The term “stress” refers to any reaction to a physical, mental, or an emotional stimulus that upsets the body’s natural balance. Stress is an unavoidable part of life. But how you react to stress and how well you look after your emotional well-being and your bodies physical needs could be either life giving or detrimental.
Stress of all kinds are at an all-time high. Whether it is work related, financial, emotional, mental, or dietary stress, exhaustion, isolation, potential or perceived threats, or even EMF (Electro Magnetic field) exposure. Stress creates challenges and pushes your capacity to enable you to adapt.
Stress intolerance or the inability to no longer adapt to stress affects your memory, mood, focus, energy, vitality, circadian rhythms, and so much more. It can cause fatigue which can go over to chronic fatigue if you do not adhere to your body sending warning signals:
- Chronic headaches
- irritability
- changes in appetite
- weight gain or weight loss
- low self-esteem
- withdrawal from people
- tooth grinding
- cold hands
- HBP or Low BP
- shallow breathing
- nervous twitches
- lowered sexual drive
- changes in sleeping patterns and
- gastrointestinal disorders
Less obvious sources of stress include everyday encounters with crowds, noises, traffic, pain, extremes of temperature or starting a new job; or the loss of a loved one. Overwork, long working hours, lack of sleep, physical illness, excessive alcohol consumption and smoking are common physical factors to add stress to the body.
Some people create their own stress, whether there is anything objectively wrong in their lives or not, they will find things to worry about.
Medical researchers estimate that more than 80% of all major illnesses are directly linked to stress. And the majority of back problems are rooted in stress. Stress is also the common precursor of anxiety, depression and burnout.
Adapting to stress determines if you manage to keep it all together, or end up in a panic and everything becomes a crisis, you crash and burn, and or you slowly lose the capacity to manage the everyday demands.
The body responds to stress with a series of physiological changes that include increased secretion of adrenalin, almost all the body functions and organs react to stress with like a chain reaction, the quicker you seek help the less damage will be done to your body. The pituitary gland increases its production of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) which in turn stimulates the release of the hormones cortisone and cortisol; these have the effect of inhibiting the function of the disease-fighting white blood cells and suppressing the immune response of your body.
Stress can lead to nutritional deficiencies. The body does not absorb ingested nutrients well when under stress. The result is that especially with prolonged or recurrent stress, the body becomes at once deficient in many nutrients and is unable to replace them adequately. Many of the disorders that arise through stress are the result of nutritional deficiencies.
Stress can be either acute or long term. Long term stress is particularly dangerous, continual stress eventually wears out the spirit, soul and body. Seek help before you end up with permanent damage to your body.
Contact us on the Wellness line or join the Be-Well Workshops or Be-Well Challenge to start making a difference to your health today!
Compiled by Christa de Villiers
References:
Wellness Resources; Prescription for nutritional healing, James F. Balch, MD and Phyllis A. Balch, C.N.C; Dr Adel Davis, Let’s get well and Let’s eat well