<ol><li>Accept the fact that they will be people who will surpass you in some way, and tile the fact that you might envy them. But make that feelings a way of pushing yourself to become a better person</li><li>Understand that as you gain power, those below you will feel envious to you. They may not show it but it is inevitable</li><li>Expect that when people envy you, they will work against you</li></ol>

Strategies For Dealing With Envy

Draws on the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun-tzu, Von Clausewitz, and others, combining them with the legacies of powerful people throughout history to offer essential ideas of the ways of power.

mentalhealth

Mental Health

books

Books

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this multi-million-copy New York Times bestseller is the definitive manual for anyone interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control – from the author of The Laws of Human Nature. In the book that People magazine proclaimed “beguiling” and “fascinating,” Robert Greene and Joost Elffers have distilled three thousand years of the history of power into 48 essential laws by drawing from the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, and Carl Von Clausewitz and also from the lives of figures ranging from Henry Kissinger to P.T. Barnum.   Some laws teach the need for prudence (“Law 1: Never Outshine the Master”), others teach the value of confidence (“Law 28: Enter Action with Boldness”), and many recommend absolute self-preservation (“Law 15: Crush Your Enemy Totally”). Every law, though, has one thing in common: an interest in total domination. In a bold and arresting two-color package, The 48 Laws of Power is ideal whether your aim is conquest, self-defense, or simply to understand the rules of the game.

Robert Greene is an American author of books on strategy, power, and seduction. He has written six international bestsellers, including The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law, Mastery, and The Laws of Human Nature.

Robert Greene

The 48 Laws of Power

“At any moment, you have a choice, that either leads you closer to your spirit or further away from it.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh Living with joy doesn’t hurt anything. It doesn’t diminish your drive or ambition. It doesn’t make you less intelligent. And it sure doesn’t make you any less important. Living with joy makes you free, and that freedom reminds of everything that is possible. Even the serious things.

Joy, The Ticket To Freedom And Good Spirit.

It doesn't matter if you're any good at it, and it's not "wasting time." If it brings you joy, it's worth incorporating into your life.

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

habits

Habits

creativity

Creativity

If It Brings You Joy, It's Not “Wasting Time”

Without an emotionally intelligent mind, we will simply live our lives at the mercy of life. Although, that’s already kind of how life works, but we have the power to control a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean ourselves. Stephen Covey called this “a lot” our Circle of Influence in his best-selling book, The Seven Habits of Effective People. Taking charge of our emotional intellect doubly causes to take charge of this Circle of Influence. And it will help us live an effective life with others and with ourselves.

How To Be Emotionally Intelligent. 

Read books concerning emotional intelligence, listen to podcasts, and watch YouTube videos.You might not need to take all the advice you see on the internet because let’s be honest, sometimes it’s just a bunch of hooey. However, like they all say, and when I say “they”, I’m not exactly sure who. But, it’s the effort that counts.

1. Constantly Educate Yourself.

Heck, start journaling. I know many people think you have to be a girl or be gay to write about your feelings, but that’s far from the truth.Spending time with yourself will need to become a priority of yours, for you to figure out your emotions; what they do to you, and how they are going to work for you.

2. Invest Yourself Into Learning About Your Emotions. 

Okay, fine. You’ve decided that you want to be a more emotionally intelligent person.You need to pay in the effort to study yourself day in and day out. Stay committed, okay. Stay. Stay. Don’t leave.

3. Be Committed To Creating Yourself. 

Sure, you might not really like yourself, and doing that is not compulsory in this task.In the end, the results always rub off on you even though you don’t expect it or do it for yourself.

4. Realize That The End Results Would Be Benefit You. 

Look around your immediate environment. Who do you notice that embodies the characteristics of someone who is emotionally intelligent, huh?There’s got to be someone, look harder. Anyway, I’d leave you to do that until you find someone. But when you do, stalk this person, and I don’t mean in a way that’d get you arrested by the police. I mean, just pay attention to their behaviours for those key details, and learn every single one of them.

5. Study The Behaviours Of Emotionally Intelligent People.

Sometimes, we know the truth, but because it’s true, we ignore it. Why? Well, the truth fucking hurts. It sucks for someone to tell you the only reason you’re liked is because of your money, so we ignore it and think it’s because we’re superb-looking when that differs from reality.Learn from places you’d least expect to learn from. When someone disagrees with your beliefs, you may not always need to fight back with all the fire and brimstone you can gather.

