How Does Stress Affect Health

How does stress affect health? When we feel stressed, we feel as if we are being pulled by external forces beyond our comfort levels. We tend to think that stress comes from outside of us, yet feeling stressed is an internal state. We actually stress ourselves.

Your autonomic nervous system controls the tension of your muscles and your heart rate. When you feel threatened, you react automatically by preparing to fight or run away. Your heart rate rises, your muscles contract, blood is diverted from less critical activities like digestion towards powerful muscles that may be needed to react to the threat. You feel more alert in this state. Some researchers believe that women may also react to stress by protecting others or looking for support. During stress, women often care for children and look for support from friends - this may release the calming biochemical, oxytoxin.

These are all states in which the body is alert. This bodily alert and defense system was designed to respond to occasional threats. When the reaction is constantly triggered, you get unpleasant effects of stress - disturbed thinking and a weakened immune system and it can be very hard to get a good night sleep. You become more susceptible to illness and your digestive system is unsettled - this can cause heartburn and ulcers. The autonomic nervous system becomes sensitive and responds too readily.

The autonomic nervous system responds to anything you consider threatening or dangerous, and responds in the same way regardless of whether the threat is harmless or dangerous in reality. When the stress response is constantly triggered, your body does not get a chance to rest and recover.

Stress can be long-term and short-term. Short-term stress may be the result of getting caught in traffic, running late or getting lost. Long-term stress can be due to a relationship break-up or a serious illness. Both types can affect your body. How does stress affect health? Stress can make us sick or make existing problems a whole lot worse. Stress contributes to:

• headaches
• difficulty sleeping
• diarrhea
• constipation
• fatigue
• anger
• sadness
• overeating or undereating
• low energy
• poor concentration
• irritability
• more asthma attacks
• stomach cramps
• skin problems
• depression
• high blood pressure
• heart problems
• fertility problems

Although we cannot avoid all outside events, we can start to choose whether to react or not. Learn effective stress reduction techniques.