Stress is the body’s reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. You can experience stress from your environment, your body, and your thoughts. Even positive life changes such as a promotion, a new home, or graduating nursing school causes stress. What makes stress a bad thing is when we are exposed to high levels of negative stress on a daily basis. This chronic exposure to stress can wreak havoc on our body systems, therefore we must take steps to relax, unwind, and minimize stress from our daily lives in order to keep our NCLEX stress to a minimum.
How too much stress messes everything up
Since nursing students and new graduates are exposed to lots of stressful situations, we must take the initiative to understand what we can to to reduce our stress levels in order to live happier, healthier and more productive lives. The first step in working towards implementing effective self-care strategies is to understand how stress affects us.
Let’s look at how stress affects each body system:
The Nervous System – when the body is stressed, either physically or mentally, the sympathetic nervous system signals the adrenal glands to release adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones are responsible for increasing the heart rate, significantly decreasing digestive processes, and increases blood sugar levels. Chronic stress on the nervous system can contribute to increased anxiety, digestive disorders, and diabetes.
The Musculoskeletal System – under stress, the muscles throughout the body tense up, which could lead to acute tension headaches, muscle cramping, and stiffness. Chronic stress can contribute to impaired musculoskeletal flexibility and mobility, as well as chronic migraines and blurred vision.
The Respiratory System – stress makes the respiratory rate increase, sometimes leading to hyperventilation. When a person begins to hyperventilate, they can become dizzy, and incapable of doing physical activity. Chronic stress on the respiratory system can contribute to shortness or breath, panic attacks, and frequent syncopal episodes.
The Cardiovascular System – short term stress, such as sitting in traffic, or being nervous for an interview can make the heart rate increase, and cause systemic vasodilation, which increases the blood flow to all body parts. Chronic stress on the cardiovascular system however can cause, hypertension, and inflammation of the coronary arteries, which can lead to palpitations, or worse – cardiovascular disease.
The Endocrine System – stress causes the adrenal glands to release adrenaline and cortisol, which makes the heart rate increase, and prepares the body for the fight or flight response. These hormones also signal the liver to release more glucose into the bloodstream, which helps with increased energy needed to fight or flee. Chronic stress causes an excess build up of these stress hormones, and blood sugars which can cause many disorders such as diabetes, and chronic inflammatory processes.
The Gastrointestinal System – stress can lead to to overeating or even under eating, these changes can wreak havoc on your digestive health. Overeating can lead to heartburn, acid reflux, and gastric distress. Under eating can diminish your energy stores, and can lead to malnourishment. Stress can also cause nausea, vomiting, constipation and diarrhea. Chronic stress on the gastrointestinal system can cause serious complications such as malabsorption disorders, stomach ulcers, and certain GI cancers.
The Reproductive System – stress can interrupt the normal processes of the reproductive system in both men and women. Sex drive and performance can be greatly affected. The increased stress hormones can decrease sperm production, and alter the normal processes for successful pregnancy. Chronic stress on the reproductive system can leave men impotent and sterile, while it can leave women with a variety of complications such as absent, irregular or painful menstruation, and decreased sexual desire.
Negative Effects of Stress on the Body
According to the American Institute of Stress (2017), there are numerous emotional and physical disorders that have been linked to increased stress levels. These disorders include, but are not limited to: depression, anxiety, heart attacks, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, immune system disturbances, viral disorders ranging from the common cold to HIV, cancer, as well as autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis.
In addition, stress can have direct effects on the skin including: rashes, hives, atopic dermatitis, and plaque psoriasis. It has been shown that stress also greatly impacts the gastrointestinal system, contributing to disorders such as: GERD, peptic ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, and ulcerative colitis. Stress also greatly increases the likelihood of experiencing insomnia, forgetfulness, and developing degenerative neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease.
Looking back at how the body releases large amounts of stress hormones and cascades of inflammatory response to prepare the body for fight or flight during stressful situations, we can better understand how chronic stress can greatly damage tissues by interrupting normal processes that regulate homeostasis and promote healing.
Basic Techniques for NCLEX Stress Management
The first step toward reducing stress is learning what causes you stress. By knowing what causes you stress, you can better avoid those triggers. However, there are many stressors that we cannot avoid, such as: school, work, children, financial burdens, traffic, the Nursing Boards Exam, etc. For these daily life events that are nearly impossible to avoid, we must learn a variety of techniques to manage our stress. Here are three strategies to help you de-stress and regain focus on rocking the NCLEX!
- Relaxation techniques. Relaxation techniques involve a variety of exercises that help to bring on a relaxation response. A relaxation response is a physiological change that can help lower your blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, oxygen consumption, and stress hormones. You can achieve a relaxation response with activities such as meditation, guided imagery, yoga, and, exercise, singing, prayer and deep breathing exercises. Avoid too much caffeine, get regular sleep, and be sure to decrease screen time in the evening hours to allow your body to wind down and relax.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is based on the idea that changing unhealthy thinking can change your emotions. One of the easiest ways to use CBT is to begin finding the positive aspects in everything around you, rather than focusing on the negative. For example, if you are stuck in traffic, instead of being angry or upset about the traffic, put on some of your favorite music and focus on how much you enjoy listening to the songs. Living in the light of gratitude – grateful for your favorite music while stuck in your car, will greatly decrease your stress levels. Similarly, when you become stressed out about studying for the NCLEX, try to think about how it will feel when you pass. Focusing on the feeling of pride, accomplishment, and gratitude will help to lower stress levels.
- Goal setting. When people set goals for themselves, they work, live and play with a positive sense of commitment and drive. Setting goals to invest in NCLEX tutoring, exercise three times per week, spend every weekend surrounded by friends and family, or working hard to get that promotion at a job are all great examples of goal setting. When it comes to reducing stress about the NCLEX, you will want to establish a structured study routine, and practice tried and true NCLEX test-taking strategies so that you will keep your anxieties and stress levels low.
Do you have high levels of NCLEX stress? Are you afraid that test-anxiety will keep you from passing the NCLEX? Need help establishing a study routine that will assist you in developing strategies for NCLEX success? Don’t worry – The Nurse Speak can help!
For more information about NCLEX Prep, Tutoring Services, and ways to reduce your NCLEX stress – please visit our contact page and let us know how we can help you develop strategies for success!
Best Wishes,
-Damion
