STRESS - the Silent Killer
Sadly, a major part of most peoples lives is having to deal with ongoing or daily stressors. Or what tend to refer to as 'Triggers'. In these difficult times, such as dealing with the COVID pandemic - much of people's main focus will be on survival and maintaining good health. Yet, millions if not billions of people are going about their daily life in a stressful mode.
This brief article has been put together to inform you of the 'harmful effects of stress', because many of the symptomatic effects of not controlling stress build-up cannot only be the trigger for disease, but also death.
Stress has many faces, and can enter your life from many directions and for different reasons. Yet, no matter what it causing it to happen - your mind, body and spirit can become adversly affected. Besides, the fact that your body can become flooded with damaging stress hormones, your heart can pound faster, your breathing can become erratic, and your stomach may churn.
Unfortunately, millions of people can be going about their normal everyday life without even realizing what they’re feeling, or why they are falling into a distressed state of mind. But what is stress
Stress Defined
I found it hard to pin down one specific and trusted definition of ‘Stress’ as it is being defined in many ways by various global institutions or experts. In saying that, there does appear to be some commonly occurring key words that may help define it. For instance, words such as ‘pressure’, ‘tension’, ‘demands’, ‘strain’, ‘disturbance’, ‘imbalance’, ‘overwhelmed’, ‘coping’ appear often.
There has been a lot of research groundwork done about stress, which raises the question – who should you trust when it comes to defining it or trusting its meaning? A widely known and credible research source on the global map is the ‘American Psychological Association’ (APA).
The APA definition of stress is as follows.
Any uncomfortable emotional experience accompanied by predictable biochemical, physiological and behavioral changes.” [1]
I see no point in looking beyond a leading global expert on the subject, in ‘Hans Selye’ – as, he has conducted many in-depth studies associated with the subject of human stress, and how it impacts the body from a medical point of view. Seyle describes stress as;
“A non-specific response of the body to any demand placed upon it” [2]
The Damaging Effects of Stress
As you read this article, you may a person who ha no knowledge whatsoever about the effect of stress on your mind, body, and spirit. On the other hand, you may have some inkling as to what it can do, if it goes uncontrolled. Either way, its important to give it some respect and digest the following information.
The body's response to stress was honed in our prehistory.
Collectively called the "fight-or-flight" response - it has helped humans survive threats like animal attacks, fires, floods, and conflict with other humans. Today, obvious dangers like those aren't the main things that trigger the stress response. Any situation you perceive as threatening, or which requires you to adjust to a change, can set it off. And that can spell trouble.
Chronic stress can lead to 'high blood pressure' and 'heart disease'. It can 'dampen the immune system', increasing susceptibility to colds and other common infections. It can contribute to asthma, digestive disorders, cancer, and other health problems. New research even supports the notion that high levels of stress somehow speed up the aging process.
In addition, the 'Emotional effects' of stress can include anger, irritability, or restlessness to feeling overwhelmed, unmotivated, or unfocused.
Though stress is inevitable, you can help control your body's response to it. Exercise, meditation, invoking the relaxation response, and mindfulness are great stress busters.
According to Dr. Ann Webster, a health psychologist at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.
"As we age, our immune systems are less efficient, and adding stress to that can lead to disease progression or the onset of disease."[3]
Refs:
1] American Psychological Association (APA).
2] Seyle, H. (1950). 'The Stress of Life'. McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.
3] Harvard Health Publishing (2015). 'Best ways to manage stress'. Cited online at https://www.health.harvard edu/mind-and-mood/best-ways-to-manage-stress. January, 2015 Harvard Health Letter.
Image credits:
Pexels - Gustavo Fring, Pexels - Evalina Zhu
