May 14, 2018
Everyone
experiences stress from time to time. The amount might vary from day to day, or
we might go through extended periods of stressful times in our lives. For some
of us, it’s our job. For others, it might be finances, marital discord or the
unexpected death of a loved one.
Stress
is unavoidable to some degree. For almost all of us, it is simply a part of
life. And I think that to some degree, this is normal. I like to think of life
as a journey. Going through the difficult times can help us grow, right? Maybe
so — but it might not feel that way, say, when you get laid off from your job.
That happened recently to a friend of mine who continues to struggle to find
work.
As a
primary care physician, that got me thinking: does stress adversely affect our
overall health? Well, the answer to that is yes and no.
What is chronic stress?
For
most of us, some acute stress is not necessarily a bad thing. It can actually
serve as a motivator to get important things done. Worrying about an upcoming
test in college or medical school was always stressful to me, but I knew the solution
was to buckle down and study so that I could learn the material. We deal with
these little stresses all the time — they’re just a part of life and not really
damaging to our health.
Long-term,
or chronic, stress is a little different. The list of potential causes is very
long. We see them in our daily lives and in the news all the time. It may be
some of the ones I mentioned above, but it could also be related to abuse
(physical, sexual or emotional), homelessness, unemployment or war, as well as many,
many others.
When
you think about the effects of this stress, you likely think about the
psychological effects first. It’s easy to see how long-term periods of stress
could lead to issues like anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder
(PTSD).
But
this stress can also have a long-term impact on your physical health.
The connection between stress and physical health
When
we’re stressed, our bodies go into “fight or flight” mode, as our sympathetic
nervous system is activated. When this occurs for a long period of time, it can
lead to elevated blood pressure, thickening of the walls of arteries,
enlargement of the heart (hypertrophy) and cholesterol plaque formation. Both
men and women who experience chronic stress have a higher risk of symptomatic
heart disease and hypertension. The prognosis of coronary artery disease in
women is also worse for those experiencing marital stress.
And
that’s not all. The risk of upper respiratory viral infections increases in
individuals exposed to chronic stress lasting more than one month. HIV
infection also progresses more quickly. Other chronic conditions like
rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and eczema tend to be more symptomatic as well.
I could
go on and on, but you get the idea — over long periods of time, stress takes a
toll.
Life
certainly has its ups and downs. Clearly there’s not a way to eliminate all
major stress from our lives. That would be a thing called “utopia,” and we’re
certainly a long way from that in this world.
But
there are little things you can do to simplify and enjoy your life, and lower
the effects of stress on both your mental and physical health. Individuals who
have a degree of spirituality in their lives tend to handle chronic stress a
little better than those who don’t. A few other things you can do: Spend time
with your family. Do the best you can to have a good family support system.
Plan for your financial future. Eat
healthy. Be kind to other people. Find ways to relax. Get a pet.
But
most of all, remember that your psychological and physical health are
connected. If you’re worried about either one, or both, talk to your doctor.
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