A recent study released in America by the American Psychological Association states that about 72% of the adult population around the world is dealing with considerably more stress today than adults used to 10, 20, and 30 years ago.
Our world has changed considerably and continues to change on an almost daily basis. All corners of the globe have been mapped, and thanks to technology there is more opportunity – and more competition – today than there ever was before.
This has people feeling very on edge, very anxious, and very nervous, as the future is anything but certain endings have a tendency to change right underneath our feet.
At the same time, there are some considerable myths and misconceptions out there regarding stress that likely have you pulling your hair out. Let’s get in front of these myths ASAP to cut back on the stress and pressure you may be dealing with already.
“Some stress is good for you”
Though you are certainly going to want to learn how to best manage and mitigate any stress that you may be dealing with on a routine basis, the truth of the matter is that you want to eliminate as much stress and pressure so that it doesn’t create biological and biochemical reactions throughout your body that physically manifest themselves in negative ways.
Sure, it’s important that you don’t bury your head in the sand and refuse to face reality – but that doesn’t mean that you want to overload yourself so that you become stressed out just because “you should”.
“You can always tell when someone is stressed out”
Yes, there are definitely some physical manifestations of stress that are pretty easy to recognize – folks become tired, unfocused, forget full, and usually have a short temper – but some are better with internalizing stress than others and you may never recognize that they are stressed out at all.
Do not make assumptions about someone’s state of mind unless you know exactly what’s going on beneath the surface.
“Alcohol it is the ultimate relaxer”
A lot of folks love nothing more than coming home after a long stressful day at the office and grabbing a cold one or a glass of wine to kind of relax and decompress, but it may not be the most effective tool – and it may even be exacerbating your situation.
A 2012 report from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse shows that long-term drinking has a negative impact on your brain chemistry and your ability to handle anxiety. Daily drinking can cause significant issues later down the line.