Stress is a far more serious condition than many people are aware of. Stress can cause a number of serious health issues including depression, anxiety, heart disease, insomnia, and obesity amongst other things. So, if you’re feeling stressed, it’s pretty important that you do what you can to decompress and start feeling better again.

The problem is, a lot of people who are suffering from stress often indulge in behaviors that will only serve to make the problem worse. If you’re feeling stressed and you’re doing any of the following things, you could actually be making the problem worse!

Ruminating

Ruminating is the process of going over and over and over the same thought in your head. Usually, it is negative thoughts that you obsess over when you are ruminating so you should be able to see why this really isn’t a good idea when you’re stressed out. 

The good news is meditation is an excellent antidote to rumination, So next time you’re going over and over how you made a terrible mistake at work or obsessing about the breakup of your relationship, try meditating and see how much better you feel.

Using substances

Feeling stressed about work? Drink a bottle of wine at the end of the evening. Stressed about the test tomorrow? Take one of the most common types of study drugs and everything will be great, right? Wrong. Although various substances may seem like the answer to your stresses, most of them are addictive, and they’re almost always less than helpful, making you feel worse, not better, in the long term. If you’re tempted to use substances as a way of coping with life’s stress, seek a therapist instead. They will teach you lots of healthy techniques for destressing after work or preparing for a big test without going crazy and you will be far much happier as a result.

Not sleeping enough

If you’re stressed and you’re staying up all night, you really aren’t helping yourself,. Sleep deprivation is a key cause of stress within itself, so if you cope with stress by binge-watching Netflix, you might want to rethink that particular strategy. Can’t sleep? Try spritzing your pillow with soothing lavender, which could help you destress on its own, or if that doesn’t work talk to your doctor about possibly trying sleep medication until things get back to normal.

Eating junk

Many of us are emotional eaters when we’re stressed or depressed we reach for the potato chips or cookies. This often makes us feel better temporarily, but once the junk food high has worn off, we not only feel stressed but also bloated and sluggish from the food we’ve consumed. A much better strategy is to eat a diet that’s high in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Why? Because these healthy foods contain many of the vitamins and minerals our body needs to feel healthy, calm, and relaxed.

Bottling things up

The more you hold your stress inside you, the more it will eat away at you until you really cannot cope anymore. It’s far healthier for you to speak to someone, anyone, about your stress than it is to try and cope with it alone. Ideally, you should talk to a qualified counselor about your stress, but a good friend or family member can be just as helpful. Just make sure you choose to confide in someone you know is likely to be supportive.

Not enjoying yourself

Fun is the enemy of stress. If you’re having a great time playing ball with a friend, watching your favorite comedy movie, or trying out a new creative hobby, your mind will firmly be taken away from your problems you’ll be living in the moment and your stress will melt away for a little while, at least. Have fun regularly, and you’ll soon start to see an improvement.

Not Exercising

Yes, you knew it was coming, but there is no denying that moving your body regularly is a great stress buster, It gets those positive hormones flowing and gives you a new appreciation for your body that will give you a serious confidence boost. The key is to find an exercise that you genuinely enjoy doing - that way you will be able to do it regularly and it won’t be yet another source of stress for you to deal with.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by stress, make sure that you aren’t doing the things that will make it worse, and do make an effort to take positive actions that will get you out of it faster.