Can You Be Addicted to Stress?

Stress is something everyone experiences, but when you get into high levels of chronic stress, you are putting your health and wellness at risk. You can worsen your anxiety and depression, have issues in your personal life, have disruptions at school, and eventually face burnout and overwhelm. According to a 2015 American Psychological Association study, approximately one in four Americans experience extreme stress on a regular basis. Though stress isn’t always bad, high levels of stress can wreak havoc on our well-being. But sometimes it may seem like we have created a pattern of an addiction. But is that possible, stress addiction? In short, yes.

Stress is part of our fight-or-flight response. Once the stress response is activated, our body activates “stress hormone” cortisol, adrenaline, and dopamine into our blood stream to send energy to muscles and the brain. Central nervous system activity, including body temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate increase so we’re ready to take on the challenge with focused attention. Once the threat has passed, the body returns to normal.

Where we get into trouble is when stress becomes so habitual, that we seek more stress, such as overworking, and we become addicted to that heightened state. Because stress isn’t just a mental reaction but also a physiological one, the “high” that stress causes can become addictive for some people.

Are you able to notice any times where you felt you thrived on stress? Have you ever tried to take time off only to find it takes days just to get yourself to decompress? One of the challenges is fighting our tendency to be pulled back into the rush. It’s important to recognize what a stress imbalance does to our system, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

Ways stress can affect you

Most people with a lot of stress get used to it, but that doesn’t make it normal. Before you look at ways to reduce stress, it is a good idea to understand WHY you need to reduce it.

Increased depression and anxiety: Stress increases stress hormones and feelings of both depression and anxiety (and can be a trigger if you suffer from them).

Personality and behavioral changes: You can become agitated, irritable, frustrated, hostile, bitter, angry, more suspicious, overthink situations, and lack motivation.

Physical effects: It might start with chronic physical pain like headaches, muscle tension, neck or back pain, and chest pain. It can then morph into other physical symptoms, like fatigue, trouble sleeping, digestive issues and stomach cramping, fatigue, hair loss, and skin changes.

Ways to manage stress

Accept what stress is and that it is something to work through. You need to identify your stress, define it, and realize that it is not something you did wrong. If you focus too much on stress, you are only releasing more of the stress hormone, which is going to make it feel a lot worse than it has to be.

Find moments to calm your mind and body. Sometimes, this means just taking a minute to practice deep breathing, while in other cases, you have a little more time to focus on meditating or practicing mindfulness. You need these extra moments throughout the day that will help you deal with stressful situations as they arise, in order to prevent it from getting worse and leading to being completely overwhelmed.

Think about the situation differently. Stand outside of the problem and put aside your own feelings about it and how it is negatively affecting your life. Just for a moment, look at it from a completely different angle. Can you find a way to be positive or optimistic? At the very least, is it helping to teach you a lesson?

Get outside to regroup mentally. Give yourself a break whenever you can, go outside or to a different environment, and just appreciate your new surroundings. Give yourself a few minutes to be outside in your garden, go for a drive, or walk to a nearby park. The energy is different outside. You have fresh air, sunshine, new sounds and smells, new senses that develop.

Start with daily activities for your health and well being. Think about what you can do for yourself that helps your physical or mental health, reduces stress, and helps you relax. Some daily activities include: getting better sleep, relaxing, writing in a journal, spending quiet time to read, drinking more water, eating healthier foods, and exercising.

Lean on people. Sometimes you need help, reassurance, and support. Find people who you know and trust that they understand what you are going through – and are going to help you with your stress, instead of adding more burden to your life.

Stress doesn’t have to control your life. By taking the time to work through stress and learning to live in the present moment, we can improve our overall well-being.

The Arise Society provides support for young adults who desire to work through emotional issues to achieve independence and academic success. We help our students grow from their problems and empower them with the confidence to lead happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. You can lean on us.

Sources

https://www.stress.org/are-you-a-stress-addict

https://www.talkspace.com/blog/can-you-be-addicted-to-stress/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/stress