Your body is designed to respond defensively to any threatening situation by releasing stress hormones that quicken your heartbeat, increase your breathing rate, and tense up your muscles, all of which help keep you alert and give you a fighting chance. Stress becomes a problem for your health only when your body remains on high alert for long durations or frequently.
Long-term or chronic stress can have adverse effects on your physical and mental well-being as the tension begins to manifest in the form of different symptoms, including but not limited to:
- headaches
- loss of appetite
- sleeplessness
- depression
- irritability
It is essential to understand the source of your stress and manage it accordingly to avoid health issues. The article discusses the different ways in which stress can negatively affect your health so that you may be able to identify your symptoms better and seek the help you need.
- Muscle tension
Stress directly affects your muscles; they respond by immediately tensing up to prepare you for the impending challenge ahead. In the case of prolonged stress, you are likely to develop several body aches with a lifetime dependence on painkillers and muscle relaxants.
- Stress-induced headaches, or tension headaches, are a result of muscles contracting in the head and neck region. They are characterized by the slow and dull onset of pain in a band-like grip around the head.
- Stress-related back pain is a backache brought about by stress that usually affects the mid and lower back region, which can cause your posture to bend over and increase pressure on your hips and knees.
Stress-related exercises, like yoga and pilates, and chiropractic care can be great therapy options for healing chronic muscular pains. You can also seek professional help by signing up for AIM Chiropractic services to address chronic back pain and headaches with holistic and personalized treatment options.
- Heart-related diseases
A healthy level of stress causes the blood vessels to dilate to pump more blood to the muscles; it also increases blood pressure and heart rate for a short period. In contrast, persistent stress can cause multiple heart and blood-related ailments since your body remains exposed to the stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, for an extended period. This could result in:
- Heart attack: constantly high blood pressure puts you at risk of getting a heart attack if you suffer from chronic stress. It’s even riskier for the heart because of the mechanisms you employ to cope with that stress, which can include smoking, drug abuse, overeating, etc.
- Stroke: since your heart beats faster and works harder due to elevated stress levels, there are high chances of a clot forming anywhere in your arteries and travelling up to your brain, resulting in a stroke.
- Hypertension: a high level of stress can result in increased levels of sugar and fat in the bloodstream, which can be harmful to cardiovascular functioning. It also heightens cholesterol levels, increasing the risk of blocked arteries and heart attack.
A great way to prevent these issues is to make some changes in your lifestyle and diet to counteract the effects of stress on your body. You can adopt healthy eating habits, avoid smoking and drinking, and exercise to release the tension from your body and mind.
- Gastrointestinal issues
Stress can affect your digestive functioning and cause bloating, indigestion, and multiple other gut-related problems. Initially, you might link your digestive issue to something you ate or your unhealthy eating habits in general because symptoms of long-term stress take time to manifest.
- Heartburn: high levels of stress can lead to delayed digestion, which can cause the gastric fluids from your stomach to flow backwards into your esophagus, known as acid reflux. It leads to a burning sensation felt in the chest and throat area called heartburn. Stress can increase the amount of acid production in the stomach, which is also a contributing factor to acid reflux.
- Diabetes: a healthy level of stress causes your liver to release extra glucose into your blood to give your body a surge of energy. Prolonged stress, on the other hand, can cause your blood sugar levels to rise and remain high, pushing your pancreas to produce more insulin, the leading cause of type II diabetes. Stress can also influence your eating habits and cause you to overeat, which can disrupt your glucose level and lead to insulin resistance.
- Irritable bowel syndrome: it is a common digestive condition in which you experience symptoms such as bloating, stomach cramps, diarrhea, and constipation. IBS is linked to stress because stress hormones can affect your gastric activity, sometimes delaying digestion or causing your colon to spasm, which can lead to irritation and discomfort in daily life.
Most of the gut issues caused by stress can easily be remedied by medication and a lifestyle change, but in order to prevent the stress from recurring, proper therapy, relaxation exercises, and treatments are needed.
- Hormonal issues
Stress can cause hormonal imbalances in your body, leading to several mental and physical issues disrupting the intensity and frequency of your sexual drive. Your ability to reproduce can also be affected by stress, although it manifests differently in both men and women.
- Sex drive: in men, stress negatively affects sperm production and the release of testosterone, which can reduce their libido or, in some cases, even result in erectile dysfunction. In women, stress and depression can also significantly lower sexual drive and arousal.
- Menstruation: stress can interfere with women’s menstrual cycle by either delaying periods or causing them to become more painful. Stress can also intensify the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and cause bloating and water retention. It can worsen menopause by causing emotional distress and aggravating chronic ailments such as arthritis and migraines.
Reproductive issues brought about by stress have to be managed by first understanding the source of your stress, which can be related to work, trauma, relationship problems, or even your health.
- Difficulty in Breathing
Your body responds to stress by constructing your airways and lungs, causing you to exert extra strength to breathe, resulting in symptoms such as shortness of breath and rapid breathing. If you already struggle with asthma or bronchitis, stress-induced respiratory symptoms can further deteriorate your health. Practicing breathing exercises and meditation can be a great way to manage and control your stress.
Conclusion
Stress can significantly impede your daily life activities and take away the joy of living. Timely diagnosis and treatment are necessary to stop your anxiety from becoming chronic and save you from a lifetime of issues and problems. It would help if you prioritized your physical and mental health over everything else and never compromised on it.