Effects Of Stress On The Body
Paying attention to the effects of stress on the body is a good way to avoid stress-related illnesses. Everyone has some level of stress in their daily life, and the effects of stress on the body show up in different ways. Some people suffer from more physical symptoms while other effects of stress on the body are more mental or emotional.
Another big difference in how we experience stress is between immediate, or short-term stress and chronic stress, which is the more dangerous of the two. Dealing with chronic stress will have the body on constant alert where the nervous system is set to overdrive just to maintain normal functioning day after day.
The human body is programmed to automatically deal with stressful circumstances and recover from threatening situations. When we are faced with stress and go into recovery mode, the body does specific things to return things back to normal. The most common physical symptoms of short-term, or acute stress will usually look like this:
- muscle tension, especially in the neck and shoulders
- increased heart beat or palpitations
- tightness or pain in the chest
- shortness of breath
- boost of adrenaline
- headache
- fatigue
- backache
- sweating
- nausea
- diarrhea
Stress also influences the way we think, and people with too much stress in their lives will often notice these feelings:
- unexplained irritability
- easily frustrated
- difficulty controlling the temper
- extreme exhaustion
- feeling anxious and jumpy
- difficulty concentrating
- inability to focus on one task at a time
- unreasonable worry, especially about meaningless things
- self doubt and distrust in yourself
- negative feelings and imaginings
Chronic stress is caused by any number of life situations, like working in a job you don’t like or staying in an abusive relationship. This type of continual exposure to stress often has a cumulative effect on the body that leads to more serious problems that frequently grow worse over time, including:
- weight gain due to increased fat storage and slower metabolism
- constant muscle aches and pains
- joint problems, in fact stress has been known to worsen arthritis symptoms
- sexual dysfunction and reproductive problems, including painful menstruation and lower fertility
- depression and anxiety disorders
- diabetes
- poor immune function, which can lead to even more sickness and disease
- digestive illnesses such as ulcers, acid reflux disease and irritable bowel syndrome
- skin problems like acne and psoriasis become worse under high stress
- various cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure, rapid and abnormal heart rate, hardening of the arteries, coronary artery disease, heart attacks and heart failure
- lung problems like asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
Everyone experiences stress, and some levels are healthy. When a person exhibits any of the above symptoms due to stress, it is vital that they make efforts to decrease the stress in their lives.