Summer has finally come to an end, and for most of us that means the start of school. But what happens when school starts? Well school life is full of homework, reading, deadlines, midterms, and finals. So where do we fit in the social life? Anywhere one would like; however, one must be alarm that fitting in time for a little social time may push back some course loads. As time progresses, we realize that we become more and more bombarded with work that it becomes overwhelming. For many students and also people, the term stress has been embedded into our daily life. Stress isn’t always bad. If given in small doses, stress gives you the push to perform under pressure and stimulate you to do your best. But when you’re relentlessly running in emergency mode, it becomes detrimental to ones mind and body.
Stress is a normal physical and emotional response to events that make us feel threatened or upset the balance within. When we sense danger, whether it’s imagined or actual, our body is switched into defensive gear, a process commonly known as the “fight-or-flight” response. Stressing is a way our body protect itself. In everyday life, stressing is beneficial because it allows a person to be more focused, energetic, and alert. In tight situation, stress may also assist in live saving situation. For example, it gives an individual extra strength to defend them and allows them to be more alert while driving to avoid any catastrophic accidents.
However beyond a certain level, stress may begin to stop being beneficial and start causing substantial damage to your health, your disposition, your efficiency, and your daily lifestyle. Stress can affect anyone of any age, which means children, adolescent, and adults. Even though the stress factor may have different origins in different age groups, one this is certain, the outcome of these events is more or less very similar. The effects of stress on the body may be categorized into short-term and long-term effects.
The short term effects of stress is when a person encounters a sudden threat and his body gears up to handle the situation by the ‘Fight or Flight’ Response. This response causes a few functional adjustments in the body and these adjustments will persist until the threat no longer exists. When the body does not sense any more danger, it will return to its normal state. The few functional adjustments that may be found in short term effects of stress are:
– Breakdown of glycogen stores in liver and muscle to get more glucose.
– Increase in the heart rate to supply more blood quickly.
– Increase in the blood pressure to supply blood efficiently.
– Diversion of the blood from less vital to more vital organs.
– Increase in the respiratory rate to get more oxygen from the atmosphere.
– Formation of more glucose from non-carbohydrate substances.
The long-term effects of stress occur when the stress factor is perpetual and repetitive. This will cause the body to continue the secretion of stress hormones and increase their blood levels. The body is now undergoing extra cargo due to the side effects of the perpetually high stress hormones. Some irreversible physiological vitiation of the brain and organ damage is caused by these substances. The manifestations could be
– Chronic headache
– Mood swings
– Anxiety disorder
– Substance abuse
– Memory disturbances
– Heart attack due increased blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol
– Stroke due to similar reasons
– Weight loss
– Exacerbation of allergies including asthma
– Irritable Bowel disease
– Ischemic Bowel disease like Crohn’s disease
– Decreased sexual drive
– Sleeplessness
If you frequently find yourself feeling worn out and dumbfounded by pressure of daily life, it’s time to take action to bring your nervous system back into balance. You can protect yourself by learning how to recognize the signs and symptoms of stress and taking steps to reduce its harmful effects. After all, it happens to the best of us.
References:
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/stress-effects.html
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/stress/article_em.htm
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.