How stress affects your body?

How stress affects your body?

Anxiety
May 13, 2019

Have you ever found yourself with sweaty hands on a first date or felt your heart pound during a scary movie? Then you know you can feel stress in both your mind and body.

This automatic response developed in our ancient ancestors as a way to protect them from predators and other threats. Faced with danger, the body kicks into gear, flooding the body with hormones that elevate your heart rate, increase your blood pressure, boost your energy and prepare you to deal with the problem.

These days, you’re not likely to face the threat of being eaten, but you probably do confront multiple challenges every day, such as meeting deadlines, paying bills and juggling childcare that make your body react the same way. As a result, your body’s natural alarm system — the “fight or flight” response — may be stuck in the “stressed” position, and that can have serious consequences for your health.

Even short-lived, minor stress can have an impact. For example, you might get a stomachache before you have to give a presentation. More major acute stress, whether caused by failing in an exam or a fight with your spouse or losing child during first delivery, can have an even bigger impact.

Multiple studies have shown that these sudden emotional stresses — especially anger — can trigger heart attacks, and even sudden death. Although this happens mostly in people who already have heart disease, some people don’t know they have a problem until acute stress causes a heart attack or something worse.

How much stress is good for you?

When stress starts interfering with your ability to live a normal life for an extended period, it becomes even more dangerous. The longer the stress lasts, the worse it is for both your mind and body. You might feel fatigued, unable to concentrate or irritable for no good reason.

Chronic stress may also cause disease, either because of changes in your body or the overeating, smoking and other bad habits people use to cope with stress.

Job strain - high demands coupled with low decision making attitude - is associated with increased risk of coronary disease. Other forms of chronic stress, such as depression and low levels of social support, have also been implicated in increased cardiovascular risk. And once you’re sick, stress can also make it harder to recover.

Stress Management and Treatment

Reducing your stress levels can not only make you feel better for the actual position, but may also protect you from long-term health consequences. You can keep below things in mind to cope up with stress in a holistic manner:

  • Identify what’s causing stress: Finding out the reason causing you distress may give you some realistic solution for the problem. To do this, monitor your state of mind throughout the day. If you feel stressed, write down the cause, thoughts and your mood. Once you know what’s bothering you, develop a plan for addressing it. That might mean setting more reasonable expectations for yourself and others or asking for help with household responsibilities, job assignments or other tasks.
  • Walk away when you’re angry: Before you react, take time to regroup by counting to 10. Then reconsider. Walking or other physical activities can also help you work off stress. Plus, exercise increases the production of endorphins, your body’s natural mood-booster. Commit to a daily walk or other form of exercise — a small step that can make a big difference in reducing stress levels.
  • Build strong relationships: Relationships can be a source of stress. Research has found that negative, hostile reactions with your spouse cause immediate changes in stress-sensitive hormones. But relationships can also serve as stress buffers. Reach out to family members or close friends and let them know you’re having a tough time. They may be able to offer practical assistance and support, useful ideas or just a fresh perspective as you begin to tackle whatever is causing you stress.
  • Rest your mind: It is quite common to not feeling sleepy at night when stressed. To help ensure you get the recommended seven or eight hours of shut-eye, cut back on caffeine, remove distractions such as television or computers from your bedroom, and go to bed at the same time each night. Research shows that activities like yoga and relaxation exercises not only help reduce stress, but also boost immune functioning.
  • Get medical help: If you continue to feel overwhelmed, consult with a homeopath who can help you learn how to manage stress effectively. The doctor can help y`ou identify situations or behaviors that contribute to your chronic stress and then develop an action plan for changing them. Homeopathic medicines for stress help to rebalance the mind and emotions. It is effective for people of all ages — from children with emotional or behavioural problems to adults bogged down by stress, depression and anxiety.
Authored By

Dr. L. MATHUVENKATESAN

MD

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