The Dangers of Chronic Stress
By: Debi Silber, Ms, Rd, Whc
There are two types of stress. The first type is acute stress. That's the kind where your body senses danger and adapts to the threat by making physical changes which enable you to quickly get out of harms way. This occurs because your body secretes chemicals and stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. These chemicals are secreted in response to your thoughts and cause your body to prepare for "fight or flight." For example, let's say you are crossing the street and you notice a car quickly approaching. You see the car which causes you to feel fear and anxiety. Your body then adapts to the stress by secreting chemicals and hormones which send messages to your heart, lungs and organs in order to prepare them to handle your crisis. Your heart rate increases, blood flow is diverted to muscles allowing for quick movement, your pupils dilate and more oxygen flows through your lungs for an extra burst of energy. These changes allow you to react quickly, enabling you to jump onto the curb to safety. Within a short period of time your body calms down and things return to normal. This protective mechanism is crucial to your safety and is designed to protect you against danger.
The other type of stress is called chronic stress. With chronic stress, chemicals and hormones which were only intended to be secreted for a short period of time are continually being released. The stress response is engaged and never turned off. Glands which secrete these chemicals don't have an opportunity to replenish or restore themselves to pre stress levels. Your body remains in a state of hyper arousal, hormones are over secreted and eventually depleted. It's like turning on the shower at full force and leaving it on. Eventually, you're going to run out of hot water.
Stress and the immune system are very closely linked. Your immune system maintains internal harmony within your body. When it is healthy and strong, it is in fighting shape to protect you against unwanted invasion. One of the biggest dangers with chronic stress is that the over secretion of chemicals suppresses your immune system. When this occurs, your body doesn't have the ability to fight off invaders as effectively, so you have less protection against illness, stress related conditions and disease. The immune system is directly affected by the way we handle stress. If it's strong, it offers us protection, if it is weak, it is unable to fight for us.(Have you ever noticed how you may get a respiratory infection when you're under a lot of stress? The stress you were under caused a release of stress hormones which weakened your immune system and couldn't protect you against the invader).
Stress hormones and chemicals are released according to the way we think, feel and act. The way we think, feel and act is based on our ideas, beliefs, value system, religious upbringing, personality, culture and past conditioning. All of these variables determine how we are affected by stress because they create how we view the world around us. One event can be viewed so differently by two people depending on their perspective. For example, have you ever noticed how two people can view traffic? Once person can be seen banging their steering wheel, cursing and flooding in a sea of stress induced hormones. The other person can be seen catching up on phone calls, listening to music and enjoying a quiet moment. It's the same event for both, but how the event is regarded is completely different and is based on the way each one interprets the event. While we are all affected by stress differently, people who are better equipped to handle the stressors in their lives are the ones who enjoy the greatest health and wellness benefits. Their bodies aren't continually releasing stress hormones which are causing immune system damage along with other bodily wear and tear.
Debi Silber, MS, RD, WHC is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Personal Trainer, Whole Health Coach and President of Lifestyle Fitness, Inc. Debi is a Lifestyle Expert who works exclusively with moms for nearly 20 years inspiring and empowering them to become physically fit and emotionally strong through gradual, lifestyle changes. http://www.lifestylefitnessinc.com
Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com
|
