Effects of stress You can go through everyday not even realizing the effects of stress on you. You may feel tired all of the time, not be able to focus because thoughts seem to swirl through your head. We all know that everybody associates ulcers with stress. More and more doctors today are recognizing stresses effects on the heart too. Do you toss and turn at night never seeming to get a good nights sleep only to wake up and feel more tired than when you went to bed? Do you constantly have shoulder and neck pain that seems to never go away? This is all related to the stress that slowly day after day has built up without you even realizing what it was. Stress causes chemical changes in your body as your brain tries to cope with it also. Your brain will call for the release of endorphins into your system that are normally meant for short bursts like an adrenaline rush. Only now, they are being pumped into your system at a much higher level and more frequently than your body can stand. Over time this has multiple effects on joints, muscles and even organs. Not to mention the muscle tension that builds up so unnoticeably that over time can have an effect on your posture, and even chest pains. Which in turn effects your mood. Physical effects of stress Headaches, body aches, back, neck and shoulder pain. Stomach ulcers, heart burn, cramps and digestive problems. High blood pressure, chest pains, heart conditions and even stroke. These are just some of the physical effects on the body that doctors are now studying and beginning to associate with stress. One example I just saw on the news was a statistic from a medical study that showed that middle aged women are 2.4 percent more at risk of having a stroke just do to stress. Did you know they have even done a study to show that meditation alone makes a different in reducing high blood pressure. Mental effects of stress Dizziness, confusion, short term memory loss and lack of focus have all been linked to stress also. Your mind racing with a flurry of thoughts while your trying to concentrate on a task at work or home. How about the emotional effects. Depression, anxiety, fear and anger are all amplified by stress Meditation for stress Meditation for stress is one of the simplest things you can do to begin to reverse all of these issues. Even if you have just decided to start meditating and begin to practice just 20 minutes a day you will start to notice the relief quickly. You see, even when you are just learning and starting to clear your mind of all of the jumbled confusion that the flurry of thoughts create, your brain starts to recognize this and in turn starts to re balance the body. Once you start to learn meditation you will notice your mood has changed, you have better focus and memory. You will also notice the physical issues start to melt away. You will finally start getting a full, restful nights sleep with no more tossing and turning til 3am. One more tip here about physical health and meditation. I read a study several years ago conducted at a Boston hospital that showed 100 percent of heart attack victims they treated over the course of their study were what they referred to as high chest breathers. This means that when they were working, working out or any strenuous activity that they would breathe high in their chest. You know the feeling, as you huff and puff your chest is heaving in and out. This is important because it creates undo pressure on your organs and primarily the heart. Learning to meditate you learn to start breathing correctly again the way your body was designed to do. Using your diaphragm and pulling your lungs down, allowing them to fill fully and get the maximum amount of oxygen rich blood in your system to calm you down. Stress is all a mental thing and with meditation it can be eliminated. Sure there will be times when you feel pressured for one reason or another. But since you are meditating you can deal with the problem causing the pressure like a deadline at work or schedule conflict in your personal life that comes up and overcome it. You will have the relaxed focused mindset that will help you get past it. Stress can be brought on by worrying a lot also. Once you start meditating you with be able to better understand that you can?t control everything and then the worry becomes a concern that may come up in your thoughts but wont be a constant flurry in your mind. If you haven?t checked out the one technique video yet you need to. In it I describe a technique that is so quick and easy to learn and so powerful in starting to relieve stress and the best part is you don?t have to know anything about meditation and it only takes about 3 minutes to do. Once you try it you will be amazed at how simple but powerful this technique is and I guarantee you will start noticing a difference from the first time you try it.