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Stress and your health: A Brief look
Post By lpcw
Site Admin
Posted: 01 Feb 2007 12:42 am
Post subject: Stress and your health: A Brief look
Research continues to indicate that about 80 to 90% of all diseases are stress related. Some level of stress can be good, but excessive stress can be dangerous to our health.
Q: What really is stress?
A: Anything you perceive as overwhelming or beyond your ability to handle. What’s stressful to you may not be stressful to someone else; the perception is what really matters. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) has the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. The sympathetic system prepares us to take action when we encounter stressors, while the parasympathetic system helps to maintain balance or homeostasis.
Q: What happens when we perceive an event/circumstance as stressful?
A: We perceive the stimuli, e. g., traffic jam, deteriorating relationship, etc from one of our five senses and our brain interprets the stimuli as either stressful or not stressful. If we perceive the event as not stressful, nothing happens, and the response is over. But if we perceive the event as stressful, a series of events go on, and we activate the sympathetic system and stress hormones (epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol) are released. Once stress hormones are released, we become “keyed up” or aroused until after the stressful event, then we return to homeostasis or balance by activating the parasympathetic system. Generally, activation of one system (e. g., sympathetic system results in decreased activity of the other system (parasympathetic). In other words, the two systems are mutually exclusive
Q: Are there different types of stress?
A: Yes
Distress: Thus can be either acute or chronic. Acute stress can be quite severe in intensity, such as screaming upon hearing a fire alarm. This can dissipate rather quickly. Chronic stress lingers for a long time, such as daily worrying about our financial status, relationship problems, problems at work, etc. Mental/emotional stressors such as anger, hostility, outburst, excessive worrying can either be acute or chronic. Both acute and chronic stress can be devastating to our health.
Neustress: These are events that we perceive as inconsequential, such as a remote event far from us.
Eustres: These are things such as falling in love, having a baby, getting a promotion at work, etc. These kinds of events are inspiring, motivating, and can propel success in our lives.
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Q: What are some of the effects of good stress?
A: Good stress can improve our concentration, increase our performance, energize us, etc.
Q: What are some of the effects of distress stress?
A: Loss of motivation in our daily activities, decreased effectives, and a host of health problems
Q: What are some physical and behavioral signs of chronic stress?
A: Increased in breathing, heart rate, clammy/shaky hands, tightened muscles, difficulty thinking and concentrating, insomnia, etc. Other long term signs include but are not limited to: depressed immune system, fatigue, anxiety, depression, hostility, irritability, forgetfulness, poor appetite or overeating, etc
Q: How do we adapt to stress
A: Our bodies adapt to stressors in stages. Below are some examples.
Phase 1: Alarm Reaction: The bodily systems, e g., lungs, muscles, heart, etc are activated and ready to fight the stressor in our environment
Phase 2: Resistance. The body tries to maintain balance or homeostasis. In this stage, some organs of the body may be over working to protect us
Phase 3: Exhaustion. In this stage, some of the organs that have been overworking to protect us can no longer sustain. Here, disease and even death may occur.
Q: What happens when the body can no longer protect us from overwhelming stress?
A: This is when various types of diseases begin to manifest, e. g., type 2 diabetes, hypertension, depression, heart disease, etc. As an example in type 2 diabetes, stress hormones work against insulin. As a result, insulin cannot properly regulate blood glucose levels, thus we end up with excess glucose in the blood vessels not getting into the cells to facilitate bodily functions. Also, in prolonged stress, stress hormones can cause blood vessels to constrict, thus causing the force of blood against the walls of our arteries to become too strong, thereby leading to hypertension (high blood pressure). Additionally, in prolonged stress, stress hormones can cause the heart to work harder than usual, increasing our heart rate and the chances of platelet clogging, thus making us susceptible to heart attacks
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Some helpful tips to managing stress and boosting the immune system
MIND-BODY-SPIRIT: The parasympathetic system is primarily activated in our efforts to decrease stress and maintain homeostasis. Below are some helpful tips:
•Identify your stressors and reactions
•Work on your time management and organization
•Find a routine that is flexible, realistic and enjoyable
•Look for ways to solve the problem and manage the stressor
•Identify your values, goals, and priorities
•Perceive the stressor as a challenge rather than a problem
•Eat a balanced meal with complex carbohydrates, fiber, fruits, vegetables, plant- based proteins, less saturated fats
•Get adequate rest and sleep
•Engage in regular exercise for about 30 minutes most days of the week
•Be socially involved, this helps to decrease the effect of stress hormones and improve your overall health
•Laugh more, laughter can lower your blood pressure, heart rate and prevent heart disease by decreasing the production of stress hormones
•Engage in spiritual practices you find helpful, some examples include but are not limited to meditation, prayer, believing in God/Higher Power, etc. These can reduce the production of stress hormones and decrease our heart rate, blood pressure and boost our immune system
•Attempt to improve on your communication with others
•Forgive, forget and move on. Forgiveness and health have positive outcomes. Research suggests that those who frequently forgive experience lower anxiety, depression, irritability, and decreased in hyperarousal and emotional/mental stress. Additionally, the act of forgiveness activates the parasympathetic system and reduces the release of stress hormones, hence improving health by boosting the immune system. Stressors can negatively affect the cells of the immune system and suppress anti-bodies that can protect us; forgiveness can help to decrease the release of stress hormones, thereby bringing anti-bodies back to baseline and boosting the immune system
•Other helpful tips include but are not limited to: taking a vacation, journal writing, art therapy, deep breathing, massage, mental imagery, etc
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Written By: Ruth Tanyi, RN, MSN, APRN-BC, FNP-C; ACSM, HFI
Family Nurse Practitioner, Journalist, , Certified Health Fitness Instructor; Producer & Host, Lifestyle & Preventive Care Weekly TV Show
Doctoral Student in Public Health, Preventive Care Program, Loma Linda University, CA, USA
References and Further Reading
1.Lawler, et al. (2005). The unique effects of forgiveness on health: An exploration of pathways, Journal of behavioral medicine, 28, 2, 157-167
2.Selye, H (1976). The stress of life. McGraw-Hill, New York, USA
3.Selye, H (1974). Stress without distress. Lippincott, New York
4.Seaward, B. (2004). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being, 4th edition. Jones and Bartlett Publishers: Boston, Toronto, London, Singapore.
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Stress and your health: A Brief look
Jun 13 2007, 06:19 AM
