Stress is pressure from the outside world that causes emotional and physical strain on a person. People often have the connotation that one of the factors causing a stroke is stress. But can stress really cause stroke?
Psychotherapists say that we are all exposed to a certain level of stress at any single time, making stress an unavoidable part of life. What we actually need is to learn stress management. When stress is not attended to for a long period of time, the body breaks down and gets sick.
Chronic or long-term stress have the following effects to our body: acne, ulcers, asthma, psoriasis, muscle tension, heart attack, heart failure, low fertility rates, high blood pressure, and weakening of the immune system. Of these effects, high blood pressure is a risk factor to stroke.
Stress, therefore, does not directly cause stroke but high blood pressure which is its long-term effect. It is important then to identify your current level of stress and how you can address it to avoid having a stroke.
Identifying Your Stress Level
Measure your stress level by being keenly aware of yourself and your reaction to certain situations. Keeping a journal is one way to keep you track of this and easily identify how stressed you are at a particular time. There are also tools online that help you measure your stress level real-time that could be of great use for you.
You may also want to use these questions to measure your stress: 1. What type of stress am I having (e.g. family, etc.)? 2. Did I just have a recent big event in my life (e.g. death in the family)? 3. Are my beliefs causing the stress? 4. How am I coping with stress?
Answers to these questions normally provide you the solutions to cope with your stress on top of identifying your stress level.
Addressing Stress
The easiest way to address stress is to laugh at what ever is causing it. Learn to laugh at your mistakes and at the simplest of things. Take life easy. When big events in your life happen, learn to let go and move on immediately.
Letting go begins by acknowledging what happened, honoring the emotions that surfaced because of it, and accepting the consequences that follow due to it. Doing so allows the body to program itself to adapt and removes the conflict that causes the stress.
Stress doesn't cause stroke. Addressing stress, however, keeps you from the risk of high blood pressure that leads to stroke. There are other things you need to do to truly prevent stroke from happening to you. Learning to manage your stress alongside practicing a healthy lifestyle and having sound habits will increase your chances for a life free of diseases like stroke.
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