5 Health Problems That Are Caused By Stress

We all know that being stressed is unavoidable. Stress is our response to situations that drives us on our edge. It does not only affect our body but also affects our minds.

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5 Health Problems That Are Caused By Stress

We all know that being stressed is unavoidable. Every living being experiences this body reaction. Stress is our response to situations (read more) that drives us on our edge. It does not only affect our body but also affects our minds. This physiological response is triggered by “stressors,” and these can be from anything that throws us off our homeostatic rhythm (state of balance).

Too much of anything is bad for you, and that also applies to stress. While stress may be considered “good” for our health as it is a key factor to our survival, it can also be detrimental when it becomes burdensome. It can potentially develop diseases that you might not be aware of, making it a silent, slow-acting poison. In this article, we will talk about these diseases that can be caused or contributed by stress!

The Brief Scientific Explanation About Stress

When a stressor is identified by our body, our brain signals our endocrine system to release stress hormones. These hormones rouse our body to go into a state of “Fight or Flight.” This state makes our heartbeat faster, increases blood pressure, tightens muscle, and senses become sharper. This allows us to deal with the stressors and attempt to return our bodies to homeostasis.

There Are Two Types Of Stress

Distress

This type is triggered by negative stressors and has negative characteristics. These negative characteristics include low performance and anxiety.

Eustress

Eustress is triggered by excitable stressors that have the opposite characteristics of distress. These characteristics include short-term increased productivity, pleasant feeling, and a feeling of motivation. One good example of a positive stressor is winning a lottery, giving you excitement!

Coping With Stress

Whether you are distressed or stressed, relaxation is their identical way of coping. This coping is done in many ways, and it varies from person to person.

There are also ways to enhance relaxation, and one example of it is the use of a compound called CBD or cannabidiol. Curious about what CBD can do? Check out Cheefbotanicals blogs for more information! Examples aside from using cannabidiol, you can also soak in warm baths or meditate in a quiet environment.

Health Problems That Are Caused Or Contributed By Stress:

Asthma

This illness may not come as a surprise to many people. Stress may not be the cause of asthma. However, it can trigger an attack or worsens it. One study, however, revealed that chronic or long-term stress together with smoking during pregnancy by a mother could cause asthma to their unborn child.

Under pressure, our body increases oxygen demand. When a person has asthma attacks, they will hyperventilate or exhibit fast-shallow breathing. The person then becomes unconscious if there is not enough oxygen supplied to the brain. This can easily be fatal if not addressed as soon as possible!

Arrhythmia

Stress directly affects our heart rate, and this could lead to many complications. Arrhythmia is one of them, and this means your heartbeat has an uneven rhythm. It can either be slow or fast, feel like it skipped a beat, or add one or “flutters.”

Arrhythmias can be harmless or fatal, so if you feel something abnormal, it is better to visit a doctor. To give you more idea of what arrhythmia feels like, here are some signs and symptoms you need to watch out for:

Palpitations
Tightened chest
Strong chest-pounding
Shortness of breath
Dizziness; and
Weakness

Depression

One of the most prevalent mental illnesses in the world today is depression. Affecting more than 264 million people worldwide, this calls for a global concern. Because of the high number of people affected by it, numerous researchers urged to study the cause and contributing factors of the illness. One well-known contributing factor is none other than chronic stress!

According to the study, a person under constant immense pressure with poor coping can lead to depression. The person may exhibit low performance, loss of appetite, insomnia, and lack of social interaction. There is no cure for depression, but we can prevent it, so treat yourself to a spa or have a vacation!

Diabetes

There are two types of diabetes, and these are Type 1 Insulin-dependent diabetes and type 2 non-insulin-dependent diabetes. Stress may have different effects on the two types.

For example, type 1 does not produce enough insulin (hormone) to allow glucose (sugar) to enter our cells to become energy. In cases of under pressure, the glucose demand increases as our cells are constantly wasting energy.

It worsens type 1 diabetes because of low insulin and can cause a fatal complication called “ketoacidosis.”

However, in type 2 diabetes, they have enough insulin supply, but the receptor or “keyhole” for the insulin has problems. But when under stress, like doing an exercise, this can help the receptor to become more permeable for the insulin.

It ultimately lowers down the sugar levels in their blood, managing diabetes. However, do note that this may not work for all people affected by type 2 diabetes!

Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is the forming of plaques in our arteries, blocking our bloodstream. The relationship between Atherosclerosis and chronic stress is a bit of a stretch since the body reaction does not directly form plaques.

Chronic stress, however, affects our fat metabolism (link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6460614/), inflammation (localized increased temperature), production of many different hormones, and macrophages (cells that fight infection).

Each of these, according to the study, contributes to forming plaques!