Doctors have known for a long time that stress can affect your health but we are only now beginning to properly understand precisely how stress can affect the body. Some of the myths surrounding stress, like the fact that stress could give you ulcers, are finally being laid to rest while others are now being confirmed.
Some of the obvious affects of stress such as, a rapid heartbeat, high blood pressure, muscle tension, headaches and digestive problems are easily recognized and well known, however there are also several longer-term and potentially serious conditions that can result from chronic stress.
Studies that have been undertaken at the National Institutes of Health and at other institutions for example suggest strongly that stress affects the body's immune system. Interestingly enough these same studies also show that the affect on the immune system can be both good and bad.
As one particular definition of stress is that it is simply an individual's 'fight or flight' response to an apparent threat, it can have a beneficial affect. For example, it can, trigger the release of chemicals which help to heal infections from bites. This makes sense when you think about how evolution may have tailored the body's immune system to deal with such events.
However, when this particular response lasts for an extended period of time, the affects can be detrimental and one consequence is that the body's immune system actually reduces in effectiveness resulting in an increased susceptibility to infection and a reduced resistance to colds and other virus induced illnesses.
Another consequence is a general feeling of tiredness and sometimes even depression. When a person is stressed for long periods then a feedback loop develops between the cause of the stress (the clear belief that it is not possible to find a solution to the problem that is creating the stress) and its affects. This creates a cycle in which the belief becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Chronic stress can also effect your health by compromising you circulatory system. When stress hormones which are released as a result of the 'flight or fight' trigger are not depleted by {some form of physical activity such as fighting an infection|the physical activity of, for example, fighting an infection then they can produce actual physiological stress on the body.
High blood pressure hightens the tension on the walls of blood vessels and can lead to tiny tears arising in the blood vessels. When the body reacts to heal these micro-tears, scar tissue is commonly produced and this lowers the flow of blood through these vessels.
Whenever stress levels are very high or remain for long enough a heart attack can occur. The likelihood of heart attack is also higher in older people or in people who are carrying specific genetic characteristics. With narrowed blood vessels, the heart might well not be able to deliver enough blood and oxygen at moments of high demand.
Doctors have also been aware for some time that stress can aggravate the affects of rheumatoid arthritis and this is also now explained by the affect which stress has on the immune system as there is a well documented and proven link between rheumatoid arthritis and the body's immune system.
Avoiding stress is vital for all of us if we are to maintain good health and, fortunately, as we start to gain a clearer understanding of stress we are also developing several very helpful stress relief techniques.
Don Saunders
Author Bio
For more information about stress, including such things as stress symptoms and stress relief please visit Stress-Relief-And-Anxiety-Relievers.com
