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Stress - Anxiety - Depression
The Term "Stress" refers
to any reaction to a physical, mental,
or emotional stimulus that upsets the body's natural balance. Stress is an unavoidable part of life. It
can result from many things, both physical and
psychological. Pressures and deadlines
at work, problems with loved ones, the need to pay the bills,
and getting ready for
the holidays are obvious sources of stress for many people.
Less obvious sources include everyday encounters with
crowds, noise, traffic, pain. Extremes of temperature,
and even welcome events such as
starting a new job, or the birth
or adoption of a child. Overwork, lack of sleep, physical
Illness, excessive alcohol consumption, and smoking are common physical factors that put stress
on the body.
Some
people handle stress well. Others are
very negatively influenced by it Stress can cause fatigue, chronic headaches,
irritability,
changes in appetite, memory loss low self-esteem,
withdrawal, tooth-grinding, cold hands, high blood
pressure,
shallow breathing, nervous twitches. lowered sexual drive, insomnia or other changes in sleep patterns,
and gastrointestinal disorders.
Stress creates an excellent breeding ground for illness. Researchers estimate that stress contributes
to as many as 80 percent of all major illnesses, including cardiovascular
disease, cancer, endocrine and metabolic
disease, skin disorders and infectious
ailments of all kinds. Many psychiatrists believe that the
majority of back problems
—one of the most common
adult ailments in North America — are related to stress.
While
stress is often viewed as a mental
or psychological problem, it has very real physical effects.
The body responds to stress with
a series of physiological changes that include
increased secretion of adrenaline,
elevation of blood pressure,
acceleration of the heartbeat, and greater tension in the
muscles. Digestion slows or stops, fats and sugars are released
from stores in the body. Cholesterol levels rise, and the composition of the blood changes
slightly.
making it more prone to clotting.
Almost all body functions and organs react to stress.
The
pituitary gland increases its production of adrenocorticotropic
hormone (ACTH), which
in turn stimulates the release
of the hormones cortisone and cortisol.
These have the effect of inhibiting the functioning of disease-fighting white blood
cells and suppressing the immune response.
The
increased production of adrenal hormones is responsible for
most of the symptoms associated with stress.
It is also the reason that stress can lead to nutritional deficiencies.
Increased adrenaline
production causes the body to
step up its metabolism of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates
to quickly produce energy for
the body to use. Further,
the body does not absorb ingested nutrients well when under
stress The result is that, especially with prolonged or recurrent stress, the body becomes
at once deficient in many nutrients and unable
to replace them adequately.
Stress
also promotes the formation of free radicals that can become
oxidized and damage body tissues, especially cell membranes.
Many
people attribute their stress-related
symptoms to "nerves," and in fact stress usually
does affect the parts of the body that are related to the
nervous system first, especially through the digestive organs. Symptoms of stress-related
digestive disorders may be a flare-up
of an ulcer or irritable bowel syndrome
Stress
can be either acute or long-term. Long-term stress Is particularly dangerous. A state of continual stress eventually
wears out the body. Because of its effect on immune response,
stress increases susceptibility to illness and slows healing
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