How Stress Affects Your Physical Health

Although most people get stressed occasionally, prolonged stress can harm your physical well-being. Many people don’t realize how much stress can impact their current and long-term health. The experienced team at Thriving Center of Psychology can offer various services to help you learn how to control your stress and prevent it from hurting your physical wellness.

Understanding Stress

Stress is your body’s natural response to potential danger. When you’re in a stress-inducing situation, your brain signals the release of stress hormones to activate your body’s fight-or-flight response, causing your heart to race, breathing to quicken, and muscles to tense up. These stress hormones allow you to react quickly and get away from a dangerous situation. 

The Impact of Excess Stress on Your Physical Health

You probably aren’t facing life-threatening situations every day (e.g., running from a predatory animal that wants to eat you), but when you frequently put your body through this fight-or-flight response, you end up experiencing chronic stress. Over time, it can begin to affect your physical health.

Constant stress at home or work can lead to stomach upset, recurrent headaches, and chronic muscle tension. It might also increase your risk for ongoing health conditions, such as:

Heartburn

Frequent stress responses can increase acid production in your stomach, which can cause or worsen the acid reflux you might have.

Shortness of Breath

Excess stress can cause the muscles that regulate your breathing to tense up. Chronic stress can lead to long-term shortness of breath.

Compromised Immune System

Persistent stress can weaken your body’s immune system, making it more difficult to ward off disease and infections.

High Blood Sugar

In response to stress, your liver can release extra sugar into your blood. One major complication is an increased risk for Type 2 diabetes, which often comes with other chronic conditions.

High Blood Pressure

With the release of stress hormones, your blood vessels often become narrow, which means your blood pressure rises. High blood pressure can be serious, increasing the likelihood of blood vessel damage, irregular heart rates, and even heart attacks.

Sexual Dysfunction

When under chronic stress, both men and women can suffer adverse effects on their sexual functioning. With stress comes chronic fatigue and decreased libido. Uncontrolled stress can contribute to erectile dysfunction in some men. Excessive amounts of stress hormones can disrupt a woman’s menstrual cycle, possibly causing it to stop altogether.

Depression and Anxiety

Constant stress can wear on you emotionally, possibly leading to depression and anxiety.

Insomnia

Stress at any level can interfere with sleep. Disrupted sleep sometimes turns into insomnia, which is linked to anxiety, persistent fatigue, and other chronic conditions.

Help for Chronic Stress

The professionals at Thriving Center of Psychology can help you keep stress at bay. Your provider will personalize your treatment, which might include:

• Acceptance-commitment therapy
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
• Neurofeedback
• Mindfulness meditation
• Online video Teletherapy
• Psychotherapy (talk therapy)

Your provider will also help you make changes to your lifestyle, sleep schedule, and exercise so that you can prevent stress from compromising your health.

To learn more about stress management therapy, schedule an evaluation online or call Thriving Center of Psychology today.