It’s no secret that stress causes health problems. We all know that common stressors like family conflict, losing a job or a close friend, or getting a divorce can be unbelievably stressful events. But small chronic stressors that we experience day in and day out can cause even greater health problems in our lives. An article published in the Psychological Bulletin looked at 300 empirical articles that described the relationship between stress and immune function. Researchers found that:

“Chronic stressors were associated with suppression of both cellular and humoral measures.”

In other words, chronic stress has more of an impact on our health than acute stressors. Here are 5 hidden causes of stress that are chronically present in our lives, and how to deal with them:

 
Between your laptop at home, your desktop at work, your smartphone, and your iPad, you’ll spend on average of 12 hours a day looking at a screen according to a recent British study. Add push notifications from social networking sites, texts, phone calls, and email notifications to the stress that these screens cause, and you can pretty much put the puzzle together. Being constantly wired means that constant input/output is the norm.

Combat device stress by: Limiting push notifications and mindless entertainment time. Sure, you have to receive timely texts and phone calls depending on your career and lifestyle. But do you really need a notification on your phone every time someone mentions you in a tweet or a friend checks in on foursquare? How about setting your notifications to just DMs and Facebook messages. Also, I won’t suggest taking away your lolcats time on youtube, but just make sure not to spend more time than you planned clicking around on cute kids dancing videos.

 
If you live in a major city, this may seem obvious. But even for those of you who travel just a few miles to work, your commute can be a constant cause of stress. But it’s not the traffic that will cause you the most stress, it’s your morning routine.

Combat commute stress by: Streamlining your morning routine. Make your lunch the night before, pick out a great podcast to listen to on your train ride or in the car, and make sure you have your schedule set ahead of time so that you are not frantic. A chill ride into work will help you cruise through the morning at work without the stress.

 
A well organized social life filled with people who care about you is supposed to be good for you, so what gives? The truth is, not everyone in your life is contributing to your wellbeing. Have you ever seen an episode of Bravo TV’s Real Housewives franchise? If so, then you know what I’m talking about.

Combat social life stress by: Surrounding yourself with healthy positive people and limiting time with unhealthy, needy, negative people. No, I don’t mean stop hanging out with your sick grandma, I mean stay away from people whose unhealthy habits do not add to your life. If you typically hangout with a pack of buddies who would rather drink beer and watch football than actually play it, you may be causing stress in your life.

 
Stressful memories from your childhood can have a real impact on your adult stress levels. If you were anxious in social situations as a kid, you will most likely have a higher stress level (whether you consciously recognize this or not) in social situations.

Combat your past stress by: Recognizing stressors from your childhood and moving on. If you were thrown in the water as a kid and you have a fear of the deep end of the pool as an adult, try seeking professional help to overcome your barriers. You deserve to live life fully as an adult without the stressors of your childhood.

 
Your lunch can cause you stress based on your food choices and the timing of your meal. Foods and beverages high in caffeine, spices, sugar, and salt stress your body out by raising your blood sugar and blood pressure, and raising your adrenaline levels. Also, waiting too long to eat between your breakfast and lunch meals can cause your blood sugar to fall, causing extreme stress within the body.

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