3 Reasons Stress is Harmful to Your Health

Stress can bring the most powerful men and women to their knees on any given day. The external reactions of a friend, family member, coworker, or even yourself, can be quite noticeable when experiencing a stressful event.  But, the internal damages to your well-being may lie far enough below the surface that they often go unnoticed.

Left untreated and permitted to continue to compound over time, those seemingly small bouts of stress can take a heavy toll on your well-being and ultimately, your health. The next time you feel your palms starting to sweat or your head beginning to throb, try to keep calm, get a cup of team and try remembering these three reasons stress is harmful to your health.

1. Chronic Stress Hurts Your Heart

While an infrequent stressor can result in a brief rise in heart rate and cause the body to tense up (better known as the flight or fight response), regular occurrences can undermine the long-term efficiency and functionality of your cardiovascular system.

The rise in heart rate from stress exposure causes triglycerides and cholesterol to be released into the bloodstream, increasing the risk of future cardiovascular diseases. When overexposed to stress for extended periods of time, the flight or fight response may enter a suspended state, preventing the body’s stress hormones from returning to normal baseline levels.

Not only does this put your heart at risk for cardiovascular disease in the future, but it also tends to encourage indulgence in previous or existing habits such as smoking, overeating, and alcohol consumption, resulting in additional vulnerability of developing heart disease.

Monitoring your emotions and feelings through an increased awareness during stressful events can be a crucial proponent in thwarting yourself from coping with stress through heart-harming activities. Instead of turning to your kryptonite after a stressful event, find a more productive hobby that both promotes health and relaxation while also mitigating stress.

2. Adrenal Gland Fatigue

The adrenal glands consist of two distinct regions, the adrenal cortex, and the adrenal medulla. While the adrenal cortex produces corticosteroid hormones essential for everyday life, the adrenal medulla secretes epinephrine and norepinephrine, responsible for countering feelings of stress.

Where are the adrenal glands located? Adrenal glands are found above the kidneys as the interaction between the kidneys, and adrenal glands is necessary to regulate blood pressure and maintain stable electrolyte levels. When experiencing stress, the secretion of neurotransmitters from the adrenal medulla allows the body to concentrate its blood flow to organs and muscle groups which help to analyze, endure, and potentially escape the stressful situation.

Just as repeated overuse of a muscle group causes weakness or thinking through complex tasks for extended periods of time temporarily wears on the brain, chronic stress can result in Adrenal Fatigue. Healthy levels of hormones often drop during prolonged periods of chronic stress, resulting in body aches, blood pressure inconsistencies, and general feelings of sickness.

If a demanding job, everyday financial troubles, or regular traffic jams in daily commutes are causing chronic stress in your life, listen to your body and consult your physician to determine some means and methods to mitigate the pressure and to give your adrenal medulla a much-needed break.

3. Stress Can Lead to Anxiety and Depression

Chronic stress can disrupt day-to-day life. Routines and relationships are often both directly and indirectly affected when experiencing prolonged stress. While the symptoms may start out slowly, perhaps as a few nights of restless sleep, chronic stress can toxically snowball and result in neglecting regular exercise, eating unhealthy, and abusing substances, ultimately leading to higher levels of anxiety and depression.

These behavioral symptoms spark irritability, further creating and intensifying stress levels, causing even more feelings of anxiousness and depression. Day-to-day, the vicious cycle is compounded as it continues, becoming even more difficult to break away from. As depression can both hinder existing medical conditions and generate new risks of future medical issues, it is incredibly vital to becoming aware of the symptoms of chronic stress as well as the necessary, and healthy means for coping.

Understanding and Mitigating Stress

Unsure if stress is becoming problematic in your life? Understanding chronic stress and beginning to track your symptoms is an excellent place to start. Several tests have been created to help determine if the stress you are experiencing is chronic and whether it may be negatively impacting your health. While many of these tests exist online, the first step in addressing chronic stress and its impact on your wellbeing should be speaking with your primary care physician or do a search for the best nephrologist in melbourne.

With their help and diagnosis, a plan of action can be individually tailored for you to cope with current issues and manage future stressors as they arise.