How do you recover from chronic stress?

What is stress?

Everyone is familiar with the concept of stress, but how is stress actually caused? Stress boils down to a simple "equation": the carrying load is greater than the carrying capacity.

We (unfortunately) suffer a number of moderate to severe setbacks in our lives that can cause us stress. A little stress in your life is not bad at all. It spurs action and by acting you can resolve negative factors in your life. An example here is acute stress. Think of a deadline you have to meet, an important appointment you are running late for or a loved one who is sick.

Stress causes you to stay focused and make choices that are better for you and improve your situation. The danger of this stress is that it can turn into unhealthy stress, where the situation from which you are stressed threatens to turn into a long-term pattern.

Chronic Stress

The word "chronic" says it all: with chronic stress, you experience a constant feeling of stress over an extended period of time. This can arise from a traumatic experience, high workload or loss of a loved one. There is no longer a balance between exertion and relaxation, so your body is unable to recover.

Chronic stress can also be felt in your body. When there is tension, your muscles react by tightening. Head, neck and shoulder pain are common symptoms. You can also become short of breath or lightheaded because your heart beats faster, causing you to breathe more quickly and shallowly.

In addition, it also affects your mental health. You constantly experience the feeling that you are under stress. You are restless, quick and often emotional and cannot concentrate well. The danger with chronic stress is that it can turn into depression or even burnout. We all know that recovery from this can take a very long time.

The first step to recovery

Chronic stress is unfortunately very common in the Netherlands. In recent years, the workload of both students and professionals has grown considerably. In addition, we should also not forget that we have experienced a violent pandemic for two years, during which periods of illness, fear, uncertainty and loneliness prevailed. Now that everything is allowed to reopen and most of the measures have been dropped, it may be that this transition also brings stress. Therefore, we would like to be the first to emphasize that it is perfectly natural to have moments when you feel insecure, panicky and anxious. You are not alone in this!

If you recognize yourself in the above symptoms, we would like to help you take the steps to get out of your stressful situation. We can give you three valuable tips.

1. Find relaxation at

Think about what really relaxes you. This can be anything; there is no right or wrong here. A walk in nature, dancing in the living room, reading a good book or watching a series are concrete actions that can offer relaxation.

It may also be good to literally step away from the situation that has caused you prolonged stress. Perhaps it is time to work less or find other work that does energize you. Perhaps you can get out more often when the walls of your home are now closing in on you. Think about what makes you happy and remember: be kind to yourself.

If an activity does result in less relaxation than you thought, that's no big deal. Take the time and space to explore what works for you.

2. Share your feelings

With chronic stress, it sometimes feels like the world around you isn't bothered by anything. The earth is spinning, while you feel like there is stagnation in your life. Our advice is to talk about it with people you trust. There is a good chance that you will find out that there are more people around you who feel just as stressed as you do.

Appearances can be deceiving more often than you think. We are used to going on and on and sometimes living on autopilot because society expects it of us. We hereby invite you to engage in conversation with people around you to help you feel less lonely.

3. Meditate

It may also be that you are not much of a talker. Sometimes you especially feel that there is a blockage in your body, but don't know how to put words to it. At those times, meditation can be healing. There are several types of meditation techniques you can try. In the Meditation Moments app, you'll find numerous ways and tips on how to start meditating.

You can meditate at any time of the day, in a place where you feel comfortable and relaxed. Meditating makes it easier to put stressful situations into perspective so that they ultimately have less impact. With meditation, you take a moment to very consciously go to the tension in your body and mind and then breathe it out of your body.