4 Ways How Stress Messes With Your Body
“I am stressed and exhausted” are words that I hear almost daily from my clients and who can blame them.
Lets face it, the stress we experience today is everywhere and living a stress free lifestyle in this modern world can almost seem impossible for the most part. So much so that it’s become ‘normal’ to feel stressed most of the day and being ‘busy’ is often looked upon as being successful and thriving.
We live in an age of information and work overload, with little time to relax and unwind. Even when we are relaxing we use our mobile devises to engage in social media like Facebook and Instagram which is just another way to fill our brain with more information and is the opposite of relaxing.
You might think that some stress is necessary for you to produce good results at work and yes its true, there can be some benefits to short time stress but most of us are experiencing lots of so called micro stressors during the day and these micro stressors can have just as devastating effects as acute stress.
I know that we will never completely rid ourself of all stress in our lives but by better understanding what stress exactly does in our body it can help motivate us to become more aware of what causes us stress and find practical solutions to destress our lives.
Here are 4 ways that long term stress can affect our health negatively
INSULINE RESISTANCE
Excessive stress increased the release of the “stress hormone” cortisol. When the body releases cortisol it causes cells to become more insulin resistant, so that more sugar can remain in the bloodstream to supply the brain and muscles with fuel, rather that being stored away.
This is vital if you needed to run away from danger or needed to make fast decisions on how to fight a threat.
Therefor increased insulin resistance in the short term is very beneficial and enables the body to have the energy for survival.
However on a long term basis insulin resistance can contribute to the development of type 2 diabetes and may lead to obesity.
Increased cortisol also tends to increase sugar craving contributing to further blood sugar imbalances.
CHRONIC HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, HEART ATTACK AND STROKE
When the body receives information that we are in danger or in a stressful situation the bodies natural response is to increase heart rate and blood pressure so that more blood and oxygen is moved around the body quickly, supplying vital organs (such as the brain and muscle cells) with fresh oxygenated blood.
At the same time the body also activates blood platelets. This increases blood clotting and will help save your life if you have a bleeding wound, as the bleeding will stop more quickly.
While these life saving responses are essential for our survival ( when they are experienced short term) they can also have a decremental effect on our health if they are experienced long term.
Chronic stress can lead to high blood pressure and increase the risk of a stroke and heart disease.
And the tendency for the blood to clot while under chronic stress, also increase the risk of having a stoke or a heart attack.
DIGESTIVE ISSUES
In our evolutionary past we had all sorts of threats to deal with, we would often find ourself in difficult situations and face challenges that threatened our survival. In those situations, when the body is under treat, our natural instinct is to either run away or fight the threat for our survival (this is also called the fight or flight response)
In these moments the body’s resources are directed away from digestion, as this becomes a non essential function, in an effort to save as much energy for your survival.
Since digestion is dialed down during the stress response, chronic stress can contribute to a variety of digestive disorders.Bloated stomach, cramping, constipation and diarrhea are all common symptoms of chronic stress. So, too, is acid reflux and irritable bowel syndrome.
DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, POOR MEMORY AND CONCENTRATION
You may think that it’s necessary to work under pressure to see good results in your work but being chronically stressed for long periods of time can affect your ability to concentrate, act efficiently and has devastating effects on memory and learning.
The stress hormone cortisol interrupts brain cell communication by compromising neurotransmitter function causing brain cells to die and
preventing you from accessing memories or creating new ones. This depletion of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin affect also our mood and behaviour. When there is an imbalance, this can lead to signs of depression and low mood.
Stress can also cause Anxiety.
Having your brain in a constant state of high alert activates a part in your brain that is called the amygdala. This portions of our brain is responsible to help us stay hyper vigilant in dangerous situations and make us have fast responses to treats. However if the amygdala is often activated due to many stressful events in our modern lives it becomes enlarged and sensitive to even the smallest triggers, making you more prone to anxiety and excess worry.