The Effects Of Stress On The Body

Posted By Samantha Jones
Categoirzed Under: Stress Management
Comments (0)
by Samantha Jones

There are many different effects of stress on the body. The short term effects have been well documented and studied by biologists. The long term effects are harder to assess in scientific research because they can vary from person to person, but stress is much better understood now than it was a few decades ago.

Stress causes a set of physical responses collectively known as the “fight or flight” response. The hormone adrenaline is released into our bodies in order to prepare us to escape from danger or fight off the threat. Our heart rate increases, respiration becomes more rapid, muscles tense and our senses become sharper. This is a response possessed by most animals.

How all of this works is that the hypothalamus gland is activated by stress. Our hormonal system cannot distinguish between different types of stress stimuli, but it does react differently depending on the perceived severity of the threat as well as whether not the threat is an imminent one.

The sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine glands receive a signal from the brain and then fill the body with the stress hormones. These hormones include adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine. These are our bodies’ equivalent of putting “all hands on deck”.

The heart rate goes up and more blood flows to the large muscle groups, preparing us for fighting or running away. The blood vessels nearest the skin retract to restrict bleeding if we are injured. Our blood sugar soars to quicken our reaction time and boost our energy levels.

During this time, our reproductive and digestive systems slow down, as does the flow of growth hormones and the immune system.

If we are facing a real physical threat, these autonomic responses are incredibly useful and can help us to survive a dangerous situation.

Most of the stressful situations we face do not have to do with facing off against predatory animals, however. Instead, these stimuli are more likely to be along the lines of deadlines at work or in other situations where fight or flight is usually not the best response.

When we have this response and do not have to actually respond in a “fight or flight” fashion, then the physical effects linger. In many case, this lasts until the next stressful stimulus comes up.

As a result, a good number of us spend our lives in a near constant stressed out state ? which is not healthy for us. Our cardiovascular system can be overworked and our digestive systems underactive. Immune function can be compromised and the reproductive system working at a lower capacity. We can suffer from indigestion, migraines or even heart problems due to this heightened stress level.

The effects of stress on the body are harmful to our cardiovascular system and keep our immune system from doing its job properly ? it’s no mystery why people get sick so often these days!

About the Author:

Handling Adolescent Stress

Posted By Samantha Jones
Categoirzed Under: Stress Management
Comments (0)
by Samantha Jones

Everyone has a hard time in their teenage years to some extent. Adolescent stress is something which everyone experiences as a teenager. Many things can contribute to adolescent stress, such as the physical changes and hormonal shifts which are a natural part of puberty. Adolescents are also learning how to cope with their growing and changing bodies and emotions, even as they struggle with becoming adults and making important decisions for themselves. All of these factors can lead to adolescent stress.

The list which follows are some of the factors which can lead to adolescent stress:

- their parents separating or divorcing

- moving

- starting at a new school

- a death in the family

- conflict with peers, teachers or parents

- beginning or ending their first romantic relationships

- having sex for the first time

- family illness (physical or mental), alcoholism or other troubles

- financial problems in the family

- living in a dangerous neighborhood

- the physical changes to their bodies which accompany puberty

- pressure to achieve academically

- negative feelings and thoughts about themselves

Many of those would also cause stress in adults. However, adolescents often suffer even more because they have less control over their lives. They cannot choose where to live or who to live with, for example.

All adolescents experience stress, which they may display in the form of:

- irritability and mood swings

- anxiety, worrying

- withdrawal, avoiding other people

- the use of alcohol or drugs

- physical illness

There are methods which adolescents can use to control stress. So0me give teens near-immediate relief from stress but others are a long term strategy to achieve stable hormonal levels and emotional balance.

