Effects Of Stress

Stress is a normal part of life. Many events that happen to you and around you and many things that you do yourself put stress on your body. Stress is the body's reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. The human body is designed to experience stress and react to it. Stress can be positive, keeping us alert and ready to avoid danger. Stress becomes negative when a person faces continuous challenges without relief or relaxation between challenges. As a result, the person becomes overworked and stress-related tension builds.

Stress is a normal physiological response of the body to hostile environment. The effects of stress affect not only man, but also animals. Stress can affect children, adolescents and adults. Though the stress factor may be different in different age groups, the outcome is more or less the same. When the trigger is repetitive, prolonged or unanticipated, then it becomes pathological. The immediate, transient or the short term effects are the normal physiological responses whereas the delayed, persisting or the long term effects of stress are the pathological responses.

The effects of stress can lead to health problems like cardiovascular problems, stroke, ulcers, depression, hypertension, skin problems, infertility, irregular menstruation, and eating disorders. Stress also has an adverse effect on the immune system. It can weaken your immune system causing you fall ill frequently or leading to health issues like psoriasis, ulcerative colitis, eczema, and Crohn's disease. The effects of stress differs from one person to the next depending on the age, physical health, mental health, attitude towards life and the amount of stress the person has.

» Hair loss
» Premature graying of hair
» Memory problems
» Bad concentration
» Poor judgment
» Mood swings
» Seeing only the negative side of things
» Confused state of mind
» Avoid social contact with friends and family
» Episodes of anger
» Irritability for no reason whatsoever
» Overreacting to things and incidents
» Lack of confidence
» Eating too little or too much
» Sleeping too little or too much
» Consuming too much alcohol and/or tobacco
» Insomnia or disturbed sleep patterns
» Frequent headaches
» Digestion problems
» Elevated blood pressure
» Fatigue
» Breathing problems
» Severe pain in the muscles
» Arrhythmia

Stress that continues without relief can lead to a condition called distress - a negative stress reaction. Distress can lead to physical symptoms including headaches, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain, and problems sleeping. Stress also becomes harmful when people use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs to try and relieve their stress. Unfortunately, instead of relieving the stress and returning the body to a relaxed state, these substances tend to keep the body in a stressed state and cause more problems. Research suggests that stress also can bring on or worsen certain symptoms or diseases. Points that need to be taken into consideration:

- Forty-three percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress.
- Seventy-five percent to 90% of all doctor's office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints.
- Stress can play a part in problems such as headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, diabetes, skin conditions, asthma, arthritis, depression, and anxiety.
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) declared stress a hazard of the workplace. Stress costs American industry more than $300 billion annually.
- The lifetime prevalence of an emotional disorder is more than 50%, often due to chronic, untreated stress reactions.

Psychological and emotional effects of stress are often emphasized because their relationships to some stressor are apt to be more apparent, particularly with respect to depression, post traumatic stress disorder and panic attacks. However, the effects of stress also include various physical signs and symptoms as well as physical diseases. These effects of stress are frequently due to disturbances in cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and immune system function. Heart attack, hypertension, stroke and sudden death are some of the cardiovascular effects of stress. Other adverse effects of stress on the immune system reduce resistance to colds, herpes, AID and possibly some viral linked cancers.

There are many ways that you can reduce the negative effects of stress. The first thing to do is to identify sources of stress to see if you can prevent or avoid the harmful effects of stress. In some instances, such as the loss of a loved one, it may be impossible to avoid the effects of stress. You can reduce the annoying effects of stress by learning appropriate stress reduction techniques. However, just as stress and the effects of stress differ for each of us, no stress reduction technique is a panacea. You have to find what works best for you.