The Health Effects of Stress

This is a difficult task because it is challenging, even for scientists, to quantify how stress affects people. Different people react to the same stress in different ways. Have you even heard someone say, “How can you be so calm at a moment like this?” Given certain circumstances, some people will “freak out,” while others can laugh it off.

What we can’t laugh off is the absolute certainty that stress, no matter how it’s measured, can have detrimental effects on our health.

There are 50 common signs and symptoms of stress as recognized by the American Institute of Stressincluding:

• frequent headaches

• jaw clenching or pain

• gritting, grinding teeth

• tremors, trembling of lips, hands

• forgetfulness, disorganization, confusion

• sweating

• cold or sweaty hands, feet

• light headedness, faintness, dizziness

• feeling overloaded or overwhelmed

• feelings of loneliness or worthlessness

• frequent crying spells or suicidal thoughts

Physical Manifestations of Stress

Hair: High stress levels may cause hair loss and, potentially, baldness. Stress may also lead to premature hair greying.

Brain: Emotional and mental problems may be triggered by excessive stress including insomnia, depression, irritability, anxiety, headaches, and personality changes.

Skin: Acne, eczema, psoriasis, and other skin outbreaks can be the result of too much stress.

Mouth: Mouth ulcers, cold sores (Herpes Simplex I), and chronic dryness are signs of stress.

Heart: Accumulated stress may lead to cardiovascular disease and hypertension.

Lungs: Symptoms of asthma can be worsened by heightened stress levels.

Digestion: Diseases that affect the digestive tract, such as duodenal ulcers, irritable colon, ulcerative colitis, and gastritis, can be aggravated by stress.

Muscles: Stress can amplify muscular problems such as lower back pain, musculoskeletal aches, muscle spasms, nervous tics, and twitches.

Reproductive Organs: Women can be affected by irregular menstrual cycles, recurrent infections, and other menstrual disorders. Men can suffer from impotence and premature ejaculation.

The exact number of diseases and ailments linked to chronic and prolonged stress are too long to mention here, but the list does include: depression, heart disease, stroke, GERD, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome, and Parkinson’s Disease.

Increasing Awareness and Minimizing Stress

There are a number of online tests you can do to evaluate your level of stress. 4Therapy.com has many online self-assessment tests, including stress and anxiety tests.

Once you acknowledge you are under stress and are suffering the consequences of that stress, you must seek out ways to reduce stress. Meditation is a great way to calm and refocus the mind. Other stress reducing strategies include calling a friend, going for a walk, breathing exercises, having a bath followed by stretching, thought stopping (turn a negative thought into the positive), and journal writing.

Figure out what works for you when it comes to stress reduction.

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