Stress in history of humanity

Stress is something very common todays day in age as well as throughout human history. Stress is a probable cause of the difference in speed which human civilisations have developed in history, it is probably the answer why Northern parts of the worlds civilizations developed much faster than Southern civilizations. Why industrial revolution started in Great Britain where there is mostly cold climate, not in Africa or India or anywhere else where there is very warm climate.

Stress that was caused by cold climate in northern civilizations made people constantly struggle to survive and come up with new solutions to better survive the winters by building stronger and warmer buildings, prepare for the winter in the summer and finding new ways to make their lives easies.

Stress made people think about the future and prepare for the worst. As the time went on, civilizations became more powerful and people shared their knowledge with the rest of the worlds civilizations and we all grew. Some slower and some faster. Until we have reached todays day in age, the information age. Stress is still here, for all this time. But today we mostly don’t need to worry about predators in the forest, freezing to death or where we can find and a elk to feed our families. Today, most of our survival problems have been dealt with.



Since we don’t need to fight for our survival these days, we do need to keep in mind our stress levels. While short term stress itself is not bad for us at all, it will help us get things done and can be very helpful for our lives and for our health, however long term stress can be very bad for us and can lead up to many more chronic illnesses. As we can’t get rid of all of the stress in our lives, it helps if put ourselves through a lot short term stress to relieve the long term stress.

Symptoms of Stress

Lack of Focus

When your stressed out it is very hard to keep focus on your goals, because your mind is stuck and on a repeating cycle of thoughts that causes your stress. Your performance at work or school will be affected when you can’t concentrate on your assignments. You will also realise that you can’t think as good, which may affect your decision-making. A number of medical conditions may also contribute to or cause inability to concentrate.

Increased Heart Rate

When you’re stressed out your heart rate will increase, you might feel heart palpitations or heart rhythm disorders. This will most likely make your stress levels increase even more.
Stress affects your respiratory and cardiovascular systems. During the stress response, you breathe faster in an effort to quickly distribute oxygen-rich blood to your body.

When under stress, your heart also pumps faster. Stress will cause your blood vessels to constrict and divert more oxygen to your muscles so you’ll have more strength to take action. This will also raise your blood pressure.
Frequent or chronic stress will make your heart work too hard for too long when it doesn’t need to. When your blood pressure rises, so will the risks for having a stroke or heart attack.

Reduced Sex Drive/Libido

Stress causes loss of interest in sex, your mind is unable to focus on sex and will stay on worrying subjects, stress is very weary for the body and mind. It’s common to lose your desire for sex when you’re under constant stress. As short term stress may cause men to produce more of testosterone, this effect doesn’t last for long.
When stress continues for a long period, a man’s testosterone levels begin to drop.

This will interfere with sperm production and cause erectile dysfunction and in some cases impotence. Stress can also raise the risk of infection for male prostate and reproductive organs.
For women, stress may affect the menstrual cycle. Stress may also lead to irregular, heavier, or more painful periods.

Lack of emotional energy

Stress makes you feel like you have no desire or strength to do anything. This is the beginning of depression. People who are experiencing emotional exhaustion often feel like they have no power or control over what happens in their life. They may feel that they are stuck and trapped in a certain situation.

Lack of energy, not enough sleep and decreased motivation can make it difficult to overcome emotional exhaustion. As the time goes by, this stressed out state can cause permanent damage to your health.
Anyone who is experiencing long term stress can become emotionally exhausted and overwhelmed. In hard times, emotional exhaustion can creep up on you, but it’s never too late to get help.

Problems Sleeping

Also known as insomnia, your mind is circulating on stressful subjects, trying to find the solution to your problems, most of the time it starts at bed time and will make you unable to fall asleep. Sleep deprivation is one of the key elements for more stress.

Insomnia is a very common sleep disorder derived from stress and is defined as persistent difficulty with falling asleep, maintaining sleep and overall quality of the sleep. It occurs even if you have good 8 hours to spend on sleep and comfortable place to sleep. People with insomnia experience a strong daytime sleepiness, tiredness, discomfort and other impairments when they are awake, but are unable to fall asleep.

Forming of Depression

This is the point where Stress becomes Depression, although stress is still there, the feeling of depression overwhelms the stress. To relieve the depression, one must first heal from stress. Sustained stress, leads to elevated hormones like cortisol, the “stress hormone” and reduced serotonin and other neurotransmitters in the brain, which has been linked to depression.

As these chemical systems are working as they should, they regulate biological processes like sleep, appetite, energy and sex drive, and permit expression of normal moods and emotions.
When the stress response fails to shut off and reset after a difficult situation has passed, it can lead to depression in susceptible people.

Ways to relieve stress

Exercise



Exercise is one of the most key things you can do to reduce stress.
It can seem counterproductive, but putting physical stress on your body through exercise can relieve mental stress. Exercise will lower your body’s stress hormones, cortisol, if done regularly.

It will also help release your endorphins, which are chemicals that will improve your mood and work like natural painkillers. The benefits are strongest when you exercise regularly. People who exercise regularly are less likely to experience anxiety and stress than those who don’t exercise at all.
As you exercise regularly, you will feel more competent, confident and happy in your body, which in turn promotes mental wellbeing

Put extra effort on your sleeping habits



Sleep is a very effective against stress. Following a regular 8-9 hour sleep routine will calm and restore your body, it will improve your ability to concentrate, regulate your mood, sharpen your true judgment. You will become a better at solving problems and will be better handle stress when you are well rested. Lack of sleep, , reduces your energy and decreases mental clarity.


Research shows that lack of sleep will make you more emotionally reactive, more impulsive and more sensitive to negative situations. These sleep related cognitive impairments can bring stress into your life in any number of ways, from creating difficulty in relationships to causing problems with job performance.

Take time for Yourself



Make a time-block for yourself every day where you don’t think about things you need to get done. You could make a habit of going on walks or reading a book in outdoors. You can also use this time to Journal and write down your true thoughts. They don’t need to make sense, no one is going to read it beside you.


There are a lot of evidence out there on the outcomes of journal keeping therapy, and evidence points to its effectiveness in helping people identify and accept their emotions, manage their stress, and ease the symptoms of mental illness. 

Journaling will help you express your thoughts and feelings without judgement, especially when you’re in a predicament of having no one to talk to about your emotions.

Spending time with loved ones



Talking about your life with your friends and family is a amazing for reducing stress, support from them help you get through stressful times. Just like journaling, unloading all your troublesome topics and issues to someone who loves you works like magic, just the act of sharing will reduce the stress and gives you a sense of belonging, which will help you through tough times.


Studies have found that spending time with friends and family will help release oxytocin, a natural stress reliever. Also people with the smallest of social connections were most likely to suffer from depression and anxiety

Laughing



It’s difficult to feel stressed or depressed when you’re laughing out loud. It’s great for your mental health. When you’re in a habit of laughing regularly or you’re just a happy, stressed out person, in the long term, laughter can also help you improve your immune system and over all mood.
There’s a study done with people with cancer that found that people who were in the laughter intervention group experienced more stress relief than those who were simply distracted.

You can watch a funny TV shows or spending time with friends who make you laugh. I also recommend going out to standup comedy shows in your area, they are a great places laugh together with strangers and meet new likeminded people and connect with them.