6. Learn To Accept The Truth. 

Honesty to others may be the best policy. But do you know what’s an even better policy? Honesty to oneself. This is because it’s harder to tell everyone the truth when you are the living manifestation of a lie.If you are honest about your strengths and weaknesses, with your emotional intelligence, you will learn at a faster rate.

7. Be Honest To Yourself. 

Have you ever fantasized about being untouchable; envisioning yourself as this impenetrable brick wall of character that people can’t fuck with no matter how hard they try.Well, you can get there. All you need to do is to make that first step to developing a higher EQ.

8.Aim To Be A Dope Ass Strong Ass Emotionally Strong Person. 

Emotional intelligence is a state you get to when you have eaten enough emotional veggies.When you are emotionally malnourished, you crash and burn when anything puts a strain on you. While those who have digested enough emotional veggies get to draw on the strength gotten from the emotional reserve, and be strong in the face of an adversary. Eat your veggies, kids.

9. Take Emotional Unintelligence As A Malnourishment. 

None of us are perfect. Everything that’s existing in the world today is because of imperfect human beings like you and me, proposing our assumptions of how things ought to be. And I can’t even name how many of these assumptions are biased towards our feelings and emotions.

10. Stop Expecting To Be Perfect. 

In previous posts, we talked about the WHY’S and the WHAT’S of emotional intelligence. Now, it’s “time” for the HOW. For one to achieve anything, time is an important factor. Without time, one can’t simply have enough time to make time. To get fulfill the how’s of emotional intelligence, we need time. Without an emotionally…

Understanding emotional intelligence: 10 ways to be emotionally intelligent.

<ol>
<li>Be vulnerable with your customers. If you're adopting initiatives to prioritize employees' wellbeing, proactively let your customers know. It helps set expectations for how they can work with you, but it also gives them transparency into your culture, values, and priorities.</li>
<li>Prioritize deep work. By having an operating system that values intentional work over time-in-meetings, people have more time to think, create, and reflect. </li>
<li>Set the tone at the top. Building a culture of flexibility and balance only works if employees feel empowered to use it. That's why your leadership team needs to be leading from the front in battling burnout.</li>
</ol>

Battle Burnout in Your Company for Good

corporateculture

Corporate Culture

3 Ways to Battle Burnout in Your Company for Good

Color can play an important role in conveying information nonverbally, creating certain moods, and even influencing the decisions people make. Given that 90% of snap judgments are influenced by the psychological effects of color alone, it’s important to know what colors mean and what responses they can elicit.

Important Role Of Color

Colors can affect what we remember. If there’s lots of red around, we’re more likely to recall negative words. Green, on the other hand, tends to make us hold on to positive ones. That may help us have a happier view of our life and a healthier state of mind.

Color And Our Memory

It is important to note that colors can be subjective—what might make one person feel cheerful can make another person feel irritated depending on the viewers’ past experiences or cultural differences.Color is not completely agreed on universally and can appeal differently to individual countries. But colors and emotions are closely linked no matter what, so we need to take their effects into account whenever we are using colors.

Colors and Feelings Are Inextricably Linked

Cool colors include green, blue, and purple. Cool colors are usually calming and soothing but can also express sadness. Purple is often used to help spark creativity as it’s a mixture of blue (calm) and red (intense). If a company wants to display health, beauty or security, incorporate these colors.

Cool Colors

Red, orange and yellow are next to each other on the wheel and are all warm colors. Warm colors often evoke feelings of happiness, optimism and energy. However, yellow, red and orange can also have an attention grabbing effect and signal danger or make we take action (think stop signs, hazard warnings and barrier tape). Red can also increase a person’s appetite.

Warm Colors

1. YELLOW: HOPE Yellow is carefree and confident. It’s not on the defensive. It acts as a shield against despair and feelings of humiliation. It’s eager for our attention. 2. ORANGE: VITALITY Orange is a little more mature, strong and threatening than its neighbour and sibling, yellow. It almost tips over into something frightening. 3. LIGHT RED: ADVENTURE A bright, light red is adventurous, witty, even a touch heartless. It’s not too bothered by what others think. It isn't harsh, just independent. It’s more interested in being followed than in being a follower.

