Sheikh Arshed
Stress is one thing we have with us day and night. Starting from completing our office tasks within time to managing personal relations, stress can strike in anything that may require time to manage and finish. The mental stress often seems minimal until we begin experiencing serious effects on our bodies, sometimes which become quite threatening if it has already led to certain diseases.
As I reflect on my experiences and those around me, I realize how easily stress can creep into the most hours of routines. At times, we are left thinking of stress as something to “work with” and move over, however, we often do not have any awareness of its potential harm to the body. We must be aware of how the mind and body are very intertwined to work together. Mental health has effects on the physical health that do not immediately become apparent, but that can, and do, become disabling with time.
The Stress Response, Fight or Flight:
If we are stressed, the body is subjected to a fight or flight response. This is an adaptive evolutionary survival strategy, on the one side protects it from the danger and on the other side. It causes our body to excrete tension (adrenaline, cortisol) hormones as it either readies us to confront or flee from danger. Even though this answer works for the body only a while, persistent stress keeps the body in this state and brings along a variety of health complications. When you have experienced your heart racing or muscles tightening as a consequence of the event, then you have experienced the same response in the body. But what happens when these reactions become chronic? The repeated exposure of the hormones over time can have adverse effects on your body.
How Chronic Stress Impacts Your Physique.
- Cardiovascular conditioning:
Above all the classic ways in which stress can affect the body is by greatly influencing the cardiovascular system. The adrenaline and cortisol cause heart rates and blood pressures to increase, which is great for short bursts, but constant stress causes long-term heart problems. Research has shown that chronic stress has a link with the development of hypertension, heart diseases, and even stroke. If you have constant stresses in your life, you expose your heart to higher pressure than it can bear, putting you at a risk of very severe cardiovascular conditions. To my knowledge, people with chronic stress problems always have increased blood pressure, hence the need for such persons to engage in activities that mitigate stress before it is too late. - Weakened Immune System:
Once again, when stress affects your body, it becomes predisposed to the immediate action than any other effect. This situation results in putting down other related systems, especially the immune one for sometime. Eventually, the weakened system results in exposing you to getting easily infected or stricken with infectious diseases and possibly even autoimmune problems.
Think about it. When stressed, you’re much more liable to catch a cold or feel utterly rundown. The reason is simple, stress hormones repress the formation of your white blood cells, and the more stress you experience, the harder your body has a time fighting infections off. - Gastrointestinal Problems
Stress can also have a deep impact on your digestive system. In real terms, your digestive system is highly sensitive to the various states of being emotional. When one is stressed, in theory, the body may divert energy away from the various processes that occur during digestion; there is the aftermath of having some indigestion and acid reflux and more serious problems with IBS.
I have always noticed how tension affects my stomach and digestive habits; during stress periods, it usually causes uneasiness around the stomach with loss of appetite. This is obvious proof that, indeed, there is a real impact on my ability to function well at the body’s level. - Musculoskeletal Tension:
Stress tightens our body muscles automatically. The body believes it is under threat and prepares the muscles to ward off the perceived dangers. However, if the stress continues for such a long period that the body muscles remain in a tensed state, there can be difficulties like chronic pain, headaches, and in extreme cases even fibromyalgia.
I have found that highly stressed people always complain of having tight shoulders, neck pain, and tension headaches. This is because stress leads to muscle contraction. If this is not checked, it can lead to chronic cases that are worse in discomfort and disability in daily life. - Sleep Disturbance:
Stress can severely affect a person’s sleep. The mind is a stressed person is in overdrive and is hard to put to sleep. Due to the continuous release of hormones, the body undergoes a normal sleep cycle, and eventually, this can lead to insomnia or bad sleep.
I have personal experience that stress impairs my sleep quality. There have been times when I’ve tossed and turned and could not be comforted, mental anguish was my company. With the progression of time, sleep ailment can lead to many consequences, such as insufficient energy, poor concentration, and physical health deterioration. - Weight Gain or Loss:
Another way in which stress can affect your weight is through overeating. For some, it results in emotional eating and favours unhealthy foods, mostly those with high sugar and fat content. Popularly, this is referred to as emotional eating, and often, one tends to use it as a tool in dealing with stress. For others, stress simply reduces their appetites; hence, they weigh less.
If you have ever gone through the variation in your weight due to stressful periods, then you are definitely not alone. Whether it is eating for comfort or losing your appetite entirely, stress directly affects how the body handles food and its metabolism.
Manage Stress for Physical Health.
Now that we know what stress does in our physical health, it is very important to know the ways to address it. Given below are ways that I would like to apply and would strongly recommend to apply for you: - Workout Regularly : Physical activity releases endorphins, one of the greatest natural stress-killers; it also serves to promote one’s heart for better health by reducing muscle strain.
- Mindfulness and meditation. These can soothe the mind and decrease the levels of stress hormones in the body. Even five minutes a day can be really effective.
- Healthy diet. A healthy diet containing fruits, vegetables, and whole grain supports the body’s stress response.
- Sleep Well: Maintain good hygiene of sleep. Make sure that your body gets the rest it needs to offset the stress and heal.
- Seek Support. [In case you are] actually feeling overwhelmed, please, do not be shy to consult friends or a professional, talking is quite often a remedy to cure. Not everything’s in the brain; it produces measurable, objective symptoms in our physical well being. Stress affects the body in many directions, ranging from cardiovascular disease through gastrointestinal complaints and muscle pain to sleep disorders. On the other hand, the good news is that by following the signals and taking action to control them, we will minimize the harmful impact on ourselves. When stressed, just have a minute to stop and see what it does to your body. I would recommend that you use techniques to control stress and in the long run, your body and mind will appreciate it. We can build a healthier and more balanced life together.
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