Aches, pains and fatigue: Are they because of stress?

Are you constantly tired and fatigued pushing yourself to meet the demands of your day? Do you wake up and still feel tired? Are you experiencing consistent body pains or tense muscles? Is your energy depleted easily, and you feel burn out all too soon? Can you spot the physical causes of these physical complaints or perhaps it is because of chronic stress?
This article will explore the mind-body connection and stress-induced physical symptoms. It will also provide tips to improve your mental and hence physical health.

What is stress?

Stress is your body’s automatic response to difficulties and dangerous situations. Stress can be good too as it can help you meet your deadlines, perform and make apt decisions. However, long-term stress can be detrimental to your health and not just mentally and emotionally but physically too. We have a mind-body connection and what goes on in the mind influences the body. Chronic stress is chronic and can manifest in the body in the form of physical symptoms.

The mind-body connection

Stress triggers the fight, flight and freeze response in the body. Chemicals and hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are released which prepare the body to deal with stressful situations. Your heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure and perspiration increase. The muscles become taut, eyes dilate, and alertness increases. Your body is preparing to stay and fight the stressor or run towards safety. Sometimes people may freeze, unable to act to the new situation to avoid further danger.

Prolonged exposure to stress or chronic stress can lead to serious physical symptoms. In today’s fast-paced world, stress is a constant factor for most people. Whether it may be academic, job related, juggling multiple roles at the same time, dealing with family expectations or navigating social relationships, stress pops up everywhere for everyone.
Unchecked and untreated it may lead to:

Muscular tension

Stress causes the muscles to become tensed. Chronic stress will cause muscles to be tensed for a long period of time. This can lead to pains in the body such as neck and back pain. Tension-type and migraine headaches can also occur because of prolonged muscular tension. Studies have also linked chronic stress to fibromyalgia which leads to widespread bodily pain and fatigue.

Fatigue and insomnia

Chronic stress creates high cortisol and adrenaline levels in our bodies. High cortisol and adrenaline levels may disrupt sleeping habits. Cortisol and adrenaline prepare the body for an emergency by increasing alertness and giving the body more energy. This makes it difficult to sleep. Moreover, even after the appropriate hours of sleep your body may feel tired and unrested. This is because the mind was still active and unable to rest.

Digestive system issues

Stress disrupts the mind gut connection. It can negatively affect the good bacteria in the stomach necessary for healthy functioning of the digestive system and overall body. Therefore, stress may lead to acid reflux, nausea, bloating, diarrhea or constipation. Chronic stress can lead to inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome consisting of a group of symptoms such as inflammation of intestines, chronic diarrhea and constipation.

Reproductive health issues

Stress can also negatively impact reproductive health in the body. It can lead to an imbalance of reproductive hormones in the body. An imbalance in the body’s hormones can lead to aches, fatigue and reduced sexual desire. Men may experience erectile dysfunction or impotence whilst women may experience delayed, absent or painful menstrual cycles.

How to manage and reduce stress-induced symptoms?

Practice Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques

Deep breathing, meditation, and yoga aid in balancing emotions and reduce stress. A simple deep breathing exercise is the 4-7-8 technique. Breathe in for 4 seconds, hold the breath for 7 seconds and exhale slowly for 8 seconds. This will help to calm down your body bringing it out of the fight or flight mode.

Regular physical activity and movement

Befriend physical activity. It does not have to be a gruelling 45-minute cardio session or something that requires a fancy gym membership. Find any type of movement your body loves. It may be a walk in the park, busting out your favourite dance moves or playing tag with your friends. Physical activity reduces cortisol and increases endorphins which are the body’s happy hormones.

Nurture a good support system

Talk to supporting and optimistic people. Try joining support groups at your school, college campus, work or online. Learn to avoid people who bring down your energy and drain you. Strengthen your existing relationships with family, friends and other community members. Try opening up to them about your problems if they are supportive people. Positive social interactions are known to decrease stress and increase positive emotion.

Pick a balanced diet

Try to eat all types of foods especially those rich in probiotics and anti-inflammatory properties. Examples include yogurt and fermented foods as well as fruits, veggies and nuts. Certain nutrients such as B vitamins, magnesium, omega 3 fatty acids and probiotics support neurotransmitter health which in turn supports mental and emotional health.

Prioritize healthy sleeping

Try limiting the use of screens at least one hour before going to bed. The white light from the screens upsets our sleeping patterns keeping us awake for much longer than we want. Sufficient sleep also allows us to better cope with stressful situations.

Final Takeaways

The main takeaways from this post are to understand that stress can have very real physical outcomes too alongside mental and emotional ones. Many of us go through our day to day lives not noticing that our physical symptoms are a result of prolonged stress. We may take over the counter medications to treat our headaches and pains or increase our caffeine consumption to fight lethargy and fatigue. What is more important is to get to the root of our physical symptoms and give priority to stress management. That is the key to breaking this cycle of physical and mental fatigue.