The fact of the matter is, there can certainly be potential problems that can develop when we are faced with distress time and time again.
When stress becomes chronic and persistent and it’s stress of the negative kind, it is known as distress.
It can lead to heaps of negative health problems such as physical illness and even maybe just as disconcerting, it can affect your emotional health, your mental health, your spiritual health, and you can even develop social problems.
The body under stress gets all ‘messed’ up
- The body’s immune system is a very complex group of organs and cells, defending the body against diseases and infections.
When the immune system is healthy, the body’s organisms maintain homeostasis: a stable internal balance. But when we have stress in our lives, these cells and organs which are composed of the nervous system release hormones.
These hormones trigger off the production of white blood cells. The white cells are the cells which fight infection.
- Hormones released by stress trigger the immune system to respond quickly towards injury and short-term illnesses. But this type of activity, however, is not beneficial to health when it continues for more than just a short while.
When there is chronic stimulation of the immune system time after time, it causes the immune system to become suppressed overall. This makes it less effective at warding off infections and diseases.
- Researchers have figured out from studies that the cells in the immune system release chemicals. These chemicals are called cytokines.
They act as messengers in the body, allowing the cells to "talk" to each other, instructing each other to start developing additional cells to fight off infection.
- Unfortunately, the hormones released by stress, as mentioned above, in chronic circumstances, can inhibit the production of cytokines, holding back the body's ability to fight against infection effectively.
Because of a reduction of cytokines, the immune system's ability to fight off disease is decreased by around 15% or more under stress.
So it is not surprising that individuals who are highly stressed will probably succumb more to colds, herpes breakouts, and infections.
- The breakdown of communication in the immune system that happens during times of chronic stress could also be responsible for triggering off new cases of autoimmune diseases like Crohn's disease, lupus, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis (MS) and others.
An autoimmune disease is where the immune system gets confused or imbalanced and starts attacking the body's own healthy cells instead of doing what it should be doing, and that is attacking foreign disease-causing bodies.
- After stressful occasions such as an illness or an injury in the body have been dealt with, the immune system will normally secrete additional hormones which trigger off a decrease in white blood cell production.
This enables the system to rest and rejuvenate itself. But when there is chronic stress, this normal decrease and rejuvenation response is delayed.
Stress and illnesses
Because of the effects of stress on the immune system as mentioned above, the impact on the development and severity of heaps of diseases and bodily systems can worsen.
Let’s look at how stress contributes to the different parts of the body over time:
Digestive system
- People complain of stomachaches or diarrhea when they become stressed. The stress hormones stimulate the colon, too, emptying the digestive system, with pain and diarrhea experienced.
The stress hormones can also cause excess belching, wind, and other gas problems; increasing the chances of a person developing Crohn's disease (ongoing inflammation of the membrane lining of the colon).
- When you have chronic stress, your appetite can be increased, causing you to gain weight and potentially become obese.
Being obese, you are at risk of developing other health problems like diabetes, strokes, heart disease, and arthritis. Chronic stress can alternatively cause people to lose their appetite and to lose weight also.
Cardiovascular system
- When your stress hormones are activated, your heart rate gets raised and this causes chest pain or heart palpitations.
Your heart might race, and your blood pressure increases, as well as your cholesterol. When you have sustained high levels of cholesterol in your body, atherosclerosis can develop.
This is a disease where fatty plaque builds up on your blood vessel walls, restricting blood flow to the heart – often leading to a heart attack.
The cortisol levels in your body also play a role in the accumulation of abdominal fat. You might have heard of apple-shaped and pear-shaped people before.
Some research suggests that those with the apple-shaped bodies are at increased risk of developing dementia of the Alzheimer’s type than those with pear-shaped bodies.
- Many times people try and cope with stress by smoking, drinking, or overeating. All this can damage the heart and its surrounding blood vessels.
Musculoskeletal system
- Stress can cause muscles to either contract or tighten. Over time, ongoing stress causes aches and pains to develop, simply because of muscle tension.
Many people know all about muscle spasms in the neck and shoulders as well as their lower back. Stress also exacerbates muscular twitches and uncontrolled movements such as tics; headaches and migraines.
This is because of muscle tension and changes in the blood vessels and nerves which can cause severe pain, nausea, and being sensitive to light and sound; even temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ).
This involves pain in the jaw at the joint site where the lower jaw joins the skull.
Reproductive system
- When the hormones come under stress, problems can occur in the reproductive system of both women and men. Women will experience menstrual disorders like pain, heavy bleeding, or recurrent vaginal infections.
Men will and could develop erectile dysfunction or experience problems with premature ejaculation. Both men and women can experience a decrease in sexual desire and problems with infertility – all because of stress.
Other physical problems
- Stress can really contribute to the skin being stressed out, too, and it shows up with bad skin conditions like psoriasis.
This is an autoimmune condition which is characterized by red, raised, patches on different parts of the body which can be covered with a buildup of dead skin cells which look silvery-white. - Then there’s eczema which shows up with red, dry and very itchy patches on the body.
- Hives come forward with raised, itchy, and red welts which occur on the surface of the skin.
- And what about acne and hair loss?
- Then there’s dry mouth, mouth ulcers, asthma attacks; increased risk of stroke due to heart health - all fall under the banner of stress!
What of cancer?
- Scientists are busy exploring the role of stress in creating a vulnerability to cancer.
They are questioning the link between stress and cancer because this has puzzled and intrigued them as well as their patients for years on end. - Available research at the moment suggests there is no consistent relationship that exists between stress and the development of cancer.
There is also no real evidence to suggest that those people who suppress, repress, or deny their emotions are more susceptible to developing cancer.
This isn’t to say that there isn’t a relationship between stress and cancer. - Available evidence suggests that when a person is stressed, it can influence the course or spread of cancer.
One study found that people who had been diagnosed with malignant melanoma which is the most serious form of skin cancer, who were in a stress-management group, were able to develop better- coping skills.
Their negative moods improved and they also experienced fewer relapses of melanoma. This was in comparison to the other patients who did not receive this type of stress-management training. - Even though stress does not appear in this instance to be a direct cause of cancer, it does definitely seem to impact the development of cancer indirectly, in the same manner as to how stress and cardiovascular disease are related.
Those who are stressed often use unhealthy coping methods. They resort to smoking or drinking excessively to take away the discomfort of stress.
But unhealthy behaviors clearly increase their risk of developing cancer.
Here are wonderful natural ways to start relieving your life of stress.
