Everyone knows what stress is. In many cases, we also know why we feel stressed. Just like you can check your account balance, you can also monitor your mental capacity. But how exactly does it work? Read on to find out!
 

Stress is an increased level of tension. Because the body and mind are not independent of each other, physical stress affects our psychological experience and vice versa. We can identify psychological tension, anxiety, and irritability when our thoughts race. However, there is positive stress (eustress), such as when we are excited about something.
 
Also, there is negative stress, which awaits us in our busy daily lives. Stress, or increased tension, leads to excess energy. Our body registers that it needs to do something and activates all its systems. Stress is necessary to adapt to the situation. However, the problem is that continuous stress depletes our resources over time.
 

Sometimes the causes of stress are vague and we don’t know. There are times in life when there are no obvious reasons for stress, such as heavy work. Sometimes the cause of your stress is vague and you don't even know what it is. However, common causes are:
 
• You have a long list of things to do at work or at home. 
• You want to meet many people.
• You pay close attention to city traffic. 
• You find yourself in an unknown environment.
• You have to take care of a young child. 
• You try to arrange as many meetings as possible.
• You continue thinking about problems in relationships and social life. 
• You spend a lot of time on your phone, including social networks and messaging applications.
 
Considering the current situation, this is often true and completely understandable. Stress is really associated with someone's physical and mental ability. These signs can appear in our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Thoughts that appear when your energy is low include:
 
• “I want a break.” 
• “It is so much.” 
• “I wish I could cancel the evening.” 
• “I feel drained.” 
• “Why must everything be very tiring?”
 
There are also feelings that arise before you are completely empty, but you may not notice them because you are busy. Try to know whether you're feeling:
 
• Tensed
• Stunned 
• Easily irritated 
• Disappointed
• Nervous 
• Furious
• Powerless
 
And when we take a step back, we often only become aware of these emotions through our actions. For example, we can be very sensitive to what others say. They may start crying for no apparent reason, have difficulty listening, react absentmindedly, or avoid others altogether. Any of these factors, especially when combined, can increase cognitive decline. If we do not bring new energy into it, our psyche will signal this fatigue through a feeling of fatigue and a desire for rest. 
 
However, we are determined by a variety of factors that we can actively influence. For example, staying physically fit and eating a healthy diet will ensure your body has enough energy stores, and your mental and cognitive abilities will be maintained. This means that we have the sufficient mental capacity to perceive, and think. . But how much stress can you handle in a lifetime? How much stress can we endure? And how can we differentiate between acute and chronic stress? 
 

Short-term stress in professional or personal life can cause acute stress: problems at work, preparations for an upcoming birthday or Christmas holiday, etc. In addition to the fact that such stress does not harm our health, it heightens our senses and increases adrenaline levels, thereby improving our performance and helping us to successfully overcome difficulties. Sometimes you may even exceed yourself. Usually, your body will quickly return to its normal baseline tension level. These recovery stages are important but if the acute tension does not subside and the relaxation stage does not occur, chronic stress can develop. 
 

When stressors accumulate more and more and the tension continues unabated, it is called chronic stress. There is no clear schedule for this. In some cases, the stress may be caused by significant strain, such as financial or health issues or a never-ending pile of work at work. However, sometimes you may simply be stressed without knowing why. Even mild or subtle sources of stress, such as noise from a construction site across the street, household chores, or a flat tire while commuting by bike, can lead to persistently high-stress levels.
 

Thoughts do lead to stress. In other words, when you feel stressed, you often have trouble sleeping. We begin to obsess over certain things, especially in quiet moments. These nighttime disturbances trigger a stress response in our bodies, making us restless and naturally unable to sleep. This is how our thoughts continue to revolve. 
 
Although the future exists only in our thoughts, it still triggers a stress response. Imagine biting into a sweet apple. If you get really excited about the idea and imagine it, your mouth will close and salivate more, even if the apple isn't real. The same goes for the future. Although the future exists only in our thoughts, it still triggers a stress response. In this situation, you have to find the most useful solution to the problem.
 

If thoughts cause stress, then the key to living a stress-free life seems to be controlling our thoughts. Positive thoughts lead to positive feelings and therefore to a very pleasant life. However, you might have known already that you can't control your thoughts. 
 
Psychology research even shows that forcing yourself to think positively can make you feel worse. So what can really help us? Secure yourself here and now. Many techniques for grounding yourself in the here and now focus on breathing. But there is also the possibility of seeing these thoughts themselves recorded in the present. Stay calm and follow these steps:
 

Notice that there are thoughts. If these thoughts are very disturbing, it can be difficult because you automatically recognize them as true and necessary. You can watch your thoughts the same way you watch a train go by. This will help you disconnect from the thoughts that cause you stress. If you can observe something, you become detached from it. 
 

Thoughts have great powers of attraction. However, please know that you are under no obligation to follow, develop, or even act upon them. Thoughts are just thoughts. You can't magically get rid of them, but you can allow them to continue to be there without affecting you.
 

When you no longer identify with your thoughts, you will notice that there is always a stress-free consciousness behind them. Practice the above steps regularly to achieve this "inner peace" more easily. If you don't always have time each day to focus on individual steps, try this: When a disturbing thought comes to mind, add a sentence before it: 
 
"Presently, my thoughts are about..." It will help you to go far away from that thought by seeing it as only thinking rather than present reality. Plus, you anchor yourself in the present. Instead of automatically thinking about the future, you find yourself thinking about something in the present. By doing this, you may experience less or no mental and physical stress.
 

Acute stress is generally not harmful and can help you perform at your best. However, after a few days, the tension should ease up again. Pay conscious attention to these recovery steps. Don't rush to move on to the next project. Give yourself and your body a break. Take some downtime. Take once a day to improve your health. The time investment is up to you, but it's relatively small - and the investment is worth it. 
 

When exploring the causes of chronic stress, we often try to identify the underlying problem. Work, financial worries, and relationship problems quickly grab our attention, but minor stresses like lack of sleep or lack of time for hobbies often go unnoticed. However, it's often these smaller stressors that you can address more quickly. Even if you think a solid workout at the gym or an extra few hours in the morning is just a drop in the ocean, lowering your baseline stress level will make you more resilient to other stresses. 
 

By reducing your overall stress level, you can prevent yourself from becoming easily driven crazy by the big and small burdens that life throws at you. If you want to know more about how to manage and reduce stress, doctors can help you. They will help you study effective constraints and take aggressive measures to prevent chronic stress.