Overcoming Stress – What Needs To Be Done?
No one is immune to stress, regardless of whether you work in banking, IT or any other field. Your job could be hanging on a thread, your workload may be unmanageable, you could be having trouble making ends meet or maybe your stress is caused by things happening in your personal life and this stress can potentially develop into physical pain and lead to a variety of illnesses.
Most of the time the body can handle a moderate amount of short-term stress, but it doesn’t bounce back so quickly from long-term stress. Moreover, even short-term stress such as a bad day at work can sometimes give you a migraine at the end of the day.
During prolonged stress, the muscles tighten or tense up. In fact, the Latin word “stringere” from which the word “stress” is derived means “to draw tight”.
The tense muscles can affect the nerves and cause pain and the tightening is brought about by the stress-induced release of cortisol, adrenaline and other hormones from the brain. These hormones initiate the body’s fight-or-flight response. Aside from heightening muscle tension, they also increase heart rate, blood pressure and respiration as well as sweating.
The neck has a substantial workload to begin with because it carries the weight of your head and as a result, your neck is particularly vulnerable to stress. Bad habits, such as cradling the phone between your shoulder and your head, can lead to stiff neck and tense muscles will only compound the pain which may even radiate along the nerves.
When you feel stress in your mind, your neck is likely to hurt more. You can go to a physical therapist and learn a set of simple exercises to do daily and this will help you alleviate the pain from stress almost before it starts.
You can try something like the following exercise. Let your head drop toward your chest but don’t force it. Breathe and allow the weight of your head to help soften your neck. Stay there a few moments and then turn the head toward one shoulder and again wait for a release. Repeat on the other side.
Of course you’ll feel pain from stress, but you may not realize you could develop more serious issues such as heart disease and clinical depression. Be aware and take action as soon as you realize you’re under stress. Use relaxation techniques, do simple exercises and movements, and consult your physician or physical therapist as you need to.
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