Overcome Stress

Physiological Effects of Stress on Your Health

The Dangers of Stress

Stress is a constant part of most people’s lives. Even if this affection is quite common nowadays, it still needs to be addressed given its impact on an individual’s health condition.

Did you know that when you experience stress, not only it produces chemical changes  in your brain and in your body, but it can also affect your health.

While some sources of stress are temporal, there are those that are produced over a long period of time so that it builds up. Before you know it, it becomes so serious that it affects your health in various levels. Even if you do not have any existing health condition, it can actually enhance your risk of developing them.

You can exhibit the following symptoms of stress, which eventually contributes to the health problems associated with stress:

• sleeping troubles,
• lack of energy,
• tension,
• headaches,
• depression,
• anxiety,
• high blood pressure,
• pain in the back or neck,
• weight loss or gain, etc

Stress Related Illnesses and Conditions

Continued research is being done to show more of the impact that stress has on one’s overall health. But despite of this, there has been several scientific claims linking stress to several health conditions from backaches to insomnia, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

When a person experiences stress, it produces chemical changes in the body that consequently alters some biological processes. For instance, some women who had to deal with stress in their lives suffer abnormalities in their menstrual cycle. Others suffer from abnormal bleeding while some even miss their menstruation.

Aside from that, stress could also result to hormonal imbalances that cause symptoms for fibroid tumors and endometriosis to exhibit.

Another illness commonly associated with stress is heart disease. It may interven with your cardiovascular condition such that people with stress can suffer from conditions like heart attacks, heart palpitations, high blood pressure, and stroke.

Other common illnesses suffered by highly stressed people include:

• fatigue,
• emotional disorders,
• headaches,
• ulcers,
• IBS,
• infections,
• colds,
• and even lowered immunity system responses.

Taking Care of Your Body

Having known the impact that stress has on one’s body, it is then important to take all the necessary steps to not only combat stress but also keep yourself free from any type of illness. Some people are too consumed with stress that they fail to pay attention to their body.

Be more sensitive to your body and health needs.

The following are helpful tips on how you can handle stress and improve your health:

1. Take time off work to relax. Give your body a chance to recuperate.
2. Get enough amount of sleep, especially if you are going to work excessively during the day.
3. Eat well. Include enough amount of fruits and vegetables in your diet, as well as proteins.
4. Engage in a physical activity during your free time. Working out releases endorphins in your system, which is why it improves your mood.
5. Never resort to unhealthy methods of dealing with stress, such as drugs, smoking, or alcohol.

Seeking Professional Help

When stress begins to concern your health, it is important to seek professional guidance on the matter. The case is more important when stress has affected your health to a large extent. Indeed, there are professionals that can help you deal with the situation and overcome stress so your health can recover as well.

But a person can be too consumed with their stressful situation that they fail to recognize when help is necessary. The following are symptoms of too much stress and requires immediate professional attention:

• sleeping problems due to anxiety,
• suicidal thoughts,
• loss of appetite often leading to weight loss,
• feeling of isolation or desire to be isolated from other people,
• high irritability

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 20th, 2009 at 6:41 pm and is filed under symptoms. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.