Links Between Unmanaged Stress and Illness
In our fast paced society, it’s no wonder that you frequently hear someonecomplaining about stress or being stressed-out. With the damaging effects of stresson the body, it is essential that one becomes proactive and learns how to properlymanage the stress. Ignoring the symptoms and the cause can lead to serioushealth issues. Just what is stress? Stress is anything that changes in your normal routine. Thesecan be positive or negative changes. The stress you experience is a result of thesechanges. Whether it is something as small as a test, or a major life change such asa new baby or loss of a family member, the body responds physically to thesechanges.Women are more prone to stress due to hormones, although men are certainly notexempt. A woman’s hormone levels fluctuate during puberty, menstruation,pregnancy and menopause. These fluctuations can cause stress, with the bodysometimes reacting by missing entire menstrual cycles or having irregular periods.For both men and women, the introduction of stress may result in an immediateonset of some symptoms. This can include indigestion/upset stomach or insomnia.While these may dissipate as stress decreases, over time they can contribute tobigger problems. With constant stress and digestive problems, the stomach liningcan develop painful ulcers. Insomnia can lead to problems with the immune systemand performance at work during the day.Stress can also be a cause of body aches and pains, the culprit behind headaches,as well as fatigue and depression. Some people will experience a loss of sexualdesire and sexual dysfunction, while some will develop anxiety disorders. Panicattacks can lead to an increased heart rate blood pressure.Over time, the adrenal glands that regulate the body's stress response can becomefatigued. High levels of stress can create extra weight in the abdominal area. Thisputs individuals at an increased risk for diabetes, heart disease, and high bloodpressure. These more serious complications of stress can ultimately be a deathsentence unless the underlying problems causing the stress are managed.Don’t feel hopeless against this! There are things you can do to manage your dayto day stress. Being aware of your body’s response to stress is the first step toeliminate the body’s stress. Once you identify the cues (tensing jaw, tightenedabdominal muscles, etc), take steps to concentrate on relaxing. Take a few minutesto practice deep breathing or meditation. Use music to help alleviate stress.Ongoing things that you can do to help relieve stress are to start a regular exerciseprogram. Not only a stress reliever, exercise, will help by lowering blood pressure,and releasing endorphins. These are natural pain killers in the body that may helpwith those aches and pains.
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