Pt. 1: Universal Meaning Of Colors

4. DARK RED: POWERThis is the color of thrones, of cardinals, of power and pomp, of ceremony and feasts. Dark red is sympathetic to authority, favours the idea of maturity, assertive and assured.5. VIOLET: AMBIGUITYThe color evoked the idea of an infinite ‘beyond’ that was not threatening or dangerous, somewhere we could long for but which remained always just out of sight.6. LIGHT BLUE: CLARITYIt’s a color for being active. It’s undaunted, cheerful, ready to get on and face all the things we’ve been putting aside. It is logical, clear. It wants you to tidy your desk.

PT. 2

7. DARK BLUE: DISCIPLINE This is the color of order and discipline. It tells us not to give up, to search for reserves of resilience. It is resolute, reliable.8. LIGHT GREEN: SANITYLight green has the fresh, natural feel of sanity. It is summoned when we are grateful rather than envious.9. DARK GREEN: REALISMThe soothing realms of deeper, greyer green are about realism. It pulls us back to sobriety, to patience and moderation.

PT. 3

10. LIGHT BROWN: MELLOWNESSThis is a color that does not want to draw attention to itself. It is conscious of times past, and feels their wistful tug. It likes quiet. It is meditative and gentle.11. DARK BROWN: DIGNITYDignity means not having to try to impress. It's not glamorous, but deeply good and reassuring. It is solid and dependable.12. BLACK: AUTHORITYBlack is the perennial colour of fashion and sophistication in the modern world. It is strong, without illusions. It flirts with cynicism. We need black when we want to keep our cool. Black is lean.

PT. 4

productivity

Productivity

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

philosophy

Philosophy

problemsolving

Problem Solving

Color Your World (Or at Least Your Walls) and Change Your Mood

Positive thinking helps with stress management and can even improve your health. Practice overcoming negative self-talk with examples provided.Is your glass half-empty or half-full? How you answer this age-old question about positive thinking may reflect your outlook on life, your attitude toward yourself, and whether you're optimistic or pessimistic — and it may even affect your health.

Positive thinking: Stop negative self-talk to reduce stress

Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:<ul><li>Increased life span</li><li>Lower rates of depression</li><li>Lower levels of distress</li><li>Greater resistance to the common cold</li></ul>Better psychological and physical well-being﻿<ul><li>Better cardiovascular health and reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease</li><li>Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress</li></ul>

The health benefits of positive thinking

<ul><li>Increased life span.</li><li>Lower rates of depression.</li><li>Lower levels of distress.</li><li>Greater resistance to the common cold.</li><li>Better psychological and physical well-being.</li><li>Better cardiovascular health and reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease.</li><li>Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress.</li></ul>

Benefits of positive thinking

Positive thinking: Reduce stress by eliminating negative self-talk - Mayo Clinic

Don’t blame yourself for everything happening around you, that you can not control. No one can control everything in life. So better to relax and stop feeling low because of it. Most of the time, it’s we are the reason for our down moments.

1. Stop Being Hard For Yourself.

It’s your own negative thoughts that make you feel low. You just don’t have to be controlled by negative thinking anymore, be free from them, and do something that your heart wants. <ul><li>Don’t let external negativity impact you anyway, look for some positive things in life.</li><li> If there is someone who ignores you , just divert your mind from them and focus on your well-being.</li></ul>

2. Control Your Negative Thoughts

Nothing happens instantly, you need to give yourself some time to think and act accordingly. <ul><li>Divide your long term goals into smaller once and achieve that. </li><li>The more you focus on bigger goals at first, the more you feel tensed if any time that goals seem impossible to you.</li></ul>

3. Give Yourself Some Time to Make a Change

The best thing you can do when your mood is down is to get up and do some exercise. Exercise helps you to divert your mood from any anxiety and tension you have. Apart from a better physique, exercise is also good for mental health.

