Lifestyle management

Impact of stress on our health

Long-standing stress, also termed as chronic stress, can wreak havoc on your mind and body. In day-to-day life we face multiple demands, such as shouldering a huge workload, planning a family event, your child's school and other needs, society and maintenance issues, and in general taking care of your family and their needs etc. Your body treats these so-called minor hassles as threats, depending on how you encounter and deal with these daily practical chores. As a result, you may feel as if you're constantly under assault and feel the extra pressure. You don't have to let stress control your life on such trifling issues.

Published Jan 07, 2022

We should accept the fact that stress is a normal process and might be positive, keeping us conscious and ready to avert perils. Stress becomes negative only when a person faces continuous challenges without relief or relaxation between them. This negative stress that continues without relief leads to a condition called distress. This distress can lead to physical symptoms which increase the risk of numerous health disorders, including:

Anxiety/Headaches/Depression

Digestive problems/Weight gain

Chest pain/Muscle aches

Sleep problems/Irritation/Anger

Memory and concentration impairment.

Individuals who are unable to tackle stress issues resort to wrong ways to counter stress, like drugs/alcohol abuse/cigarette/tobacco/social withdrawal

Stress affects our health and gives rise to problems in different systems of the body, to name a few :

Hair : Severe stress may harm the hair texture. Stress is also thought to play a role in triggering hair loss.

Skin: Outbreaks of acne are common in stressed individuals especially students attending exams. Skin rash and psoriasis is known to aggravate in persons who are under constant stress.

Pain in body parts : Stress can give rise to an acute attack of back pain or add to already existing chronic pain. Headaches are common in some people during stressful situations. Spasm in the neck, shoulder, back, or calves could be seen in some as a result of stress. This is due to the hormones released in the body during stress which involves tensing of the muscles.

Early aging : A study shows traumatic events in life and chronic stress can both shorten the ‘telomeres,’ the protective coverings on the ends of our chromosomes within the cells, which causes cells to age faster, thus making the person look much older than his/her age.

Allergies/Cold : Research states people under severe and long-standing stress show lowered immunity, thus constantly falling prey to cold-and-flu viruses, as they are less likely to fight off the germs successfully.

Indigestion/Acidity : Gastric complaints are seen to be triggered by stress and anxiety. Heartburn or retrosternal burn is triggered by stress. It is well known that anxiety and stress gives rise to diarrhea. Symptoms like stomach ache and nausea are also common.

Blood Pressure : There is a temporary rise in blood pressure with the blood vessels constricting and raised heart rate (palpitation), all of this due to a stressful situation. Once the stressful situation has elapsed, the blood pressure and heart rate are back to normal. If such situations are repetitive and continuous, the blood pressure will keep rising frequently.

Obesity/Anorexia : Stressful situations may either make an individual binge on food, overeat on the wrong food resulting in obesity, or those in depression due to stress may lose appetite resulting in anorexia.

Stress can thus cause a lot of health hazards in individuals. If not managed in time, stress may sometimes prove detrimental to life.