Why Untreated Stress Can Do Irreparable Harm To Our Bodies
Why Untreated Stress Can Do Irreparable Harm To Our Bodies
For most people, stress is more than simply a heightened case of anxiety with no real, physical consequences. Stress can actually have detrimental effects on the body, especially if endured for long periods of time.
When you experience stress, regardless of the source, your body releases so called stress hormones. The function of these hormones is to transition your body to a state of alertness. In other words, it is to prepare your body for a flight or fight response. Nearly all living creatures have evolved over the years with some form of this reaction as a simple matter of survival. And, one of the direct results of these stress hormones entering the body is to raise your blood pressure.
In a healthy person, this is not such a big deal, especially if the stress doesn't last for a long time. In an unhealthy person, however, the rise in blood pressure can cause the person can suffer a heart attack or stroke. This is particularly true if the person already has high blood pressure.
Even in someone with normal health, the same thing can occur if the stress lasts for a long period of time. The human body is not built to withstand long periods of constant pressure on the arteries of the body. Eventually, parts of the body begin to break down. And usually, the first large organ to suffer damage is the heart.
Of course, the main stress hormone that is released into the body is adrenaline. For a short period of time after the adrenaline enters the bloodstream, you feel stronger, more alert, faster, and with an excess of energy. Your body feels alive.
And then, normally, after the initial adrenaline burst, the stress will dissipate and the excess hormones will gradually be consumed by the body. However, if the stress continues, adrenaline and other stress hormones are continually pumped into the bloodstream. This often leads to an extended state of insomnia, and nervousness.
In order to handle stress, most people have managed to come up with one or more coping strategies. For most, the coping strategy is drugs - either prescribed or recreational ones such as alcohol. For others, the cure is exercise, to get rid of the high levels of adrenaline in their system. And, others, find that some form of therapy or biofeedback is most helpful.
Basically, the key to handling any type of stress is to first realize that you are experiencing it. Unfortunately, in today's society, many of us have become so used to living under stressful situations that it has become the norm.
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