4. Do Some Exercise.

No matter for which reason you are feeling low, But spending time with family and loved ones always helps you to get out of it. That will swing your low moments and gives you positive vibes to get ahead in life. <ul><li>Probably, you feel empty also when you miss someone and not able to connect them easily. So better to call them and talk to them.</li></ul>

5. Meet with Friends and Family

You are giving enough work, so take some time to relax. <ul><li>Spend time with your own, do something that you love.</li><li> Revive your habits and do something for yourself. </li><li>Playing guitar, listening to music, like anything, you like to do in free -time. Do it fully, that will uplift your mood .</li></ul>

6. Do Something for Yourself

Probably you are feeling low due to your work and career goals. If so, then perform self-evaluation. <ul><li>Track your work and progress you have made. </li><li>Check what you can do and what you can not do. </li></ul>You don’t have to be perfect in everything. Redesign your plan and start doing something that you can do better.

7. Look for Things You Can Do Better.

Self-reflection performs better when you are feeling depressed and don’t know the reason behind it. After all, you need to find what makes you feel low. <ul><li>If you depend on other people for your happiness, then you end up feeling low for multiple times. </li><li>Especially when someone hurts you feel down, as you rely on them to stay happy. </li></ul>Instead of that, be your own motivator, and practice self-inspiration.

8. Stop and Reflect in Your Self.

Music has the power to fix you in a better mood. Whenever you feel low, put your headphones on and listen to your favorite music, which ultimately shifts your moods and gives you mental relief. Indeed, music works better to overcome the down moments and control low thinkings in mind.

9. Music Heals Everything.

When you are up to achieving something great, chances are you may have to face many lowest moments in between.<ul><li> In hard times, instead of losing hope and simply give up, it’s better to keep going with beliving on yourself. </li><li>Believe whatever is happening right now, is just temporary and this time will pass anyway. </li></ul>All you need to have a focus on the bright future, for which you are working on it.

10. Believe it’s Temporary.

Indeed, you have been working for so long and going in the right direction. But at some point, you need a break and give your body a little rest.<ul><li> Sleeping for a bit when you feeling low, gives you timely rest that you really need at a moment.</li></ul>

11. Time to Take a Nap.

In most cases, we feel depressed due to not achieving the decided goals and not working as planned. And that happens, also because we all are not setting any priorities to focus. We have a lot many things to do at once, which ultimately creates confusion and so the worries. So better to have your planned schedule first and eliminate distractions , if any.

12. Plan Your Daily Routine.

Try to remind the old positive and happy memories, that you want to live again. <ul><li>Go back to the past events and memorize the proudest things you have done there. </li><li>Or else you can look through your old childhood pictures to rewind your past memories. </li></ul>Doing things like that, you will be free from current low moments and feel good inside for what you have done so far.

13. Remind Your Old Memories, that Make You Feel Good.

If you are feeling low and have nothing else to do, except thinking and worrying about it. Try writing the journal. <ul><li>Make a habit to write the major things that give you the proudest moment in life and the lowest ones, as well.</li></ul>You feel better after viewing that you have more positive things in life than the negative ones.

14. Have a Journal,  and Write Something.

Whenever you feel low, then try to get back in touch with your childhood friends and school friends, to whom you haven’t met a long time. It’s time to reconnect with them and remind all those memories that you have built together. Such moments will totally refresh your moods and fill your heart with love.

15. Reach Out to Your Old Friends

Not only you, but there are also others around you who are going through a low moment in life. So practice gratitude and develop a habit to help someone who needs any help. At the time, when you support others, you feel positive inside, that never lets you feel low anymore.

16. Follow Gratitude.

If you are working from home and spending a lot of time indoors with your computer, then you need to make time to get out of the house frequently. Working from home can be sometimes overwhelming and feeling low inside. That also can be the reason why you feel down sometimes. So better to go out, have some fresh air, or even dine out with family and friends.

17. Get some Fresh Air.

Sometimes we are bound by unnecessary things that actually have no actual impact on our life. Such things create anxiety and pressurize yourself to do something under stress. <ul><li>For that, we need to focus on things that are important in our life . </li><li>If you really want to get out of being in a low moment, you have to let go of things that are not worth your time.</li></ul>

18. Look For What Matters to You.

Probably you are feeling low due to working for a long time, also due to burnout. So it’s always good to take some time off and take a rest.<ul><li> Temporary vacation is a need when you want to feel relaxed and to get back with new energies. </li></ul>After all, burnout holds you at some point, which resulting in give up tasks anyway.

