It's more important than ever to avoid the dangerous impacts of untreated stress, according to a new infographic from Time.

Stress can wreak havoc on the body in ways we might not expect. More than 40 percent of Americans recognize they have this problem, but admit they are not doing enough to manage their stress levels. The consequences of neglecting the body’s signs of stress could lead to all kinds of health problems, including panic attacks, high blood pressure, an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, as well as erectile dysfunction, low libido, and loss of self-control.

Time reported more than 40 percent of adults have been so stressed that they yelled at their partner, whereas 18 percent of people have snapped at a coworker as a result of stress.

While everyone has different triggers for stress, they can agree work is their biggest source of stress on a daily basis. From experiencing poor management, to working long hours and possibly facing discrimination or harassment, chronic stress is more often than not the root cause of an employee's unhappiness.

Here's Time's brief breakdown of your body on stress:

According to the Mayo Clinic, the human body is innately hardwired to react to stress in order to protect itself from threats and aggressors. When the body perceives a threat, like a barking dog during a morning run, the hypothalamus (a tiny region at the base of the brain) sets off an alarm system. The hormones adrenaline and cortisol are then released into the blood stream.

Adrenaline increases your heart rate and begins to eat up energy supplies in the body, while cortisol increases the sugar levels in the bloodstream at the same time it weakens the immune system. Imagine this happening at a regular rate, flooding the body with hormones that throw normal levels meant to maintain homeostasis off balance.

Science isn’t silent on the matter. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend self-care for managing stress' harmful effects on the body. Unsurprisingly, avoiding drugs and alcohol are the first on the list because it can be a short-term fix that turns into a long-term problem, which only makes matters worse.

Finding support and connecting socially can also improve a person’s level of stress (and otherwise mental health). Prioritizing healthy diet and exericse, too, in addition to getting plenty of sleep is crucial when it comes to lowering stress levels.

After you've mastered the basics, adding a simple walk to your daily routine, whether it's in the morning or during your lunch break, can signiticantly improve your mood. The walk helps boost the production of stress-fighting endorphins, ultimately reducing stress to a more manageable level. Breathing exercises have also been proven to lower blood pressure and stimulate the nervous system, which helps calm the body and mind, according to Harvard School of Public Health.

If you can't quite squeeze in a walk or breathing exercises, researchers from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden recommend taking a break however you can. After studying 4,100 people, they found frequent intermittent breaks from the computer screen, tablet, and cellphone were key to de-stressing, especially among younger people.

The bottom line: give your phone a break, take a walk, then take a deep breath: stress can leave the body just as quickly as it entered.