My Snow Globe of Chaos

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What life feels like at times.  

• Did you know moderate stress and anxiety can heighten alertness, improve immunity, and creativity for a short time, but too much of a "good thing" can lead to the uglier aspects of stress and anxiety.

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• The "butterflies" feeling you get in your stomach when you're anxious is real! It's caused by the body's fight-or-flight response, which diverts blood away from the digestive system to the muscles, preparing you to either fight or flee. This reduced blood flow can cause the stomach to feel fluttery or queasy.

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• Yawning isn't just about tiredness; it's also a response to stress. Some theories suggest that yawning helps to cool the brain and improve alertness, which is why people might yawn more when they’re anxious or stressed.

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• Your body can react to stress just by thinking about a stressful situation. This is because the brain can't always distinguish between actual events and imagined ones, so simply imagining a stressful event can trigger the same physical responses, like increased heart rate and sweaty palms.

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• Chronic stress can actually shrink the size of your brain. It particularly affects the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for memory and learning. This is why people under long-term stress may have trouble concentrating or remembering things.

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