How Does Stress Affect Disease ?

By Gaetane Ross
January 16, 2008
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/28190

People are living a very fast-paced life and they no longer have the time to "smell the roses." This may be a cliché but it is a sad fact that the busy lives people lead has taken a toll not only on relationships but also on physical and mental well-being.

Research shows that seven to nine out of ten people have been subjected to work stress. And while companies can be held financially liable for work-related stress, no person would want to be incapacitated forever or even dead because of stress.

The number of people dying due to diseases and suicides because of stress has been on the rise. This can be blamed for the different challenges man is facing in order to survive modern life.

Stress has been blamed for a lot of things including the rise of heart attack, depression; sleep deprivation and a lot of serious illnesses. Take for example the case of call center workers who are subjected to a lot of work-related stress and who succumbed to heart ailments and high blood pressure.

Some people say that no matter how they want to get rid of stressful situations they just could not seem to avoid them because they have to work to feed their families. Some stressful situations that may not be work related are still difficult to avoid because they are caused by circumstances beyond your control.

Stress is blamed for feeding many diseases and the top of the list is heart attack. The fact that a stressed person can experience palpitations and restlessness is a portent of a serious heart problem.

Aside from palpitations among the symptoms of stress are excessive sweating, headaches, sleeplessness, irritability, stomach upsets, lack of appetite and even skin breakouts. The negative effect of stress usually begins by affecting the psychological make up of a person. This ultimately translates into some form of a physical illness, some of which are untreatable by known medications.

These are some of the diseases that are greatly affected or even caused by stress:

Depression

Ulcers

Asthma

Headache

Hypertension

Bowel problems

Insomnia

Ischemic Heart Disease

Sexual Dysfunction

Skin Diseases

Increase Breathing

Excessive Sweating

Some people experience skin breakouts that they attribute to other causes aside from stress. Little do they know that most allergies are caused by changes in hormonal activities due to stress. Some people who experience chronic stress and severe depression even develop low immunity that leads to cancer or even Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome.

Never underestimate the power of stress to affect the brain and even the metabolism of a person. Stress can affect the skin, the digestive system and important organs of the body.

Researchers who were exposed to the negative effects of stress on the psychological and physical condition of a person were quick to conclude that stress is the number one silent killer today.

Take the case of a person who is constantly exposed to stress. This person can look for ways to de-stress through drinking alcoholic beverages or smoking both of which can cause even greater damage to his body. The more he is stressed out, the more reason he has to smoke and to drink and the more his body deteriorates.

A little stress can be exciting for some people encouraging them to work harder. But when this becomes too much and is experienced regularly then the blood pressure shoots up, the heart palpitates and other symptoms appear that can affect the workings of the heart.

A person who is under a lot of stress most of the time should list the causes of stress for him and then avoid them. If these causes are unavoidable, then he has to find ways to manage his stress.

Stress is a normal part of life and anyone who leads a normal life can be subjected to emotional problems that can lead to stress. However a person has to find ways to control and manage stress. It may be difficult but is possible and better than the alternative.

Gaetane Ross is a Certified Natural Health Consultant who has spent over 4 years focusing on Nutrition and Health. She also specializes in Alternative Medicine, Spiritual Healing and Healthy Lifestyle. Gaetane's mission is to positively transform the lives of everyone she meets by providing advice on Healthy Living.