Stress isn’t only a feeling. Stress isn’t in your head. It is built in physiologic response to a threat. When you are stressed, your body responds. Your blood vessels constrict which leads to high blood pressure and pulse rate.
1) Heart disease – Stress have direct effect on the heart and blood vessels. It increased the likelihood of smoking and obesity which leads to increase the heart risk. Stress can trigger the cardiac problems and increase the blood pressure.
2) Asthma – Stress might increase the risk of developing asthma. Parental stress affects the asthma rates in the children. Stress can worsen the asthma.
3) Obesity – Excessive fat in the belly leads to greater health risk. Stress causes higher levels of the hormone cortisol which increase the amount of fat deposited in the abdomen.
4) Diabetes – Stress can worsen the diabetes .It raise the glucose level of people which leads to diabetes type 2.
5) Headache – Stress is considered as one of the most common trigger for headache. Sometimes people suffering from migrane are due to stress.
6) Depression and anxiety – Chronic stress is connected with high rates of depression and anxiety. There is 80% risk of developing depression within few years who had chronic stress.
7) Gastrointestinal problems – Stress is a common factor for GI conditions such as chronic heartburn (GERD) and IBS. Stress makes the ulcer problem worse.
8) Alzheimer’s disease – Stress might worsen the Alzheimer disease causing the brain lesion. Reducing stress has the potential to slow down the progression of the disease.
9) Accelerated aging – It has been studied that DNA of mothers who were under high stress can be carried to their children. A particular region of the chromosomes showed the effects of accelerated aging.
10) Premature death – Stress leads to premature death .It has been studied that those who have chronic stress will have the possibility of the death in the early age.
How we can fight back against stress
1) Breathe deeply – Just a few minutes of deep breathing can calm you and slow the physiologic stress response .As you breathe out your muscle will relax. Start with the muscle of your jaw. On the next breath out, relax your shoulder muscle.
2) Focus on the moment – When you are stressed you are probably living in the future. You can calm yourself by bringing yourself back to the present moment. If you are walking feel the sensation of your legs moving.
3) Reframe the situation – Getting worked up is a natural reaction but it won’t help you .Start reframe the situation in a positive manner so that you can survive in a healthy situation.
4) Keep your problem in perspective – If you are feeling stressed out think about things for which you are grateful. We get stressed when we focus so much on a specific problem that we lose perspective. It can be effective method for stress relief.
