Physical Symptoms Of Stress
Basic Facts About the Physical Symptoms of Stress
There are different kinds of stress, and the physical symptoms of stress vary depending on the type of stress you are dealing with. Immediate, or acute stress is described as the way our body reacts to situations that seem dangerous and require quick action. Think about the way your body reacts to a near accident and an actual accident. Both of these are responses to acute stress.
When we are faced with a dangerous situation, our bodies immediately go into safety mode, where there are a number of physical symptoms of stress. Look back to a time when you were in a dangerous situation and remember what your body did in response.
The first thing you would probably notice is that your heart starts racing. An elevated heart rate is a classic response to stress. The heart speeds up to get the blood pumping through our bodies faster. This helps distribute important chemicals throughout our body that will help us recover from whatever stress we may be dealing with.
Other symptoms that appear right away are shortness of breath and sweating. When we come up against a stressful situation, our bodies automatically tighten up, causing tension in our neck and shoulders. This is part of the fight or flight response, as the body prepares to defend itself against attack or run away to safety. Muscle tension can also be accompanied by headaches and backaches, and some people report nausea and diarrhea when faced with a stress charged circumstance.
People who have a great deal of stress in their everyday lives are known to experience physical symptoms of stress that are more serious and grow worse over time, or as long as the stressful situation remains. Besides causing discomfort, the following stress-induced illnesses can be very serious, at times even fatal.
> Cardio vascular disease. This means high blood pressure, abnormal heart problems like arrhythmia, difficulties with blood clotting and atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries. Stress overload is also related to heart attacks, heart disease and heart failure.
> Chronic aches and pains. Stress is frequently to blame when a person complains of constant muscle pain, especially in the neck and shoulders or lower back. Since muscle tension is a natural stress response, continual stress will result in constant tension. It is also thought that stress negatively affects joint health and irritates rheumatoid arthritis.
> Lung problems like asthma and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) have been associated with high stress levels. Since breathing is affected by stress, it is no surprise that chronic stress can lead to serious respiratory illnesses.
> High stress also has a negative impact on the body’s ability to fight sickness. When a person’s immune system is under constant stress, they are much more susceptible to minor illnesses like colds, flu and infection. And repeated exposure to even the most basic sickness wears on the body and opens the door for more serious illness to invade.