from a mental health professional.