How Stress Impacts Your Body
Stress, it’s a word we hear every day. People are stressed out, work is stressful, but what do we really know about stress?
Most people, when they think of stress, they think it’s like they’re stressed out in their mind, they’re worrying about things, they’re obsessing about things. The response part of the stress response is your body’s response to that stress. So most of us walking around, we don’t put two and two together.
An individual’s response to stress is fight or flight. So, whether to confront the stress (fight) or to avoid it (flight). When someone experiences stress, all systems in the body will respond. These signals are then captured by the hypothalamus, which produces adrenocorticotropic hormone, which will release adrenaline and cortisol hormones.
That’s much like our body as well if it’s constantly in fight or flight and stress mode all the time then it can lead to early breakdown. We need to remember that stress doesn’t just happen in your mind. It’s whole body. And that stress is a physiological phenomenon.
- Positive
For example, someone experiences stress, there is an increase in heart rate and a slight increase in stress hormone levels, that is still something positive and is a healthy stress. Usually experienced in a short period.
2. Tolerable
In the tolerable stage, a person is in a serious stress condition and has a temporary response. This is aided by supportive environmental and relational roles. So, when someone can still face the stress. That is still tolerable
3. Toxic
If the stress experienced lasts for a long time, combined with the absence of supportive relationships and environments, then the stress response falls into the toxic category. This can result in stress that affects health both physically and mentally. If continuous and triggered by various sources, this can have lifelong impacts.
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. But when it comes to toxic stages, chronic stress can cause negative health effects on your mood, immune and digestive systems, and cardiovascular health.
However, stress cannot be avoided. Because we’re all stressed all the time. All we can do is how we manage stress by creating a daily routine, getting more sleep, connecting with other people, eating healthy food, exercising regularly and limiting time following the news.
Everyone needs a break, to refresh themselves. Sometimes we get caught in a loop and lose ourselves. But such breaks serve as nectar and bring life back to our souls. We all should learn to take breaks. Don’t wait till you break down completely!
