Advanced Stress Management

How does stress affect health? 75 to 90% of all physician visits involve, in one way or another, stress-related illnesses. It is even now classified as a workplace hazard like toxic fumes or dust.

We are walking gold mines of beautifully arranged systems of biological checks and balances. One defense system supports or matches perfectly with another which blends in perfectly with another and so on.

It was a tough go for our ancestors so our body’s systems are made to adapt to many things.

When we run a temperature, we reach for a pill but, keep in mind that increased temperature goads the immune system into overdrive. Fever is good. It also causes your blood capillaries to leak fluid a bit.

All those dead viruses and things in your blood have to be gotten rid of. The leaking blood vessels in your nose allow this junk out and your runny nose forces your body to get rid of it. The other signs of a flu and cold accomplish the same thing. Get the tissue paper!

We never have to bother about these magnificent systems. They always run on their own programming. Part of their programming allows for differences in us. They will work around obesity, for example.

How does stress affect health? You could compare it to looking into an aquarium with dirty water. The more dirt you put in, the sicker the fish. Another good analogy is how battles are fought and won.

General Douglas MacArthur used the same principle against General Rummel in Africa in World War II. He felt out weak spots in the enemy and attacked there.

This is how stress causes all the problems it does.

We have no way of knowing that our body systems are weak and not functioning well. We are almost defenseless against the horde of invaders always ready and waiting to enter our bodies through it’s weakest spots.

Even the healthiest person has weak spots. Stress weakens our defenses and the weak spots are much weaker than a healthy, stress-free person’s.

How does stress affect health? By weakening every part of the beautiful system of checks and balances that nature set up for us. Stress in the amounts we feel today were not in the plan as our bodies evolved over the eons.

Not only infections get an easy foothold in a stressed body. Some other problems include heart disease, trouble sleeping or trouble waking up. Constipation is common as is irritable bowel syndrome.

Stressed women have difficulty getting pregnant when they want to. Back and neck pain are common.

Maybe you think that trouble at home is caused by something else. Stress might be a big factor. If you need insulin, you might thank stress for that. There isn’t a medical condition that isn’t caused or worsened by stress.

Doctors are having trouble keeping up with the new discoveries about stress.

The skin is a wonder of ingenuity and is very susceptible to changes in its chemistry. As our largest organ it takes heck from stress and about 14% of us develop hives from it.

If you feel “bummed out” for prolonged periods of time (for usually longer than 2 weeks or so), you can view these as signs of clinical depression. If you feel “less than” or incomplete, these are also signs of clinical depression frequently brought on by stress.

One condition that is easily mistaken for stress is anxiety. This sometimes appears as something called anxiety attacks. Physical symptoms of anxiety attacks range all the way from feelings of apprehension or dread to pounding heart, tremors and twitches.

How does stress affect health and what can be done? You now know a few of the things stress does. The best remedy is to get professional help and slowly learn to relax, change your style of living and believe that nothing is worth all the misery and pain you are causing yourself.

Tags: Stress Management