6 Ways Stress Is Hurting Your Health—and What You Can Do About It
Do you remember the last time you went a week without feeling stressed out? Americans are a stressed population in general, but millenials, Gen Xers and women have it worst of all, according to the American Psychological Association. And all that stress is taking its toll in the form of myriad health problems, from heart troubles and sleepless nights to packing on unwanted pounds.
It’s not just major life events, like a death in the family, moving or losing your job that can contribute to health problems. Even little nuisances you deal with day in and day out can start to affect your physical and emotional health over time, says clinical psychologist Patrick Raue, Ph.D.
“Research shows that the accumulation of day-to-day problems of living and minor stresses—as they accumulate and build up and become chronic—can be more harmful than big life events,” he says. “They tend to pile up and can take on a life of their own.”