Stressed Out? Here Are 7 Ways to Beat It Before It Kills You

Unchecked stress can have a devastating impact on your body. And if you're not careful, you can live with it for years not recognizing the damage it's causing.

My body sent me signals for a long time that trouble was brewing inside: hair loss, gastrointestinal issues, and occasional bouts of depression.

I knew there was something not quite right, but I didn't know that stress was a major source of it.

Living with chronic stress means your body is always on high alert, as if it's ready to fight a ravenous tiger.

And since you aren't designed to operate on high alert for prolonged periods of time, breakdowns start to occur. Research from Harvard Medical shows that 60-90 percent of doctor's visits are caused by stress.

Here's how Dr. Kevin Cuccaro of Straight Shot Health describes the impact chronic stress has on you:

"If you have that on all the time, you're repeatedly stressed or maintaining that high level of stress response, it can actually start breaking down your body. It worsens things causing heart disease, it can cause gastrointestinal problems. Even things like just thinking clearly. You're not able to think as well. It affects every organ system in the body."

That's exactly what happened to me. After years of living with stress, my body couldn't take it anymore. I ended up in the hospital for ten days, and had a long recovery afterward.

Now that I know how detrimental stress is, I take great care to manage it both proactively and reactively. Here's are seven powerful ways I've learned to keep it in check. When you apply one or more of these into your routine, you'll start to beat it too.

This helpful article goes on to share proven ways to shift your thinking and your lifestyle to neutralize the stress response and help us live healthier, better and longer.

Link to the full article here: https://www.inc.com/sonia-thompson/stressed-out-heres-7-ways-to-beat-it-before-it-kills-you.html