The consequences of stress They can be physical, psychological and can even affect the life of a couple and family. Stress is one of the most common psychological problems in our current society.
According to a 2014 study by American Institute of Stress, more than 70% of the American population experiences frequent discomfort related to it, both physically and mentally.
The World Health Organization warns that stress has become a modern epidemic. Although being stressed on time does not have to be a cause for concern, feeling this emotion constantly has an extremely negative impact on our body and our brain..
Although the possible consequences of stress are innumerable, in this article we will talk about some of the most common. If you feel identified with several of them, it is possible that seeking help from a specialist will help you achieve greater well-being.
Various studies suggest that being in a situation of high stress for a long period of time has a very negative impact on our immune system. When we suffer from this psychological problem, our defenses lower and therefore the body is more prone to suffer from all kinds of diseases.
At the same time, because this system is weakened, in the event that we suffer from any type of disease, the time we will need to recover from it will be much longer..
Chronic stress puts the body in a constant fight or flight state. Because of this, all the muscles are more tense than normal, as if we were prepared to face imminent danger..
The problem is that our muscles are not designed to stay tense in this way for a very long period of time. Therefore, chronic stress can cause all kinds of pain. Some of the most frequent are back, neck or head.
Stress is closely related to anxiety. People with the first problem chronically are much more likely to develop a more serious psychological disorder, such as panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or generalized anxiety..
At the same time, it has also been proven that in many cases chronic stress ends up leading to a problem of depression. This is especially true in the case of individuals who have certain personality traits that make them more vulnerable to this disorder..
One of the first bodily functions to be affected by stress is sleep. People with this chronic problem not only have a harder time falling asleep, they will find it more difficult not to wake up and will feel more tired even if they have been in bed for many hours.
One of the main reasons this happens is that stress interferes with the body's hormonal system. In order to sleep, we need to generate a substance known as melatonin; but when we are stressed, our levels of cortisol (an antagonist of this hormone) are much higher than usual.
Unfortunately, lack of sleep tends to further disrupt our hormonal system and make other symptoms worse. If the problem is not solved, the person can enter a vicious circle that can sometimes lead to a serious situation.
When we are in a state of stress, our body believes that it is going to have to face some imminent danger. Therefore, our circulatory system is activated more than necessary, and symptoms such as an increase in blood pressure and a greater number of beats per minute occur..
These two symptoms, when they occur over a long enough period of time, greatly increase one's risk of cardiovascular disease..
People who suffer from stress regularly have drastic changes in their appetite. Either they are much less hungry than usual, or they greatly increase their food intake. Because of this, your health may end up suffering in the long term..
As if this were not enough, stress also directly impacts the digestive system. Our body becomes less efficient when it comes to extracting nutrients from the food we eat; and it is common for a stressed person to feel discomfort such as stomach aches or heaviness after eating.
Prolonged periods of stress have been shown to cause the liver to release more glucose into the bloodstream. This is very dangerous for your health, since it increases the probability of ending up suffering from type II diabetes.
In addition, increased blood glucose can also disrupt appetite, increase the risk of obesity or cardiovascular disease, alter the body's hormonal balance, and make a person feel much less energetic than usual..
As we have already seen, when we suffer from chronic stress, our body releases a substance, called cortisol, which alters our hormonal balance. One of the main affected by this process is testosterone, a mainly male hormone that has all kinds of positive effects both physically and mentally..
When a man's testosterone levels are low, he is more likely to suffer from depression, he tends to lose muscle mass and gain fat, he feels less energy, and experiences all kinds of psychological problems such as lack of concentration and attention..
The "fight or flight" state in which we find ourselves in times of stress is totally incompatible with the sexual response.
In order to feel excited or maintain relationships, it is necessary that we are relaxed and living in the moment; two things that become very difficult when we are stressed.
Therefore, this psychological problem has very negative consequences on our sexual life. Not only does it lower our libido, but it can also cause erectile dysfunction or lack of ejaculation in men, lack of excitement or lubrication in women, or even more serious problems such as infertility or missed periods..
Stress also has a very negative effect on the health of our skin. When we are stressed in a specific way, it is very common that we suffer from problems such as acne, oily or dry skin, or eczema.
On the other hand, chronic stress can cause some more serious and annoying problems to appear. One of the most common is psoriasis, a very unpleasant skin disease that cannot be easily treated..
Hair is one of the parts of the body least necessary for survival, and therefore our body tends to discard it when we find ourselves in a situation of real or perceived threat. In the case of chronic stress, this can mean hair loss to very high levels.
The problem is that the hair that falls out when we are stressed can do it permanently; that is, even if we improve our mood, the hair that we have lost will not grow back.
As we have already seen, stress interferes with the production of testosterone and other important hormones for the body..
At the same time, it increases blood sugar levels, and puts our body in a state of "energy saving", in case it has to face a serious threat in the near future..
All this contributes to our physical form seriously deteriorating. When we are stressed, we tend to lose muscle mass and accumulate much more fat, especially in the hips and waist area. This abdominal fat is one of the most dangerous for our health, and one of the most difficult to eliminate.
When we are stressed, it is much more difficult for us to keep our attention focused on a single stimulus. This is because our sympathetic nervous system is activated, which makes us be alert and aware of everything that happens around us..
In addition, lack of sleep, poor diet, and low testosterone also make it harder for us to concentrate. All this causes, for example, that our productivity goes down or that we have memory problems.
Muscles throughout the body become excessively tense when we are stressed. For some people, the only consequences of this are physical fatigue and muscle aches; but for others, it can mean the appearance of all kinds of tics.
Thus, many chronically stressed individuals have uncontrollable movements or spasms that occur frequently. The consequences of this are not usually serious, but even so, they can negatively affect the self-esteem of those who suffer them.
Finally, even in cases where no mood disorder appears, people with stress tend to feel very negative emotions on a frequent basis..
Because of this, they tend to have less patience than usual and to get angry quickly, even when they seem to have no reason to do so..
This tends to very negatively affect the personal relationships of those affected by chronic stress, who may end up feeling isolated from their environment.
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