subject: How Stress Affects Your Hormones [print this page] Stress is a hard definition to pin downStress is a hard definition to pin down. Many times it is characterized as how someone reacts emotionally and physically to to a threat. The threat can be physical or emotional as well. In addition, it can be real or imagined. But, no matter the cause, the body feels itself menaced. In response, the body experiences many physical changes and may go into a "fight or flight" response mode. Depending on the particular person, this response mode can either make the person more alert, faster, and stronger. Or, it can have the opposite effect and cause anxiety, slow down reflexes, cause them to freeze, and make them more prone to error.
A number of careers, by their very nature, have an abnormally elevated percentage of their employees going through what is often termed occupational stress. Occupational stress is where the job itself constantly puts the worker in what are inherently stressful situations. Occupation such as soldiers in combat zones, police officers, and firemen are considered "high risk" professions and it's not surprising that people in them would experience stress.
On the other hand, those who have careers such as doctors and judges, also have a high percentage of people suffering from stress - most likely because they literally have control over other people's lives. And some people are inherently uncomfortable with that responsibility.
Post-traumatic stress also known as PTSD, is a specific type of stress. People often develop PTSD subsequent to being subjected to an exceptionally traumatic event. The triggering event is often something where the person has personally been a victim of a car-jacking, a rape victim, a hostage, a war zone survivor, a plane crash survivor, and so on.
Another type of instance where PTSD can happen is when an individual has undergone an intensely personal and emotional loss such as in the sudden and unexpected death of a beloved parent or child, or the loss of someone if a horrible event such as the planes crashing into the towers on 9/11. PTSD, if untreated, can often lead to life-threatening bouts of depression.
In addition, stress can sometimes causes pre-existing illnesses to get worse. For instance, stress can have particular impact on those with certain chronic diseases such as cardiovascular problems or diabetes. Stress, could very well trigger a heart attack or stroke in a person with heart problems. In a person suffering from diabetes, stress could cause hormones such as epinephrine and cortisol flood the body.
These hormones have an almost instant effect on the body. They can cause a sudden spike in the blood sugar levels. Unlike a non-diabetic person, however, the diabetic's body will not be able to convert the excess glucose into energy. The result it that the glucose builds up in the bloodstream. This condition, if unabated, can lead to major organ damage.
Although stress is a natural part of everyday life, unrestrained and ongoing stress is not. Every day, there are more and more studies confirming the link between ongoing accumulated stress and depression. Anyone experiencing extended periods of stress should see a doctor as soon as possible.
