How Stress Can Affect Our Health
Stress may bring a positive or negative effect, depending on how it is handled, but one thing is for sure, it is a silent killer. Stress response may be beneficial in protecting the body. However, stress has harmful effects, which may become a serious chronic condition if not well managed. When the body becomes triggered too easily or too many stressors at a go, it can undermine one’s mental and physical health and become harmful. In addition, feelings of stress tend to increase the number of stressors.
When someone faces a challenge or a threat, they partly respond physically. The body activates resources that help it either stay and confront the challenge or seek safety as fast as possible.
The body produces larger quantities of cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. These chemicals can trigger specific physical reactions such as alertness, sweating, heightened muscle preparedness, and high blood pressure. These factors help in improving someone’s ability to respond to challenging situations.
Two Types of Stress
The two main types of stress are acute stress and chronic stress. Learn the difference between the little stresses that we experience daily and the more severe stress that can build up when you are exposed to a stressful situation over a longer period.
1. Acute stress
Acute stress is short-term and usually does not cause lasting physical or psychological harm unless it becomes frequent or intense. Usually, this stress will reduce or disappear once somebody resolves the stressing issue. It’s often due to a new stressor and tends to have a simple and possible easy solution. Even if the situation may be difficult, there’s always a possible way to get rid of the stress or get a solution.
Acute stress does not cause much damage as long-term, chronic stress. Stress doesn’t directly cause ulcers or structural stomach disease, but it can worsen symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and other functional digestive issues. Stress-management techniques have been shown to reduce IBS discomfort. Cumulative acute stress over longer periods can become chronic and harmful.
2. Chronic stress
Chronic stress is long-term stress that negatively affects the cardiovascular, immune, and endocrine systems, increasing the risk of illness and burnout. It results from long-term poverty, family issues, unhappy marriages, or prolonged dissatisfaction, hence chronic stress. It occurs when the individual has no view of avoiding their stressors and stops finding a solution ending up experiencing traumatic experiences. This stress can make it almost impossible for the individual’s body to return to a normal stress hormone activity, thereby leading to complications in; the respiratory system, cardiovascular system, immune system, reproductive system, and sleep.
Stress can temporarily raise blood pressure, but evidence for it directly causing long-term hypertension is mixed. However, chronic stress can indirectly affect blood pressure through poor sleep, diet, or alcohol use. Moreover, depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD) may develop if stress gets chronic.
Chronic stress may continue unnoticed, as people can become used to feeling agitated and hopeless. Therefore, it becomes part of an individual’s personality, making them constantly prone to the effects of stress regardless of the scenarios they encounter, putting one at the risk of the effects of stress, hence becoming victims of this silent killer.
Extreme stress can contribute to mental-health challenges, but suicide or violence usually result from many combined factors. If you ever feel hopeless or overwhelmed, reach out for professional help or contact your local crisis hotline.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and not a substitute for professional medical or mental-health advice. If you are struggling with stress or emotional distress, seek help from a qualified healthcare provider.
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