19. Take a Vacation and Time-off.

If you want to get out of the lowest moment in your life, then you need to relax your mind and free-up your soul.<ul><li> Sometimes it is better to spend some time alone, and meditate. </li><li>You need to stop your negative thoughts to hold you back.</li><li> Relieve yourself from anxiety and mental stress, let it all go and connect with yourself.</li></ul>

20. Do Meditation.

If you are also feeling low, then here are possible ways to overcome the hard phase of your life. So that you can overcome this lowest moments.

20 Things To Do When You Feel Low » Trending Us

Computers, video games, and technological devices are part of young people’s everyday lives. Hikikomori is a Japanese word describing a condition that mainly affects adolescents or young adults who live isolated from the world, cloistered within their parents’ homes, locked in their bedrooms for days, months, or even years on end, and refusing to communicate even with their family.

Hikikomori: Acute Social Withdrawal

Several factors are thought to be responsible for the growing prevalence of this condition. They include globalisation, increasing use of social media and developments in technology. As a result, unlike older times, children now spend more time indoors, glued to screens. They often lack the skills required for direct social interactions, which are, in a way important for forging better connections. A lot of socially withdrawn people don’t even talk to friends much on social media or have less demanding relationships.

Cause Of Hikikomori

Experts are also beginning to explore hikikomori's possible connection with autism, depression, social anxiety and agoraphobia. Not only does a hikikomori person lose many years of their life in isolation, the condition also affects their family.

Hikikomori Connection With Other Symptoms

It can be difficult to tell the difference between normal sadness and depression. We can start by looking at:1. How long the emotions and behaviour changes have lasted – if we shows certain emotions like sadness or behaviour like being overly tired and often irritable for more than two weeks, it might be depression. 2. How strong the emotions are and whether they’re there all the time, or come and go. 3. How much the emotions and behaviour are affecting our work, relationships, physical health, enjoyment or everyday activities.

Pre-Treatment: Recognizing Depression

There are several steps we can take to cope with anxiety disorder symptoms.1. Explore stress management: Learn ways to manage stress, such as through meditation.2. Live a healthy lifestyle: Exercise regularly and eat a healthy, balanced diet.3. Limit caffeine: Stop or limit how much caffeine we consume, including coffee, tea, cola and chocolate.4. Join support groups: These groups encourage people with anxiety disorders to share their experiences and coping strategies.4. Seek help: Get counseling and support if we experienced a traumatic or disturbing event.

Cope With Anxiety Disorders Symptoms

Apart from social withdrawal, it has revealed that many hikikomori cases have a sedentary lifestyle, which may harm both their mental and physical health. In this case, there are many frameworks that can be used to maintain the recovery process. This conceptual framework is composed by five recovery processes: Connectedness, Hope and optimism about the future, Identity, Meaning in life, and Empowerment.

The Recovery Process: CHIME framework

Like internet addiction, Hikikomori is an emerging psychiatric diagnosis, and the definition and clinical features are still a matter of debate.But one thing is obvious: the hikikomori are acutely aware of their own pain. They are likely to feel acute guilt for subjecting family to their quirks and, at the same time, report feeling suffocated by their shut-in ways.As the researchers conclude:‘The condition of hikikomori requires active intervention instead of the passive attitude stating that it is merely a lifestyle choice.’

Further Treatment

Computers, video games and technological devices are part of young people's everyday lives. Hikikomori, a Japanese word describing a condition that mainly affects adolescents or young adults who live isolated from the world, cloistered within their parents’ homes, locked in their bedrooms for days, months or even years on end, refusing to communicate even with their family, using internet profusely and only venturing out to deal with their most imperative bodily needs. Although first described in Japan, cases have been described from around the world, this is the first published report from Canada. The disorder shares characteristics with prodromal psychosis, negative symptoms of schizophrenia or internet addiction, which are common differential or comorbid diagnoses. Certain cases, however, are not accompanied by a mental disorder. Psychotherapy is the treatment of choice although many cases are reluctant to present. The exact place of hikikomori in psychiatric nosology has yet to be determined. We searched Medline up to 12th May, 2015 supplemented by a hand search of the bibliographies of all retrieved articles. We used the following search terms: Hikikomori OR (prolonged AND social AND withdrawal). We found 97 potential papers. Of these 42, were in Japanese, and one in Korean. However, many of these were cited by subsequent English-language papers that were included in the review. Following scrutiny of the titles and abstracts, 29 were judged to be relevant. Further research is needed to distinguish between primary and secondary hikikomori and establish whether this is a new diagnostic entity, or particular cultural or societal manifestations of established diagnoses.

