Effects of Stress
Unfortunately, stress is difficult for professionals to define because it is a subjective experience that is different for each of us. Things that cause stress for some people can be a pleasant experience for others. Each of us also react to stress differently. Some people break into a sweat, some people eat more while others grow pale or eat less. There are many different physical as well as emotional responses that we show. This is a list of the most common signs and symptoms of stress:
Common Signs and Symptoms of Stress
- Regular Headaches, or pain
- Teeth Clenching, Gritting, grinding teeth
- Stuttering or stammering
- Shaking, trembling of hands, lips
- Neck ache, back pain, muscle spasms
- Light headedness, faintness, dizziness
- Frequent flushes, sweating
- Dry mouth, problems swallowing
- Cold or sweaty hands, feet
- Frequent colds, infections (low immune system)
- Rashes, itching, or hives
- Unexplained or frequent allergy attacks
- Heartburn, stomach pain, nausea
- Constipation, diarrhea
- Difficulty breathing, sighing
- Sudden attacks of panic
- Chest pain, palpitations
- Frequent urination
- Low sexual drive or performance
- Excess anxiety, worry, guilt, nervousness
- Increased anger, frustration, hostility
- Depression, frequent or intense mood swings
- Increased or decreased appetite
- Insomnia, nightmares, disturbing dreams
- Difficulty concentrating and focusing
- Trouble learning new information
- Forgetfulness, disorganization, confusion
- Difficulty in making decisions
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Frequent crying spells or suicidal thoughts
- Feelings of loneliness or worthlessness
- Procrastination
- Nervous habits, feet tapping, fidgeting
- Increased frustration, irritability
- Overreaction to petty annoyances
- Increased number of minor accidents
- Obsessive/compulsive behaviours
- Reduced work productivity
- Rapid or mumbled speech
- Excessive defensiveness or suspiciousness
- Problems with communication
- Social withdrawal or isolation
- Constant tiredness, weakness, fatigue
- Weight gain or loss without diet
- Increased smoking, alcohol, or drug use
- Excessive gambling or impulse buying
As you can see by the above list, stress can have far reaching effects on our emotions, moods, and behaviours. But what is equally as important, but often less appreciated, are the effects on different systems, organs, and tissues all over our body.
Physical or mental stresses may cause not only physical illness, but mental or emotional problems also. Here are the parts of the body affected by stress:
- Hair: High stress levels may cause excessive hair loss and some forms of baldness.
- Muscles: Spasmodic pains in the neck and shoulders, musculoskeletal aches, lower back pain, and various minor muscular twitches and nervous tics are more noticeable under stress.
- Digestive tract: Stress can cause or aggravate diseases of the digestive tract including gastritis, stomach and duodenal ulcers, ulcerative colitis, and irritable colon.
- Skin: Some individuals react to stress with outbreaks of skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis.
- Brain: Stress triggers mental and emotional problems such as insomnia, headaches, personality changes, irritability, anxiety, and depression.
- Mouth: Mouth ulcers and excessive dryness are often symptoms of stress
- Heart: Cardiovascular disease and hypertension are linked to accumulated stress.
- Lungs: High levels of mental or emotional stress adversely affect individuals with asthmatic conditions.
- Reproductive organs: Stress affects the reproductive system causing menstrual disorders and recurrent vaginal infections in women and impotence and premature ejaculation in men.
Stress can also cause many emotional and physical disorders including depression, anxiety, heart attacks, stroke, hypertension, lowering of the immune system which can lead to an increase infections, as well as a host of viral linked disorders ranging from the common cold to herpes, to certain cancers, as well as autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
In addition, stress can have direct effects on the skin (rashes, hives, atopic dermatitis), the gastrointestinal system (peptic ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis) and can contribute to insomnia and degenerative neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease.
In fact, it is hard to think of any disease in which stress cannot play an aggravating role or any part of the body that is not affected (see the above list of effects of stress on the body). This list will undoubtedly grow as the extensive ramifications of stress are increasingly being appreciated.
As we can now see the huge ramifications that stress can have in our lives, it is important that stress is managed so that we can prevent this from having a negative impact on our health and well-being. In the following post we will address the topic of How to Manage Stress and the various techniques we can use in our everyday lives.
Looking forward to seeing you next time
Mike
