Common Examples Of How Stress Effects You

By John Gray

Adrenaline and cortisol serve an important survival function in life-and-death situations, but the body is not designed to accommodate the continual release of stress hormones. When we are under unrelenting but not life-threatening stress, these hormones are still released, and over time they disrupt our digestive and immune systems, resulting in lower energy and susceptibility to illness.

With long-term stress, cortisol and adrenaline create unhealthy fluctuations in our blood sugar levels that can produce moodiness, mild depression, a sense of urgency, irritability, anxiety, and general distress.

And all these can affect our relationships, especially with those closest to us.

These are some common examples of how stress affects us and thereby our relationships:

1. Mild depression inhibits our passion.

2. A sense of urgency takes away our patience and flexibility.

3. A sense of distress, anxiety, or panic greatly diminishes our capacity to be happy.

4. Irritability overshadows our feelings of affection, appreciation, and tenderness.

5. Decreased energy limits how much we can freely give of ourselves.

6. With unstable blood sugar levels, our moods either become flat or fluctuate too much.

7. Men lose interest in the relationship, while women feel overwhelmed, with too much to do and not enough time or support.

When we understand the common symptoms of chronic stress, we can recognize why so many relationships fail today.

Learning how stress affects our day-to-day behavior should motivate us to lower our own stress levels.

By updating our relationship skills, we can convert our relationships to lower stress levels rather than being another source of stress.