- watch or read something that makes you laugh

- listen to relaxing music

- talk to friends or play with your pets

- get regular exercise

- eat a healthy diet which is rich in fresh vegetables and fruits

- avoid stimulants and other chemicals (coffee, tea, cola, chocolate, sugar, tobacco, alcohol and drugs), especially when experiencing stress

- learn deep breathing and other relaxation techniques

- practice yoga, tai chi or meditation

- learn to be assertive (to say how you feel or ask for what you want in a way that is not threatening to others)

- if you feel overwhelmed by a problem, try breaking it down into more manageable parts and tackle them one at a time

- try to replace negative thoughts with positive ones such as affirmations

- do not indulge in imagining all the bad things that might happen

If you are experiencing a level of stress which is compromising your health or your quality of life, then you may find that stress management training can help. You’ll learn some valuable stress management techniques such as those listed above ? even to the point of eliminating stress as it arises!

Finally, do not feel bad if you get stressed from time to time. Remember, everybody does. The difference is only in how we deal with it. Adolescent stress does not have to take over your life.

About the Author:

How Stress Affects Your Health?

Posted By Samantha Jones
Categoirzed Under: Stress Management
Comments (0)
by Samantha Jones

When considering how does stress affect health, it is important to realize that a wide variety of health problems can be related to stress.

Studies suggest that somewhere between 60% and 90% of illnesses may be either caused or complicated by stress. This does not necessarily mean that stress is the sole cause of the disease, but that it is a factor or is making the disease worse than it would be otherwise. Corporations have taken notice, since stress related illness causes a lot of absenteeism and reduced productivity in the workplace. This has led to a number of companies offering training in stress management to their staff, with some firms going so far as to help fund stress management research.

The immune system cannot work at peak efficiency while you are experiencing stress. Suppose there are two people ? one is under a high degree of stress, the other relaxed. Now expose the two to a flu virus. The person who is under stress is much more likely to come down with influenza than is the person who is not under stress; when your immune system is weakened by stress, you are far more likely to get sick.

Each person may be disposed to developing certain problems as a result of stress. When there are preexisting medical conditions, it is unsurprising to see them get worse when going through a stressful time.

These disorders that tend to be caused or exacerbated by stress include the following:

- ulcers

- migraine headaches

- high blood pressure

- skin disorders (acne, psoriasis, eczema and the like)

- rheumatoid arthritis

- heart disease

- back and other muscle pain

- depression

- infertility

- erection problems in men

- menstrual problems in women

- asthma

- irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

- eating disorders

- alcohol and drug abuse

- susceptibility to infections

Some of these conditions may happen for the first time while a person is experiencing stress, but there is often an underlying predisposition to these ailments. In people with a family history of a disease, it may be a stress related suppression of immune function which allows the disease to surface for the first time.

Some may develop heart problems due to stress, others have respiratory difficulties such as asthma and others may eat in response to stress, developing diabetes or becoming obese as the end product of stress. The exact nature of the stress related illness varies from individual to individual.

However, a person would not necessarily have the same reaction every time. Most people will suffer from two or more stress-related diseases or disorders. They may have several symptoms happening at the same time, or they might have an asthma attack one time and a migraine another time.

To answer the question of how does stress affect health as briefly as possible, the answer is in a lot of different ways, all of them negatively.

About the Author:

Panic Away Review - Panic Attack Self Help Cure Revealed

Posted By Tracy Dawson
Categoirzed Under: Depression
Comments (0)
by Tracy Dawson

Panic Away by Joe Barry is just one of the most well-known and most sought-after panic attack self help cures today. For the record, 27,000 people have used it, of which, about 26,000 panic attack sufferers in various places have successfully get rid of different types of panic as well as anxiety attacks. Thus, if you are suffering from anxiety attacks or if not panic attacks, then you should try it to finally be free from any unwanted attacks and get a chance to live a normal life.

Effectiveness

Panic Away is a self help cure tested and proven to be effective. In fact, because of the technique and approaches that it promotes, a lot of people who have been suffering from panic and anxiety attacks are now living a normal life.

