The Good and Bad Effects of Stress on the Body
Stress...
a catchword you are likely to see often in your media travels these days.
But are you aware of the good and bad effects of stress on the body? Now some stress is a good thing.
The "flight or fight" response helps protect you when confronted with dangerous situations.
When you perceive a threat, your nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol.
This "stress response" gives you a needed burst of speed to flee or surge of strength to fight when you need it most.
Examples might be during a near-miss auto accident or when a mugger puts a gun in your face.
You probably know very well your body's response to these types of situations.
You also face a steady stream of milder stressors though the course of a typical day.
And your built in stress response keeps you alert and responsive to these normal demands.
But if you have a lot of responsibilities and worries, your emergency stress response may be "on" most of the time.
And the more your body's stress system is activated, the easier it is to trip, and the harder it is to shut off.
This creates a vicious cycle of stress, anxiety and depression.
It's only when you get into "stress overload", when you are deluged by a sequence of stressful situations, or fail to cope effectively, that serious problems arise.
The effects of stress on the body can truly be catastrophic.
When this overload happens, your body just doesn't have time to adjust and it quits working in a healthy manner to deal with the stress.
Over time, unrelieved stresscan have profound effects on your physical health.
It can result in increased heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure, which then puts undue stress on your cardio-vascular-respiratory systems (the heart and lungs).
If you don't find a way to "unhook" from constant high stress states, eventually your body gives up the fight.
Chronic stress disrupts nearly every system in your body.
It can cause major systems failure, like high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke.
Unrelenting high levels of stress can also lead to many other health problems, like: * headaches * digestive problems and eating disorders; obesity * insomnia and fatigue * lowered resistance to other illnesses like colds and flu * skin conditions, such as eczema * contribute to infertility; loss of sex drive * speeds up the aging process * depression and anxiety disorder And if you don't find an effective way to lower your stress levels, things will build up until you either explode or collapse, physically and mentally.
There is no way to predict who will fall victim to "stress overload".
Each of us seems to be endowed with our own stress "thermometer".
So in order to stay healthy, you need to learn which stress reduction methods work best for you and keep a planned stress management strategy in reserve for times of increased stress and anxiety.
Plan well and you can keep the bad effects of stress on the body at bay.
a catchword you are likely to see often in your media travels these days.
But are you aware of the good and bad effects of stress on the body? Now some stress is a good thing.
The "flight or fight" response helps protect you when confronted with dangerous situations.
When you perceive a threat, your nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol.
This "stress response" gives you a needed burst of speed to flee or surge of strength to fight when you need it most.
Examples might be during a near-miss auto accident or when a mugger puts a gun in your face.
You probably know very well your body's response to these types of situations.
You also face a steady stream of milder stressors though the course of a typical day.
And your built in stress response keeps you alert and responsive to these normal demands.
But if you have a lot of responsibilities and worries, your emergency stress response may be "on" most of the time.
And the more your body's stress system is activated, the easier it is to trip, and the harder it is to shut off.
This creates a vicious cycle of stress, anxiety and depression.
It's only when you get into "stress overload", when you are deluged by a sequence of stressful situations, or fail to cope effectively, that serious problems arise.
The effects of stress on the body can truly be catastrophic.
When this overload happens, your body just doesn't have time to adjust and it quits working in a healthy manner to deal with the stress.
Over time, unrelieved stresscan have profound effects on your physical health.
It can result in increased heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure, which then puts undue stress on your cardio-vascular-respiratory systems (the heart and lungs).
If you don't find a way to "unhook" from constant high stress states, eventually your body gives up the fight.
Chronic stress disrupts nearly every system in your body.
It can cause major systems failure, like high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke.
Unrelenting high levels of stress can also lead to many other health problems, like: * headaches * digestive problems and eating disorders; obesity * insomnia and fatigue * lowered resistance to other illnesses like colds and flu * skin conditions, such as eczema * contribute to infertility; loss of sex drive * speeds up the aging process * depression and anxiety disorder And if you don't find an effective way to lower your stress levels, things will build up until you either explode or collapse, physically and mentally.
There is no way to predict who will fall victim to "stress overload".
Each of us seems to be endowed with our own stress "thermometer".
So in order to stay healthy, you need to learn which stress reduction methods work best for you and keep a planned stress management strategy in reserve for times of increased stress and anxiety.
Plan well and you can keep the bad effects of stress on the body at bay.
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