Chronic Concern: 3 Health Effects And How To Deal With It

Chronic anxiety is a very common psychological problem today. As you can imagine, it is almost always characterized by stress and pressure.

Chronic anxiety is similar to anxiety, a symptom that can cause a lot of physical and emotional exhaustion in a person who suffers from it every day.

It’s like a mental storm, a bottomless pit that you fall into every day, where you can not stop thinking about certain things that have not even happened – or that belong to the past.

These situations – when the mind seems determined to suffer or become obsessed with certain things – weaken productivity. As a result , it reduces the quality of life.

It is also important to remember that worry is not useful as a way of dealing with problems.

Why not? When you worry too much, you begin to feel negative and helpless. Then you stop being productive, because you are not focused on more practical strategies.

It is also important to remember one important detail: Chronic anxiety can have a very significant impact on your health.

Let’s look at some of the effects it can have and how we can better deal with it.

Muscle tension due to chronic anxiety

Everyone has experienced this before. The day is over, and you find that the muscles in your neck and jaw are much tighter and ache.

Most of the time, you may not be aware of all the biological reactions that worry can trigger.

• When you worry too much during the day, your brain begins to release cortisol into your bloodstream, the stress hormone.
• The role of cortisol is to prepare you to fight or flee.
• Your brain also begins to send energy and blood to the muscles, to prepare you to respond.
• This causes tension in the muscles and joints, in addition to headaches, abdominal pain, dizziness…

What can you do to reduce muscle tension?

You know that the source of your excitement is too much to worry about. Your strategy is therefore to start working through these obsessive and fruitless thoughts.

Reducing the effects of anxiety, worry and stress requires that you practice the following tips:

• Short-term high-intensity exercises. You need to release energy, channel it and exhaust your body to calm your mind.
• You can choose the exercise that suits you best – but remember that if you have muscle cramps, you should be more careful.
• A variety of sit-ups, walking on a treadmill, or even dancing zumba can be very helpful.

Chronic exhaustion and worry

This happens to most people at some point: The mental anguish, worry and anxiety that you do not know how to deal with, all end up affecting your body.

Your mind is what consumes all your energy, which little by little eats up your passion, and even your desire to perform daily activities.

Little by little you become a victim of the vicious and exhausting cycle. Your physical exhaustion and chronic anxiety captivate you.

What can you do to reduce the effect of this exhaustion?

A positive way to solve your worries is to use what is called “scheduled worry time”. It involves the following:

• Set aside a time of day when you can find a solution to your concerns.
• When a disturbing thought arises, say to yourself: “Now is not the time to give you power over me, I will think of you when I have finished my work.”
• All worries can be used to find a solution. If what you are worried about does not have a solution, it does not make sense to spend time and energy on it.

• It is also important that you never take your worries with you when you go to bed.

Chronic anxiety weakens the immune system

Concerns about a project at work, an interview, or for the conference you are going to are both natural and understandable.

The real problem arises when worry becomes a part of everyday life and occupies all your mind.

• If these reflections and concerns are always negative, it can have a direct impact on your health.
• Not only does it increase your cortisol levels, but your adrenaline also increases.

• Your whole body is on “guard”  because your brain thinks it is a threat to respond to.
• All your biological resources and energy go to your muscles and brain. Other systems, such as the immune system, are completely neglected.
• This makes you stop being able to respond to viruses and bacteria, so that you become more sensitive to infections, colds, allergies…

What can you do to take care of your immune system?

Do not postpone what worries you today until tomorrow – do not let the snowball get bigger, and do not postpone what may have a solution.

When you suffer from stress and anxiety, try to take care of your diet by eating fresh and natural products, and avoid ready meals that are rich in saturated fat.

Be social, share your worries with other people, and lean on your friends to reduce the focus on your anxiety, and tone down what you are obsessed with or see in a negative light.

Work out in the fresh air for at least half an hour every day. Breathe, activate the circulation, relieve muscle tension and free your mind.

To conclude, we have seen that you can confront chronic worry in many different ways. Find a strategy that works best for you, and start channeling your anxiety to live a happier life.