The Mental and Physical Toll of a High-Stress Incident
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By PAGE Editor
Stress is your body’s response to a challenging or demanding situation. It is something that we all experience and is considered normal. But there is a great difference between the small stressful situations that we face every day and the stress caused by some incidents or traumatic events. Dealing with high-stress situations affects your mental and physical well-being and leaves a significant mark that may take a lot of time to erase. As the stress can have a great impact on our way of living, being educated on this topic and knowing how to deal with it is an important step towards your healing journey and reclaiming control over your life again.
Your Body Reacts Before Your Mind
When emotionally overwhelming and stressful events occur, such as the death of loved ones, car accidents, natural disasters, etc., your body comes into “fight or flight” mode. Our bodies are designed to react before our minds even become conscious of the situation. The heart starts to beat faster, your breathing speeds up, and adrenaline starts to do its job. This kind of reaction is a normal response to such situations, but the problem occurs when this reaction lasts longer than usual. People who have been dealing with this condition have reported that they have been dealing with severe headaches, muscle tension, and chronic fatigue as a consequence, even long after the traumatic event happened. Studies show that this kind of reaction was the most common among people who have been involved in traffic accidents.
Invisible Wounds Are Harder To Heal
Physical and mental wounds that traumatic and stressful situations cause are both challenging and hard to deal with, but as physical wounds can be seen by the eye, it makes it easier to take care of them and heal them. A long-term problem that leaves deeper and more serious consequences is the invisible wounds that almost every human has to heal on their own. Sometimes, people don’t even know how to deal with them, so they cover up the pain with a smile on their face and carry on, but that is a method that only makes things worse in the future.
Physiological and legal problems are the most common ones, which is why you should always consider getting professional help after being exposed to a highly stressful event. For example, Houston’s trusted car accident lawyers can provide you with legal assistance, educate you on your rights in such situations, and give you the peace of mind during these hard times. Consulting with a psychologist is another very important help that should never be neglected, as it can make your healing journey flow much easier.
Dealing With Chronic Stress
Traumatic events can cause chronic stress, especially if people have to deal with medical, legal, or financial problems afterward. The combinations of circumstances in such situations cause various emotions that build up through time and leave a lot of consequences that can have an impact even long after the incident. The occurrence of chronic stress causes many health problems as weakening the immune system, increasing the risk of heart diseases, hypertension, and diabetes. Besides physical health, it also greatly impacts mental health as it leads to frequent “burnout,” and people feel tired and unmotivated all the time.
Working Towards Your Healing Is Most Important
Every healing journey is challenging and has many ups and downs. In these kinds of situations, it is very tough as it's usually followed by inconvenient memories that cannot be easily removed from our minds, and different problems that come after the incident. Even though you may feel far from healing on some days, sticking to impactful habits can make it easier for you. It is important to make a consistent routine that will make you feel like you are in control of your life again.
Taking care of your body and your mind, as well as doing some beneficial things like reading, exercising, following a healthy diet, etc., are small but impactful steps that can make a big difference. Surround yourself with people who care about you and try to do some daily activities together. Walking or watching a movie with your loved ones can motivate you to keep going, even on those days when you simply don’t feel like it. When it comes to healing, these days come often, and that is completely normal.
We cannot control the events that are meant to happen in our lives, but we can control our reactions to them. The most powerful thing someone can do is try to understand the situation they are in, make an effort to put themselves back together, and get the best out of it.
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