Stress requires your body to react / adjust in response to events around you. Your body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and/or emotional responses. In this post, we’re going to focus on just a few of the physical effects of constant stress on your body.
This is a reminder to us all to give our bodies a break; that rest and relaxation is a required task to keep ourselves healthy and balanced.
How Does Stress Affect Your Physical Health?
POSITIVE STRESS: Stress can be felt from positive things (eustress) like pitching at a baseball game, performing in front of a large crowd, interviewing for a dream job, asking your crush out on a date, or walking down the aisle on your wedding day. Even though these are happy / positive times, the stress that our bodies still feel is keeping us alert and ready for anything.
NEGATIVE STRESS: Stress is usually correlated with negative things (distress) like losing a job, dealing with too much pressure at work, being physically ill, or breaking up a romantic relationship. As a result, stress-related physical tension builds.
Stress becomes harmful when people use alcohol, tobacco, or drugs to try to relieve their stress. Unfortunately, instead of relieving the stress and returning the body to a relaxed state, these substances tend to keep the body in a stressed state and cause even more problems.
Stress can lead to many physical symptoms including:
- upset stomach
- elevated blood pressure
- chest pain
- heart problems
- headaches
- diabetes
- skin conditions
- asthma
- arthritis
- autoimmune issues
- gastrointestinal issues
- insomnia
- addiction
Digestive System
If you’ve ever been nervous to go on stage or speak publicly, you’ve probably experienced some degree of the digestive effects of stress on the body. When under stress, your liver makes more glucose than your body may be able to manage. This can cause diarrhea, bloating, or constipation. It can also lead to heartburn due to increased stomach acid production. Stress itself doesn’t cause ulcers, however, it can increase your risk of developing them.
Cardiovascular System
One of the effects of stress is that your heart rate increases. This is because stress hormones cause blood vessels to constrict, raising blood pressure and moving more oxygen to muscles. When your body is under these conditions for a long time, it increases your risk for a heart attack or a stroke.
Respiratory System
Being under stress causes your breathing to increase in order to distribute more oxygen throughout your body. Anxiety tends to constrict flow even though breathing is increased. This can make it more difficult to breathe if you have a pre-existing respiratory condition like asthma or severe allergies.
Reproductive System
One of the most commonly experienced effects of stress is a decrease in sexual desire. Men can have interrupted sperm production or experience erectile dysfunction. For women, prolonged stress can trigger changes in the menstrual cycle that make it heavier, lighter, or irregular.
Musculoskeletal System
Muscles tense up when you’re stressed. This is your body’s way of protecting you from pain and injury, as well as preparing you to fight / flee from danger. Chronic stress makes your muscles remain in a constant state of tension. This can cause aches and pains, and may eventually lead to other stress-related injuries or disorders. Not to mention the dump of toxins into your bloodstream that result from muscles being in a constricted state over long periods of time. Being under stress can lengthen the time it takes for your body to recover from illness or injury.