Basically, it encourages and teaches sufferers to learn how to break the fear of having another attack or else they will never experience total freedom from anxiety. And this can be made possible through the One Move Technique which will give sufferers the ability to immediately stop fearing another panic attack by breaking the cycle of anxiety. Simple technique yet proven to be effective.

Uniqueness

Panic Away is indeed incomparable. It is not like other panic attack self help cures that the key ingredient is medication, relaxation exercises, or lifestyle changes. Its key ingredient is the approach on how to no longer fear the thought of having a panic or anxiety attack which eventually allows sufferers get a lifetime remedy and not only temporary relief.

Efficiency

Panic Away is well written in layman’s language. It is comprehensive with explanations on the mechanics of a panic attack in full, complete details. In simple terms, it explains how a past experience that started panic attacks play a role in current panic and anxiety attacks. And the fear of panic, how actually it becomes second nature controlling the mind for a panic attack, is also well explained in simple terms too.

All details can be easily understood by any individual. Thus, making it an efficient panic attack self help cure for everyone.

About the Author:

Avoiding Panic Attacks By Learning How Anxiety Plays Its Game

Posted By Ed Lathrop
Categoirzed Under: Mental Health
Comments (0)
by Ed Lathrop

Anxiety disorders are terrifying and they make life miserable for the person going through them. Not only does anxiety make daily life almost unbearable, it is also confusing and usually leaves the sufferer thinking no one else, not even the family doctor, could know what he or she is experiencing.

Most people will try to hide their case of anxiety disorder from everyone they know. This happens because people don′t realize they are experiencing a disorder that is relatively common. Therefore, they think nobody will understand their anxiety and may actually believe they are somehow weak because their nerves have gotten the better of them.

Self Help for Anxiety

It is important the anxiety sufferer understand anxiety disorder, with its awful spells of panic is not an unusual disease. Many people have experienced it and in every case, it is considered a condition that can be beaten.

To overcome anxiety disorder the first thing the sufferer must realize is, anxiety and panic are adrenaline driven. So, it is actually adrenaline that causes the strange and disconcerting feelings which accompanies anxiety. The sufferer must also realize when he or she tries to fight these disconcerting feelings, more adrenaline is pumped through the bloodstream. So, overcoming anxiety actually requires accepting these awful adrenaline-produced feelings because fighting simply creates more adrenaline flow and so, more awful experiences.

The counterpart to fighting anxiety is running away from it. This doesn′t work either. Trying to ignore your symptoms or pretend they are not there is akin to running away from them. Trying to fight anxiety or running away from it will make more adrenaline flow and therefore cause more and more of these disquieting feelings.

Trying to Fight it Off

Not running away or fighting the symptoms of anxiety means you are fulling realizing these symptoms are occurring. So, to realize they are happening, studying the feelings anxiety and panic brings on is helpful because this is the opposite of fighting or running away. When we don′t fight anxiety and we don′t run away from it, we will not be adding any adrenaline to our bloodstreams. Therefore, we will not be manufacturing more frightful feelings anxiety is known for bringing on.

I say this with one caveat; if you are experiencing alarming sensations such as chest pains, don′t play around with them. See a medical professional who can administer the proper treatment for such a thing. He or she can tell you if anxiety/panic attack is what is bringing on the symptoms you are experiencing, or if it is something else.

Without Fear, Anxiety Cannot Survive

In conclusion, when an panic suffer learns how to prevent making the panic more intense, he or she is in recovery. The recovery won′t come overnight. However, the anxiety and panic will quickly lessen in severity because without additional fear of anxiety’s symptoms, adrenaline flow will be dying down instead of flaring up.

The bottom line is, recovery will be in full swing at this point. So, the importance of not fighting or running away from panic and anxiety cannot be overstated. It is a necessary part of beating an anxiety disorder. Then, you must also let occasional attacks come back as they will and receive them as passively as you can. Realize you cannot control these symptoms and the anxiety disorder will die of natural causes.

About the Author: