What It Feels Like to Be Emotionally and Physically Stressed
Stress affects both the mind and the body. It can make it tougher to think clearly, leaving you forgetful and scattered. As if that isn’t unpleasant enough, Dossett says, stress can also cause a wealth of physical symptoms, including a rapid heartbeat, muscular tension, headaches, stomach upset, and insomnia. [1]
Why Stress Makes You Tired — and Makes You Drink More
“Patients who are stressed out often report being tired and not as productive at work,” says Gupta. Perhaps the biggest impact of stress is on behavior: When you’re feeling stressed out, you’re more likely to resort to unhealthy habits like smoking or drinking too much, bingeing on junk food, or skipping the gym, experts say. [1] All these things can have a negative impact on your health — ultimately leading to, you guessed it: more stress.

How Stress Affects the Body
Beyond the damage you might do by engaging in unhealthy behaviors, over the long term, stress can have more insidious effects on the body and nervous system. “People who are chronically stressed tend to have an elevated level of the stress hormone cortisol, which causes inflammation,” says Haythe.

And while there is not a lot of data directly linking stress to disease, evidence-based studies suggest that inflammation is associated with a host of serious illnesses over the course of a lifetime, according to a 2019 report.[2] These may include heart disease, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, and autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis, says Haythe.
“It’s hard to say with absolute certainty that stress directly causes these diseases,” says Dossett. “Usually, there are a number of factors at play. But I do know that people can get high blood pressure in response to stress, or heart arrhythmias; others will have problems in the gastrointestinal tract, like acid reflux or inflammatory bowel disease. I have patients with multiple sclerosis who say that their symptoms started after a particular stressful event,” she says. Stress may not be the primary trigger for these disorders, she adds, but it can be a contributing factor. 

Stress and Eating
For better or worse, what you eat can also affect your stress levels. When you’re stressed, you may crave more comfort foods, like cookies and potato chips. And while those eats may provide temporary relief, they won’t make you feel good for long, nor will they reduce anxiety in the long term. Ultimately, they can lead to weight gain and blood sugar crashes, making you feel more frazzled. [3]
Healthy Foods for Stress
Instead of reaching for these quick and less-healthy options, consider adding fresh whole foods such as fiber-rich fruits and veggies, fish, nuts, and even dark chocolate to your stress management arsenal. Aim to have more healthful alternatives on hand so it’s easier to reach for them instead of the cookies. It might also help to put away your phone and focus on eating as a sensory experience. Turn on some soft, soothing music, close your eyes between bites, and savor the textures and flavors to reduce anxiety.

How to Manage Stress and Soothe Your Nervous System
Fortunately, there are many ways to prevent stress from pushing you over that proverbial edge and jangling your nervous system. While it’s important to focus on the basics of good health — getting seven to nine hours of sleep a night, sticking to a healthy, Mediterranean-style diet (fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein), and getting about 150 minutes of cardiovascular exercise every week, Gupta recommends using any technique that “feels natural and enjoyable, and makes sense in your life.”

That can include healthy, evidence-based calming experiences like listening to music or simply closing your eyes, doing a few easy yoga poses, and focusing on your breathing. Shoring up your coping skills with cognitive behavioral therapy or a few sessions with a life coach can also make a difference. [4]
At Mass General’s Benson-Henry Institute, Dossett teaches her patients evidenced-based mind-body skills to reduce anxiety, ranging from mindfulness meditation (apps like Headspace and  Calm make it easy to learn), yoga, and breathing techniques. Getting social support is also crucial; there’s nothing like calling a sympathetic friend who can offer you support and provide a fresh perspective, Dosset says.

Even squeezing a stress ball or playing with your child’s stuffed animal can make you feel good, reduce anxiety, or at least momentarily distract you from what stresses you.

“When we’re feeling stressed out, it’s natural to want to withdraw from life, but a more beneficial way of dealing with it is to use coping skills and tools that work for you,” says Gupta, “whether that’s problem-solving or focusing on your breathing. Once you have these skills under your belt, you’ll be able to pull through the next stressful situation more easily.”