The Negative Effects of Stress

The word “stress” is used in many contexts. Emotionally speaking, we can be “under stress” and we can “stress out”.  Physically speaking, we can stress structures or devices to determine how they will hold up, and we can stress parts of our body to achieve strength or flexibility.  In the world of mental health, stress is defined as a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way.  Our bodies carry something called a “stress response” - meaning, we have an involuntarily defensive reaction to a stressful event.  This response helps us to remain extra alert and focused, and it can produce a sudden burst of energy. One of the most common examples of a stress response would be slamming on the breaks of the car when someone suddenly cuts in front of you in order to avoid an accident. The stress response also can sharpen your concentration and keep you on your toes, enabling you to perform more productively in a particular task. 

 

We see that certain kinds of stress can indeed be healthy. But when the reaction goes beyond the types of responses discussed above, not only can it be debilitating, but it can be dangerous.  If your stress response is turned on too much of the time, and certainly ALL the time, it will almost always lead to serious issues - both psychological and physiological.

 

It may be surprising to know, but according to Stress Researcher Dr. Kenneth Pelletier (Sound Mind, Sound Body – A New Model for Lifelong Health; Fireside Books; 1995), an astonishing 80-90% of all illness is stress-related. His claim is that nearly 100 million Americans suffer from illness directly related to stress.  Among the physical symptoms you may experience from stress are pain of any kind, heart disease, digestive disorders, sleep disorders, depression, obesity, autoimmune diseases and skin conditions such as eczema. 

 

Our bodies contain a stress hormone, called cortisol.  Small increases in cortisol secretion usually have a positive effect on us, enhancing our memory, immune systems and helping to produce a greater threshold for pain.  Conversely, when we secrete too much cortisol, it impairs our cognitive functions, causes blood sugar imbalances, muscle loss and fat gain, higher blood pressure and lower immunity. 

 

It is of paramount importance that we learn to control our stresses rather than allowing our stresses to control us.  Learning and implementing stress-reduction techniques will help prevent these larger secretions of cortisol, as well as the need to deal with the resulting problems. Smoking, alcohol consumption, drug use, and staring at the television for hours on end are obviously are not effective ways to manage stress, but learning how to say no, avoiding stressful situations and subjects that upset you whenever possible, and keeping our “to-do” lists within manageable limits are all good starters. 

 

To summarize: Slight stress can be a great thing, and helps us use the stress response effectively.  Excessive stress can be devastating.  Keep your stress under control.  It is another way to “add hours to your day, days to your year and years to your life.” 

 

(Re-posted from the Feb 27, 2010 Loseit! Newsletter)