False Beliefs into Destructive Stress Which Makes You Have High Blood Pressure, Heart Disease, Obesity, and Diabetes

Healthful Vitality | 07/05/2021 | False Beliefs into Destructive Stress

Your moral values, behaviors, and perceptions formulate your belief system. False beliefs are negative thoughts you carry about yourself and the people around you. Also known as self-misconceptions or delusions, these thoughts impact your self-confidence, the feelings you hold about your own capabilities, and your connections with others.

Many individuals feel guilty for their false beliefs, when even they are not responsible for the make-up of these negative thoughts. Our thoughts and beliefs are actually developed through our experiences and surrounding environments. When starting to look into false beliefs, people must understand that their internal environments are just as crucial as their external environments. The internal environment is the site where false beliefs are produced by one’s mind at an accelerated rate.

False Beliefs into Destructive Stress

False Beliefs: The Hidden Reason for Destructive Stress

In our normal daily routine, our minds hold almost 60,000 thoughts. A number of these thoughts are repeated again and again. According to experts, more than 90% of those 60,000 daily thoughts are similar to ones we carried the day before. We can be conscious of these thoughts, but we normally tend not to provide them too much consideration.

As our minds repeat these thoughts again and again, they quickly become things we start to believe falsely. These false beliefs are the hidden reason for destructive stress. Surprisingly, we can limit our stress by modifying our self-misconceptions. That’s amazing; false beliefs are learned, so they can be modified by using constructive thinking as well as how we respond to stress.

How Destructive Stress Develops?

A famous Psychologist Albert Ellis demonstrated the development of destructive stress in his popular ABC Model. It is as easy to understand as:

A + B = C

Where,

A = Activating event or stressor
B = Belief (Our repeated thoughts about the stressor that finally become false beliefs)
C = Consequence, which is destructive stress caused by those false beliefs

Activating Event or Stressor + Belief (False beliefs that are Learned) = Consequence or Result, which is “Destructive Stress”

Major Causes of Stress

As discussed above, our internal environment is as crucial as the external environment for developing stress. Major internal causes for developing stress may include:

• Fear and uncertainty
• Pessimism
• Sense of perfectionism
• A constant need to accomplish
• Persistent need for approval
• Attitudes and perceptions
• Lack of confidence and inability to accept uncertainty
• Lack of flexibility and rigid thinking
• Unrealistic expectations
• Negative self-talk
• All-or-nothing behavior

On the other hand, the major external causes for developing stress include:

• Relationship issues
• Major life changes
• Financial problems
• Family and children
• Being too busy

Signs and Symptoms of Stress

Stress can influence almost all aspects of our life, including our behaviors, thinking ability, emotions, and physical health. No region of the body is protected against adverse effects of destructive stress. However, because people manage their stress differently, signs and symptoms of stress may be different for everyone. Therefore, it’s crucial to be well aware of the major warning signs and symptoms of destructive stress, which may include:

Cognitive Features

• Memory issues
• Inability to concentrate
• Extreme negativism
• Poor judgment
• Continuous worrying
• Anxious or racing thoughts

Emotional Features

• Depression
• Irritability or anger
• Anxiety and agitation
• Feeling of loneliness or overwhelmed
• Other mental health disorders

Physical Features

• Pains and Aches
• Nausea, dizziness
• Constipation or diarrhea
• Chest pain, rapid heartbeat
• Frequent colds or flu
• Loss of sex drive

Behavioral Features

• Eating less or more
• Sleep disturbance (Sleeping too little or too much)
• Neglecting responsibilities or procrastinating behaviors
• Withdrawing behaviors
• Using cigarettes, drugs, or alcohol to relax

The Effects of Chronic Stress on Our Health

Chronic, uncontrolled mental stress is generally linked with the development of multiple different medical conditions, such as High Blood Pressure, Heart Disease, Obesity, and Diabetes. Primarily these problems occur due to an imbalance of biochemicals that can depress our immunity and over-stimulate the portion of the nervous system that modulates blood pressure, heart rate, digestion, and hormones. 

