Posts Tagged ‘stress causes’

Different Stress-related Illnesses That You Should Watch Out For

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Posted 06 Jul 2012 — by admin
Category Alternative Medicine, Diseases and Conditions, Health Procedures

By: Alleluia Reyes

Stress is a very common experience by a lot of people nowadays. As people’s lifestyles have started to become less simple, there are more stressors that each one must handle each and every day. Perhaps because the different stressors have become part of the everyday routines in your life, you have might been so used to it without having realized that this excess amount of stress might harm you because there are a lot of stress-related illnesses. In fact, studies say that fifty percent of medical consultations are suspected to be due to stress-related illnesses.

Stress can either indirectly or directly affect your health. That is why you must pause once in a while, and reflect if your activities at work or in school might already be leading you towards the road to stress-related illnesses. Because a stressful lifestyle is also equivalent to a very unhealthy lifestyle, it has an indirect negative effect to your body’s well-being. People who are very busy have the tendency to have less rest, deprived sleep and no time for exercise and leisure. Furthermore, very busy people resort more to eating in fast foods than preparing their own home-cooked meals. This kind of lifestyle may eventually lead you to stress-related illnesses indirectly.

Stress also can directly cause changes in your bodily reactions that might not be good for your health. When you are stressed, your body physiologically adjusts to be able to cope up with the demands of your condition. Your body tends to release stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline to be able to adapt to the stressful situation. However, the increase in release of these hormones might make your body more prone to stress-related illnesses because of the increase in stimulation that it does to your different organ systems, especially the cardiovascular system.

The following are the most commonly identified stress-related illnesses:

  • Hypertension
  • Coronary artery disease
  • Cerebrovascular accident
  • Asthma
  • Tension headaches
  • Migraine
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Acid peptide disease
  • Irritable bowel syndrome
  • Stomach ulcers
  • Insomnia
  • Sexual dysfunction
  • Irregular menstrual cycles
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Know, Manage and Avoid the Harmful Effects of Stress

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Posted 26 Oct 2011 — by admin
Category Alternative Medicine, Health Procedures, Home Remedies

Know, Manage and Avoid the Harmful Effects of Stress

Many studies have proven how a stressful life can hurt your health. According to experts, stress causes some disruptions to the chemical activities in the brain. This is the rationale how stress can cause adverse effects to your health. That is why, if you feel that you are experiencing chronic stress, you must be alarmed about the harmful effects of stress and make a lifestyle modification to minimize the stressors in your daily life. Whatever the stressor is, it should be dealt with properly before it’s too late.

What causes stress?

Before getting to know the harmful effects of stress, you must first get acquainted with the idea of stress itself. Stress is something that we cannot totally eradicate in our life. In fact there is a point wherein stress is still considered as healthy. A small dose of stress can actually motivate a person to learn how to perform with grace under pressure.

Stress is the body’s mechanism to be able to cope that is why, at some level, it is favorable for the body. However, it is when stress becomes heightened and chronic will the body experience the harmful effects of stress.

Any change in your usual routine, whether it is a good or bad change, can cause stress. It may be a life-changing event, a physical state of health or any environmental change. There is always a negative connotation to stress, thinking that stressors are always in negative forms like deadlines, financial obligations or relationship problems. However, positive changes that happen in your life such as getting married, receiving a job promotion or having a new baby can also cause stress.

How does stress creep in the body

The question is, at what extent will the harmful effects of stress occur? The body responds to stress in a way that the body is being prepared for a “fight or flight” reaction. This is made possible by the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Imagine the body undergoing chronic stress, there is an experience of a prolonged “fight or flight” situation which can possibly disrupt the physiologic processes of almost all the systems of the body.

To avoid reaching to a point that the body experiences the harmful effects of stress, you must be conscious of the red flags that will alert you that you are already experiencing chronic stress. Among these red flags are the following:

  • Drastic physical changes such as body aches, headaches, unexplained weight changes, hormonal imbalances, heart palpitations and insomnia
  • Mental and emotional symptoms like constantly having racing thoughts, forgetfulness, irritability, restlessness and short temper
  • Changes in functional level to a point where productivity is already being altered to a great extent
  • Social and behavioral manifestations such as nervous behaviors (nail biting, pacing or fidgeting), isolation and picking on other people

What illnesses are correlated to stress?

The most dangerous of all harmful effects of stress is the fact that stress is correlated to many types of illnesses. Stress is found to lower the body’s immune system, making you more prone to have colds or infections. Other illnesses related to stress are cardiovascular diseases and cancers.

Aside from these, additional harmful effects of stress are disruptions in fertility, which may cause a woman to experience difficulty in conceiving a child. Aside from other sexual dysfunctions caused by stress, it can also cause vaginal dryness, absence of menstruations and decreased sexual drive.

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