Signs Your Body Is Holding Onto Stress & Ways to Let Go

Most people know that excessive levels of stress can cause chaos in the mind, but many don’t realize it can take a toll on the body as well. Often, stress can manifest itself in other areas of the body in ways we may not recognize as related to stress.

Is your body holding onto stress? Explore some of the ways your body may be holding onto stress and use these tips to help you let it go.

Jaw

Stress isn’t defined to one set of feelings unfortunately. Your body can react to stress caused by a myriad of different emotions including anger.

For some, anger causes their jaw to clench and for the muscles around their mouths to become tight and activated over a long period of time, which can aggravate this area of the face. If you notice your jaw clenched, its best to try yawning or sighing with your mouth wide open to help release it from holding onto stress.

Neck

Modern life calls for a lot of looking down. We look down at pieces of paper at meetings, down at our phones while texting and sometimes angled awkwardly as we stare at our computer screens for hours every day.

This repetitive movement and angling of the next for extended periods of time can cause the muscles to tense and the blood flow to slow in the area – especially if you are sitting in the same position without moving. A simple at-your-desk solution to this discomfort could be rolling your head from side to side (gently!) periodically and finding ways to keep it moving once in awhile so as not to keep it still for too long.

Shoulders

There’s a reason many of us love back massages – they can help us release tension we’ve been carrying around with us. Stress can cause many people to feel defeated, and at times our body language reflects this sentiment. Your shoulders could begin to round and approach your ears and we transform our bodies into a more compressed version of itself.

While we absolutely recommend getting a massage to pamper yourself, you could also try something as simple as inhaling and lifting your shoulders to your ears, then exhaling and drawing your shoulders down and back. It really helps to guide your shoulder blades towards each other and down for a deep stretch.

Stress Response Support from BIOVEA

Stress is a natural part of life, but it can take a toll on your overall wellbeing. In these times of strain, it may be beneficial provide your body with beneficial adaptogens, which are thought to help balance the body’s natural response to stress and fatigue.

BIOVEA is proud to offer a variety of popular and versatile adaptogens such as ashwagandha, astragalus and maca root powders to support your stress response and help you feel your best.