False beliefs and destructive stress can disrupt almost every system in our body. They can distress our immune system, upset our reproductive and digestive systems, raise the risk of stroke and heart attack, and accelerate the aging process. It can even rewind our minds and make us more vulnerable to depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders.

According to researchers, the risk for schizophrenia is impacted by both genetic as well as stressful environmental factors and stressful life events, especially during childhood.

According to American Psychological Association, the most common health problems caused or exacerbated by chronic stress may include:

1. High blood pressure
2. Heart disease
3. Obesity
4. Diabetes
5. Depression and anxiety
6. Sleep issues
7. Autoimmune disorders
8. Digestive issues
9. Skin problems, such as eczema
10. Reproductive issues
11. Musculoskeletal problems such as chronic pains and aches
12. Respiratory issues
13. Other mental disorders

Other Impacts and Consequences of False Beliefs

In fact, false beliefs and stress symptoms can impact your whole body, your feelings and thoughts, and even your behavior. False beliefs for perfectionism, accomplishments, and approvals seem to have costly consequences regarding one’s job, performance, and health. Young people, particularly those who are in their initial jobs are more vulnerable to above mentioned consequences due to their false beliefs. 

Self-Help Tools: Monitor and Screen Your Daily Stress with Stress Monitor Apps, Stress Check Tools, and Stress Records

Stress monitor apps, stress check tools, and stress records support you in getting significant self-awareness by monitoring how your lifestyles and living conditions impact your stress and energy levels. This assists you to adopt sustainable and feasible lifestyle modifications, in order to achieve long-term happiness.

The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is a test that measures the degree to which different conditions in your life are perceived as stressful events. It consists of series of questions to evaluate how uncontrollable, overloaded, and unpredictable, you feel during stress.  

Undoubtedly, one of the most important steps in managing your stress is to understand the intensity of your stress. A stress journal or stress record demonstrates what’s stimulating your stress right now and it can also evaluate your ongoing stress level. By maintaining a longer-term record of your daily stress, a comprehensive stress-management program can be developed that may involve several stress-reducing tactics and strategies. There are multiple apps, such as CareClinic’s health app, which can be used as an efficient stress record.

There are also various stress monitor apps that can be used as stress trackers, assisting you to note when you are more relaxed or stressed. By tracking your stress, you will be able to understand a general pattern for your stress levels. Many of these stress monitor apps provide a digital form of strategies and plans that have long been recommended for effective stress management. Examples of some common mental health apps include Pacifica, My Mood Tracker, Breathe2Relax, Happify, Relax Melodies, Headspace, The Worry Box, Calm, and Moodpath.

False Beliefs into Destructive Stress: Overcoming False Beliefs

Our belief system is constantly with us, shaping our behaviors and perceptions about ourselves and the people around us. Most of the time, we fall into false beliefs that negatively impact our daily lives. Luckily, these are reversible and there are a number of ways to overcome these negative beliefs.

Modifying our negative belief system initiates by acknowledging its role in our lives. Once we start to identify our typical mistaken beliefs, we will start to observe what circumstances seem to stimulate our negative belief system the most. This understanding provides us the opportunity to modify our false belief system.

By continuously challenging our false beliefs, we can start to make up new ones that are potentially less stressful and more realistic. By overcoming our fear and thinking positively, we can ultimately defeat our false beliefs.

False Beliefs into Destructive Stress: Stress Management

There are a number of different ways that we can support our body and mind adapt, and become more resilient to the adverse effects of life’s stresses.

Dietary changes and exercise, relaxation and mindfulness techniques (tai chi, yoga, meditation, and massage), Cognitive behavioral therapy, counselling, stress management courses, and medications can all play a significant role in relieving, managing, or coping with stress.

A Journey Towards Positive Mental Health: Try to Adopt the 4 A’s for Effective Stress Management

While stress is a spontaneous reaction from your nervous system, some triggers appear at predictable times i.e. a meeting with your boss, your job-related stress, or your family gatherings. When facing such expected triggers, you can either modify the condition or modify your response. When making a decision for which option to select in any given scenario, it’s beneficial to consider the four A’s: “Alter, Avoid, Adapt, or Accept.”

Related Article: Discovering Episodic Acute Stress: Causes, Symptoms, and Management