April 4, 2025

Mental Health Maintenance

As the cliché saying goes, ‘life is a roller-coaster’, and not everyone gets to enjoy the ride all the time.

It has its ups and downs and hairpin bends that threaten to derail you.

Stress is a word you hear every day – just about anyone you ask will tell you they are stressed, anxious, worried about something or have been (or are) depressed.

Stress is a normal reaction to the challenges we face in life.

A certain amount of stress is necessary to keep us all going; without it, we would be bored and listless.

However, continued stress over a long period of time can be exhausting, and if your energy levels are low because of illness, pain, anxiety, or depression, the additional drain on energy because of stress is a particular problem. Prolonged levels of stress can be one factor that makes you more vulnerable to physical illness and makes recovery more difficult.

Long-term stress, which causes overproduction of cortisol, can compromise immune function. More and more scientists believe stress contributes up to as much as 70% of diseases/illnesses, like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain cancers.

People differ both in the way that they react to stress and the extent to which they are aware of their own stress levels.

Stress may affect you physically, emotionally and in the way that you behave.

There are also easy things you can do to boost your happy Chemicals.