Internet Addiction, Hikikomori Syndrome, and the Prodromal Phase of Psychosis

FOMO, an acronym for “Fear of Missing Out” has become a popular internet term in the last few years.The term FOMO was originally popularized by entrepreneur Caterina Fake. FOMO is a modern-day form of “keeping up with the Joneses.” Where people were once trying to keep up with a handful of neighbors, they’re now trying to keep up with hundreds, even thousands of social media friends and followers.

The Origin Of FOMO

FOMO describes that gnawing feeling we get when we think something more exciting or fulfilling is going on somewhere else, without us. It can range from a twinge of disappointment, to feelings of acute loneliness and low self-esteem. FOMO can also strike when we have too many options. We might choose to go on an amazing date, but we'll still sneak a look at our phone to see what we're missing with our mates. And that's the real killer: FOMO stops us from ever being truly present in the moment.

Festive FOMO Threats

JOMO, or “Joy of Missing Out” is a counter-term created by entrepreneur Anil Dash. While people with FOMO may second-guess their choices and wonder if they could be having more fun elsewhere, people with JOMO embrace the choices they have made and find joy in the present situation.Rather than worrying about what we may or may not be missing out on, try making the choice that is best for us and owning that decision. Find happiness in what we’re doing, and remind ourselves why we made the choice in the first place.

Embrace The Jomo

1. Use our sense. Focusing on our senses, like the sound of the ocean lapping up on the shore, the smell of the coconut sunblock, and the feel of the sun warming our body. This is a meditation 101 kind of thinking. So, maybe we’re not on the beach somewhere, but we can still notice the subtle, pleasant things around us, maybe it’s the way raindrops are sliding down a window.2. Stop multi-tasking. When we’re showering, only focus on the experience of showering. Just wash the dishes; be present without phone calls, music, or podcasts to distract us.

Part 1: Habits To Increase JOMO

3. Inhale…exhale. Take 4 deep breathes and focus on the breath. If we are truly focused on our breath, there is nowhere else for our mind to go.4. Practice gratitude. Taking time to note all things one can be thankful for helps us focus on what ‘is’ rather than what ‘could be’.5. Give ourselves three mindful minutes every day. That’s all it takes. Using an app like the Calm app or Headspace can be a great way to practice a guided meditation.6. Go for a walk.

Part 2: Habits To Increase JOMO

7. Smell our food: This goes back to the point about our senses and is a practical way to make it a habit. Engage in more than just taste when we eat a meal.8. Look into someone’s eyes. Even when we’re having conversations, we rarely look one another in the eyes. Slow down and really sink into eye contact with someone. See how it slows down the rapidity of life.9. Ground ourselves. Noting the texture of the chair we’re sitting in, how it feels to note the texture of our hands and sensing the shoes on our feet are all ways to bring us into our present physical experience.

Part 3: Habits To Increase JOMO

Be joyful. Be simple. Be together. Be real. Be messy. Make life personal. Remove the arms-length distractions of technology. Choose real connections rather than shallow distractions.

Important: More JOMO, Less FOMO

Social media has spawned the crippling fear of missing out, and wanting what others have. But one expert thinks leaning into your FOMO can, strangely, make you happier.

Essential Habits to turn FOMO Into JOMO

You’re sitting in traffic, late for an important meeting, watching the minutes tick away. Your hypothalamus, a tiny control tower in your brain, decides to send out the order: Send in the stress hormones! These stress hormones are the same ones that trigger your body’s “fight or flight” response. Your heart races, your breath quickens, and your muscles ready for action. This response was designed to protect your body in an emergency by preparing you to react quickly. But when the stress response keeps firing, day after day, it could put your health at serious risk.

Background 

This image has a list of physical effects that are caused by stress.

Physical Effects Of Stress?

Stress is a natural physical and mental reaction to life experiences. Everyone expresses <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/whats-your-stress-type">stress </a>from time to time. Anything from everyday responsibilities like work and family to serious life events such as a new diagnosis, war, or the death of a loved one can trigger stress. For immediate, short-term situations, stress can be <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-stress-you-didnt-know-about">beneficial to your health</a>. It can help you cope with potentially serious situations. Your body responds to stress by releasing hormones that increase your heart and breathing rates and ready your muscles to respond.

