One of the most common forms of tension that every person will experience at some point in their lifetime is stress. One can experience stress for a multitude of reasons. Stress can be caused by difficult tasks and coworkers at work, it can be caused by trying to keep the household in order with children and pets, it can be caused by a difficult assignment you’ve been trying to complete for class, etc. There are so many things in this life that can cause a person to be stressed out, quickly as well. Though as easy as it is to become stressed out, it’s disheartening to know that with stress comes symptoms. Sometimes these symptoms can be severe, sometimes they can cause flare-ups with a medical condition you may be facing and sometimes these stressed induced symptoms can be seen clear as day on your skin.
How Stress Affects You Mentally
Stress can have a huge impact on you mentally. If you are so focused on what is stressing you out at the moment, it’s hard to find mental peace and balance.
Mentally it can cause your mind to produce what feels like a million thoughts at one time. You feel as though your brain is shutting down because you can’t focus when you’re stressed. You can end up feeling many emotions at once such as anger, sadness, frustration, irritability and even fear.
Stress can also lead to depression and other mental health issues if your mind is in a constant state of confusion and emotions.
It can also affect your behavior by making you get angry with others quickly over simple things, trouble with daily tasks, and can even cause trouble sleeping. Once it affects you mentally, it can then start to lead to physical problems as well.
How Stress Affects You Physically
Stress is the body’s natural reaction to tension or pressure. Usually, when we are stressed, it’s due to the fact that we feel as though we have no control over something that may be happening at the moment.
When stressed, the body produces stress hormones that trigger your fight or flight reflexes. This is good for when you are in bad situations, but what happens when your body is always triggered and ready for fight or flight mode?
When stressed, it can show physically. You’ll experience headaches, body aches, heart palpitations, sweating, hyperventilating, and problems with your digestive system such as diarrhea, constipation and or bloating. Stress can also cause flare-ups for other medical conditions. For example, if you were diagnosed with lupus, stress can cause an inflammation flare-up, which can cause loss of hair, pain in the joints and more. Stress can also cause inflammation, which will lead to a skin rash flare-up as well.
3 Noticeable Skin Rashes That Come With Stress
As you know now, stress can affect you mentally and physically. It can affect you physically to the point where it becomes noticeable to the people around you. When in a state of pressure and tension, it shows up on the body as skin rashes. 3 noticeable skin rashes that come with stress are: hives, eczema, and psoriasis.
Hives can also be known as stress rashes. Stress rashes are raised red bumps that can appear on any part of the body, though you can mostly spot them on your arms, chest, neck and face.
They usually form in clusters and can either be small little dots or large welts on the body. If they form, they can cause a burning, tingling and itchy sensation.
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Though eczema and psoriasis aren’t caused by stress, stress is the main trigger for a flare-up when it comes to these two skin problems and diseases.
When the body is stressed, internal inflammation begins which can then lead to rashes forming on the skin.
With eczema, there will be dry, rough and itchy patches that can be found on different parts of the body.
With psoriasis, there will be large, red, puffy patches on the arms, legs, neck or face that can cause pain, itchiness, swelling and irritation.
Meditation 101: When, Where & How To Do It
How To Reduce Your Stress Levels With This One Step
Since everyone handles stress differently, some stress-relieving tips may not work well for others. One helpful tip that anyone can do is meditating. Meditation can be done anywhere and everywhere and it can look a lot different from how you think it may be. When feeling stressed, simply count to 15. Counting in your head or out loud will give your mind something else to focus on at the moment. Repeat it until you have calmed down enough to either figure out the situation or practice another stress reliever. This easy and simple step, once practiced often will definitely help you handle stressful situations better in the future. Though stressful moments can be inevitable, they do not have to control your life.