A Little Stress Goes a Long Way
Stress. Everyone feels it sometimes, some feel it more often than not these days. People are stressed about money, about their relationships, about their health, about their friends, about their jobs, about not having a job….you get the point. But most people don’t realize just what that stress is doing to their bodies.
This article is not meant to stress you out any more than your already are, so don’t get stressed about the fact that all of the stress you are under is probably hurting you! What I am trying to do here is make you aware that if you are under stress much of the time, then it’s time to take a look at that and make some changes, and make them fast. Why?
Stress is often referred to as the “silent killer”. Stress doesn’t come out necessarily on a blood test, or ekg, or a routine physical. Nope. It kind of hides in the background, gaining strength, building its fortress, and then, BAMM, when you least expect it, it rears its ugly head and manifests itself as some chronic illness or symptom or disease. So stress can go undetected for a long time, unless you, yes in mean YOU, are paying attention.
ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION? What happens when you are under stress? Well, let’s look at that for a minute. Here is some information from the American Massage Therapy Association on what stress does to you:
Your body reacts unconsciously to situations you find threatening, Its emergency stress response primes you for fight or flight by causing certain physiological changes to take place:
- your body produces additional adrenaline.
- your heart beats faster and more blood flows into your larger muscles
- your breathing becomes shallow and you start to perspire
- the functioning of your immune and digestive systems is inhibited
- the flow of blood to your extremities and internal organs is decreased
Frequent or unrelenting stress can damage your body, ultimately leading to discomfort or pain. It’s a contributing factor in most disease processes. The adverse effects of stress can manifest themselves as:
- changes in blood sugar
- colitis
- headaches
- heart disease
- high blood pressure
- hypertension
- ulcers
You can understand why accumulated stress and tension can spoil much of the pleasure and productivity you find in life.
Wow. If that isn’t enough for you, an article from the American Medical Association found that chronic stress was linked to more heart disease among police officers. The article states,
It’s no secret that police officers face a lot of stress on the job. After all, bringing in the bad guys is hazardous duty.
But surprisingly, it’s also the low-level, chronic stress of finishing up paperwork and juggling work and family — stressors faced by workers across occupations — that can take a toll on the health of police officers, according to recent research.
The risk for cardiovascular disease is higher among law enforcement officers than it is for the rest of the population, where it is already exceedingly high. Heart disease and strokes cause more deaths in Americans of both genders and all racial and ethnic groups than any other disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It appears that chronic stress in police officers may be a factor in heart disease’s elevated levels among these men and women. And, researchers say, there is likely a similar effect in other occupations.
Firefighters, nurses, teachers and even newspaper reporters are all vulnerable to the effects of chronic stress, said Warren Franke, PhD, a kinesiology professor and director of the exercise clinic at Iowa State University.
Read the entire article HERE
A WebMD article talks about the effects of stress on thoughts and emotions, stating:
You might notice signs of stress in the way you think, act, and feel. You may:
- Feel cranky and unable to deal with even small problems.
- Feel frustrated, lose your temper more often, and yell at others for no reason.
- Feel jumpy or tired all the time.
- Find it hard to focus on tasks.
- Worry too much about small things.
- Feel that you are missing out on things because you can’t act quickly.
- Imagine that bad things are happening or about to happen.
To read that entire article, click HERE
The bottom line here is that stress leads to chronic illness, and this is not speculation on my part. We need to do whatever is necessary to reduce the stress in our lives. Don’t just think about it, DO IT.
Peace,
Jamie
Comments
Great info Jamie!
[Reply]
Thanks Jamie – I didn’t realize how much stress I was under after my Mom’s death and another situation with a woman… Great info. I appreciate it. Also thanks for your nice comments on her passing.
With love DON
[Reply]