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.
When these chemicals are being constantly secreted, over
time they can also cause stress induced conditions, illness
and disease because they alter the chemistry of your cells
while weakening your immune system. When hormones such as
cortisol are depleted, autoimmune diseases can occur and
conditions like arthritis are common. When levels are
abnormal, other problems arise. Sleep quality, skin
disorders, infertility, anxiety and delayed healing are all
common when stress hormones are out of balance.
Stress also affects the nervous system which is directly
tied to the digestive system. Ever notice how you many feel
gassy, bloated or like you haven't fully digested when you
scarf down lunch? Your body interpreted the stress you were
feeling and decided that it was more important to prepare
you for the perceived battle than to effectively digest
your meal. Digestive disturbances are so widespread that
they are now the largest emergency room complaint.
Conditions like reflux, irritable bowel syndrome and ulcers
are all so common and can all be tied to stress.
If things weren't bad enough, stress also causes us to age
more quickly. This happens when cortisol is over secreted,
there isn't enough and more needs to be produced. Levels
are regained by borrowing chemicals from your estrogen
stores which are needed to help retain youth and vitality.
Have you even noticed someone and thought "Wow, that person
looks like they've had a hard life." The way they've
handled their stress is written all over them.
When you thought things couldn't get worse, stress can also
make you overweight! Here's what happens. When you're
stressed the stress hormones are released and increase your
appetite for high fat, high calorie foods. You then eat
those foods and those are the foods which encourage the
release of stress hormones! It's an endless cycle leading
to the over secretion of stress hormones, weight gain and
frustration. These hormones also encourage fat to be stored
in your abdominal region, increase the amount of glucose
floating around in your blood and lay the groundwork for
insulin resistance, diabetes, high cholesterol and
hypertension. So, the stress you interpret encourages you
to eat foods that make you heavier which causes the release
of more chemicals. If you're an emotional eater, you're in
even bigger trouble. Now you've added extra eating as way
to self medicate to feel better from your stress. You may
choose foods high in fat and carbohydrates which give you a
boost of the feel good chemical serotonin. This lifts you
up but then drops you hard and you are left with less
energy than before. At this point, you're left with your
original stress, the feelings regarding your eating habits,
excess weight, a starting point for illness or disease and
stress hormones on a rampage.
It's important to realize that the stress response was
designed to be effective when used for short term safety.
Unfortunately, those same chemicals which protect you from
immediate danger, hurt you when they continue to be
released. To make matters worse, the body doesn't know if
the stress is real or merely imagined. It will secrete
stress hormones whether you're grieving over the death of a
loved one, reacting to your kids making you crazy or
replaying the pain, hurt or argument you had with your
mother ten years ago.
We often don't realize how the stress we feel can lead to a
physical response. It may be easier to accept that a
physical response is due to a physical cause. For example,
you stub your toe, you scream out in pain. But think of
this. You hear something embarrassing or something that
makes you angry. The message is heard and interpreted by
you according to the way you've learned to think, feel and
act. As a result, you turn beet red or blush! If you're
nervous about something, you may feel "butterflies" or your
hands may get clammy. If you're angry you may feel "your
blood boil", you may have a "sour stomach" or you may feel
heat coming off of you. All of these examples are physical
reactions to emotions. The message was heard, interpreted,
chemicals were secreted and you had a physical reaction to
the message. That's just one incidence! Now imagine the
stress of motherhood, trying to be a good wife, coworker,
daughter, sister, friend or neighbor. Add the need to be
perfect, liked, approved, admired and respected. Mix it
with the stress, strain and anxiety of past hurts,
grievances and negative feelings stemming from an outlook
or perspective that doesn't serve you well. What have you
got? A recipe for stress related conditions, illness and
disease. While this may seem frightening, the beauty is you
are in a wonderful position to stop the stress response.
Remember, your stress may not change. What can change
however is the way you choose to react to it.
----------------------------------------------------
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
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