On any given day life is at least somewhat stressful. Let it go on too long and something’s got to give.
Here GenuLines gives you a look at how the situation can turn deadly.
Don’t Let Chronic Stress Be A Killer
Your body is hard-wired to react to stress. This protects you from potential threats.
The predators and aggressors of long ago are long gone. But you still face daily demands that make your body react in much the same way.
What Is It?
Some see stress as feeling overwhelmed, worried, run down, or anxious. It affects most everyone regardless of age, gender, socioeconomic standing, or circumstances.
Some stress is beneficial because it produces a boost of energy allowing us to get things done.
Healthy management skills can help. But this isn’t always the case.
And extreme and chronic pressure can have severe health consequences.
Chronic Defined?
Chronic stress is something that you deal with day after day for long periods of time.
This can be poverty or dysfunctional family dynamics. It could be an unhappy or abusive marriage, or a hated job.
It feels as though you have no way out of a miserable situation and you give up on searching for a solution.
How It Kills
Chronic stress can lead to a multitude of health problems including: addictions.
Concentration
A University of Maryland Medical Center study found that chronic stress affects concentration. It hurts your ability to react to situations.
You may have more accidents and be more forgetful, too.
Digestive Disorders
Digestion is a lower body priority when you respond to stress. Because of this, chronic stress can contribute to many digestive disorders.
Think bloated stomach, cramping, constipation, acid reflux, ulcers, and inflammatory bowel disease.
Increased Risk Of Heart Problems
There’s more from that University of Maryland Medical Center, mentioned earlier. Links to chronic stress included higher heart attack risk, heart disease, and stroke.
Your heart rate increases and this can constrict your arteries. Your blood thickens, which affects heart rhythms.
Lowered Immune System
Stress lowers your body’s ability to fight an infection. When it’s chronic it leaves you more susceptible to infections and severe colds and flu, and it ramps up the tension even more..
Relationships
Chronic stress affects sleep patterns, leaving you feeling irritable, fatigued, and over reactive. Depression is also a common occurrence.
These negative emotions and mental health issues often lead to a lowered quality of life. And they make interacting with others a challenge.
Skin, Hair And Teeth Problems
Coping with chronic stress also leads to hormonal imbalances. It’s linked to eczema, acne, hives, psoriasis, rosacea, hair loss, and gum disease.
Smaller amounts of distress are normal. You’re never going to be free of them..
But this doesn’t mean that you have to live a life feeling bogged down with constant concern. Identify what areas of your life are the culprits.
Then see what changes you can make.
JohnK 7-26-2021
Overheard: “A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.” ~Aesop
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