How Stress Affects You

Stress Response

The physiological changes associated with the acute stress response are absolutely necessary for survival in a stressful environment. If you could not produce these changes you could not deal with stress and you would die. HOWEVER, we are not designed to be under chronic stress. What was designed to be helpful in an acute fight or flight situation is now being stimulated chronically for days, weeks, months, and even years! The physiological changes can be summarized as follows:

· Increased cortisol ...             Increases Blood Sugar (Diabetes)

· Increased catecholamines ... Breaks down tissue (impairs healing)

· Increased heart rate ...          Increase Blood Pressure

· Increased vasoconstriction... Makes Heart work harder

· Increased blood pressure ...  Hypertension

· Increased blood glucose levels ... Diabetes

· Increased blood lipid levels ...   High Triglycerides

· Increased blood cholesterol levels ... Liver problems/Heart disease

· Increased clotting factors ...   Thickens Blood

· Increased protein degradation of connective tissue ... Breaks down tissue (impairs healing)

· Insulin resistance ... Diabetes

· Increased feelings of stress, fear, anxiety and depression ... Hypertension/Depression

· Decreased short term memory, ability to concentrate... Lack of focus (Alzheimers)

· Decreased serotonin levels; increase nor adrenaline levels...  Anxiety/Hypertension

· Increase sensitivity of sensory systems (Pain)... Hypertension

· Decreased cellular immunity...  Illness, dysfunction, disease

· Decreased anabolic hormones like growth hormone ... Body will not repair itself

· Bone loss, muscle fiber type changes ... Osteoporosis (Increase fractures)

What happens when we put ourselves in a pathologically chronically stressful environment is that we force our body and minds to adapt to this environment by producing a chronic stress response. This is not a disease and it is not pathological. The chronically stressful environment is pathological, NOT the body’s response to it. If we could not produce these changes we could not survive! What happens to the number of red blood cells at high altitude? They increase due to the environment the body is placed. That is adaptation to the environment, not pathology! But look what can result from being forced to adapt to this unnaturally stressful environment. These physiological changes were NEVER designed to be chronic. When we force our body and minds to produce them chronically in order to keep us alive in our stressful environment we are taxing our adaptability to the limit and cellular dysfunction inevitably results (DISEASE).