Why Is Stress Such A Bad Thing?
Being under a lot of pressure seems to be a way of life for a lot of people. The world has become a much busier, much more demanding place. It can feel as though if we don’t at least try to keep up with it all, we’ll be left far behind both in terms of our careers and our lives in general – no one wants to miss out. Yet trying to do everything all at once and do it well can put us under a lot of stress, and when this stress is never-ending, it can be seriously detrimental to our health. The following reasons explain why being chronically stressed is not a good thing.
Emotional Problems
Being under a little stress is a good thing – it can make us work harder for a short period of time. For example, and it has its roots in the ‘fight or flight’ mode that we can fall into when there is a problem at hand that might be dangerous. However, when this stress is long-term, it becomes less easy to deal with. It’s easy to spot someone under a lot of stress because they will have a short temper, become angry at the slightest thing, and have difficulties keeping their emotions under control.
Even the mildest levels of stress can mean that we don’t have complete control over our emotions anymore. This could be stress encountered in everyday life, such as traffic or having financial issues. In other words, problems that you can solve if you take a moment to think about them. It’s just that when you are feeling stressed, it’s difficult to see a solution.
Teeth And Gums
People’s stress manifests in a variety of different ways. Some, for example, will grind their teeth. They won’t necessarily know they are doing it, especially if they are doing it in their sleep, but this issue can actually cause long-lasting dental care problems for your jaw and teeth, wearing them thin and making them more prone to damage or even loss.
Your dentist will be able to tell immediately if you do grind your teeth; they will be able to spot any damage but will also notice that your jaw is clenched or stressed in some way. This is a hard habit to break and could even continue when the stressful situation is over. However, wearing a mouthguard at night can help to prevent further damage, even if the grinding itself doesn’t stop.
Weight
When we are stressed, many of us eat more. This dates back to prehistoric times when hunter-gatherers had to eat as much as possible when there was food to make up for the times when there was none. ‘Stress eating’ still lives on in us today and is why, when we are stressed, we ‘stock up’ on food – our body and brain think that danger is threatening and that food may become scarce.
This is a difficult habit to get out of, but one suggestion is not to eat while watching the nightly news. Watching bad news on TV, or listening on the radio, can cause us to eat more than we usually would. The same is true for any TV show that depicts fear and worry in some form.
