How does stress affect my body?

Headaches, stomach aches, tight shoulders, no appetite or too much appetite — and no one can find anything 'wrong.'

• Stress hormones physically change digestion, muscle tension, sleep, and immunity.
• Long-term stress keeps your body in alert mode with no recovery period.
• Emotions you don't express often show up as physical symptoms.

Before you decide anything, take four slow breaths — in for 4, out for 6. You think more clearly on the other side of a calm breath than in the middle of a fast feeling.

1. 1Discharge the stress physically: walk, run, dance, stretch, lift, shoot hoops. Movement completes the stress cycle.
2. 2Build one daily downshift — breathing, music, journaling, prayer, or quiet time.
3. 3Tell a caregiver about repeated physical symptoms so real medical causes can be ruled out.

Take a 10-minute walk today with no phone in your hand.

Play it forward. If you take this step, what happens tomorrow? Next week? What does it protect — your peace, your grades, your relationships, your future? Leaders think one move ahead.

• One-Minute BreathingSlow your body down in 60 seconds with a longer exhale.
• 5-4-3-2-1 GroundingBring your body back to the present moment.
• Get HelpCrisis resources and a personal safety plan.