What Is Stress?

Your central nervous system (CNS) is in charge of your “fight or flight” response. In your brain, the hypothalamus gets the ball rolling, telling your adrenal glands to release the stress hormones adrenaline and <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/cortisol-urine">cortisol </a>. These hormones rev up your heartbeat and send blood rushing to the areas that need it most in an emergency, such as your muscles, heart, and other important organs. When the perceived fear is gone, the hypothalamus should tell all systems to go back to normal. If the CNS fails to return to normal, or if the stressor doesn’t go away, the response will continue.

The Science Behind Stress

During the stress response, you breathe faster in an effort to quickly distribute oxygen-rich blood to your body. If you already have a breathing problem like <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/asthma">asthma </a>or <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/emphysema">emphysema </a>, stress can make it even harder to breathe.Under stress, your heart also pumps faster. Stress hormones cause your blood vessels to constrict and divert more oxygen to your muscles so you’ll have more strength to take action. But this also raises your blood pressure.So, frequent/ chronic stress will make your heart work too hard for too long. When blood pressure rises, so do risks for having a <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/stroke-treatment-and-timing/risk-factors">stroke</a>/ <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/heart-attack">heart attack </a>

Stress Hormones And Respiratory And Cardiovascular Systems

It’s not unusual to lose your desire when you’re under constant stress. While short-term stress may cause men to produce more of the male hormone testosterone, this effect doesn’t last, as long term stress can see begin to drop. This can interfere with sperm production and cause <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/erectile-dysfunction-anxiety-stress">erectile dysfunction </a>/ impotence. Chronic stress may also increase risk of infection for male reproductive organs like the prostate and testes.For women, stress can affect the menstrual cycle. It can lead to irregular, heavier, or more painful periods. Chronic stress can also magnify the physical symptoms of <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/menopause">menopause </a>

Reproductive System

The rush of hormones, rapid breathing, and increased heart rate can also upset your <a href="https://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/digestive-system">digestive system </a>. You’re more likely to have heartburn or <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/gerd/stress">acid reflux </a>thanks to an increase in stomach acid. Stress doesn’t cause ulcers (a bacterium called H. pylori often does), but it can increase your risk for them and cause existing ulcers to act up. Stress can also affect the way food moves through your body, leading to <a href="https://www.healthline.com/symptom/diarrhea">diarrhea </a>or <a href="https://www.healthline.com/symptom/constipation">constipation </a>. You might also experience <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/nausea-and-vomiting">nausea </a>, vomiting, or a <a href="https://www.healthline.com/symptom/abdominal-pain">stomachache </a>.

How Stress Can Affect The Digestive System

Under stress, your liver produces extra blood sugar (<a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/glucose">glucose </a>) to give you a boost of energy. If you’re under chronic stress, your body may not be able to keep up with this extra glucose surge. Chronic stress may increase your risk of developing <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/diabetes-and-stress">type 2 diabetes </a>.

High Blood Sugar

Your muscles tense up to protect themselves from injury when you’re stressed. They tend to release again once you relax, but if you’re constantly under stress, your muscles may not get the chance to relax. Tight muscles cause headaches, back and <a href="https://www.healthline.com/symptom/shoulder-pain">shoulder </a>pain, and body aches. Over time, this can set off an unhealthy cycle as you stop exercising and turn to pain medication for relief.

Muscle Pain

Stress stimulates the immune system, which can be a plus for immediate situations. This stimulation can help you avoid infections and heal wounds. But over time, stress hormones will weaken your immune system and reduce your body’s response to foreign invaders. People under chronic stress are more susceptible to viral illnesses like the <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/flu">flu </a>and the <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/cold">common cold </a>, as well as other infections. Stress can also increase the time it takes you to recover from an illness or injury..

Stress And The Immune System

Temporary stress can induce a short fight or flight response, but chronic stress can cause permanent damage to our heath. As someone who has not been relaxing at all due to the heat of mock exams, university interviews, intense revision plus a never-ending to-do list, I decided to read this article to deter me from pressurising myself and force myself to pause and make a better system for me.

Constant stress can increase your risk for long-term health issues like heart attack and diabetes. Learn the toll stress can take on the body.

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The Effects of Stress on Your Body

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