Your heart races, your breath quickens, and your muscles ready for action. This response was designed to protect your body in an emergency by preparing you to react quickly. But when the stress response keeps firing, day after day, it could put your health at serious risk.
Stress is a natural physical and mental reaction to life experiences. Everyone expresses stress from time to time. Anything from everyday responsibilities like work and family to serious life events such as a new diagnosis, war, or the death of a loved one can trigger stress. For immediate, short-term situations, stress can be beneficial to your health.
It can help you cope with potentially serious situations. Your body responds to stress by releasing hormones that increase your heart and breathing rates and ready your muscles to respond. Chronic stress can cause a variety of symptoms and affect your overall well-being.
Symptoms of chronic stress include:. In your brain, the hypothalamus gets the ball rolling, telling your adrenal glands to release the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones rev up your heartbeat and send blood rushing to the areas that need it most in an emergency, such as your muscles, heart, and other important organs. When the perceived fear is gone, the hypothalamus should tell all systems to go back to normal. Chronic stress is also a factor in behaviors such as overeating or not eating enough, alcohol or drug abuse, and social withdrawal.
Stress hormones affect your respiratory and cardiovascular systems. During the stress response, you breathe faster in an effort to quickly distribute oxygen-rich blood to your body. Healthy Lifestyle Stress management. Products and services.
Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information. Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references How stress affects your health. American Psychological Association. Accessed March 5, Stress and your health.
Department of Health and Human Services. Seaward BL. Essentials of Managing Stress. Burlington, Mass. Manage stress. Over long periods, chronic stress can contribute to the development of a range of physical and mental disorders, including:.
Chronic stress can seem overwhelming, and a person may feel unable to regain control over their life. Some methods for managing stress include :. It can also help to unwind before sleeping, by listening to music, reading a book, taking a warm bath, or meditating, for example. If strategies such as those listed above are not helping, it is important to see a healthcare professional for advice and support. A doctor may recommend psychological therapy, such as cognitive behavioral therapy CBT.
One established aim of CBT is to help people deal with chronic stress. In structured sessions, a therapist works to enable a person to modify their behaviors, thoughts, and feelings concerning stressors. Sometimes, a doctor recommends medications to help treat some symptoms of chronic stress.
For example, they may prescribe antidepressants to treat anxiety or depression. For people with trouble sleeping, doctors may prescribe sedatives. Do not try to deal with chronic stress alone.
If self-help strategies are not working, a doctor can provide support and advice about treatment options. They can also refer a person to a more specialized healthcare provider, such as a psychologist or psychiatrist.
Anyone feeling overwhelmed by stress should see a doctor as soon as possible, especially if they are having suicidal thoughts or using drugs or alcohol to cope. Stress is a regular part of daily life. When stressed, you may have a tendency to eat more or less, which can lead to unhealthy diets. If the stress is severe enough, you may even vomit too.
The effects of stress in your body can move through the tension triangle, which includes your shoulders, head and jaw. Ask your doctor about remedies such as stress management, counseling or anxiety-reducing medicine.
Take care of your immune system by boosting it with healthy eating habits and exercise. Most importantly, training your immune system through stress reduction can do wonders in keeping you healthy.
Stress can bring on symptoms of depression and reduce your enthusiasm for activities you usually enjoy — from everyday hobbies to sex. Your body is like a barometer that raises a red flag when stress is out of control. Learn more about vaccine availability.
0コメント