Are you the type of person who pushes yourself to the limit, giving your all to work? Often, we fail to realize that this dedication unknowingly leads to stress, impacting our overall well-being and hindering daily productivity. What exactly is the meaning of stress? Stress occurs naturally, a completely normal and humane reaction to not being …
Are you the type of person who pushes yourself to the limit, giving your all to work? Often, we fail to realize that this dedication unknowingly leads to stress, impacting our overall well-being and hindering daily productivity.
What exactly is the meaning of stress?
Stress occurs naturally, a completely normal and humane reaction to not being able to cope with our specific demands and events. However, in unhealthy amounts, stress can directly affect your health and wellbeing.
Where does stress come from?
Since time immemorial, stress has been the body’s natural defense against danger, and especially predators. In today’s world, these predators have turned into work and office deadlines, going out on a first date, a speeding car and also a horror movie, known as stressors! Ultimately, the body starts to flood with hormones that prepare to evade or confront danger, known as the fight or flight response.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) recognizes three example types of stressors:
- Routine stress (homework, childcare, finances)
- Sudden, disruptive changes
- Traumatic stress due to severe accidents, assaults, disaster etc.
Furthermore, there are two types of stress that can be identified and diagnosed, acute and chronic stress.
As the word implies, acute stress is short-term and usually the most common form that develops as people consider the pressure of events or upcoming challenges in their lives. This type of stress usually reduces or disappears once the event or challenge has been resolved or a deadline has been reached. Acute stressors usually have a clear and immediate solution that does not cause the same amount of stress and damage compared to chronic stress. Such short-term effects are tension headaches or an upset stomach with distress. However, it should be noted that repeated instances of acute stress in a longer period of time may become chronic and harmful.
Chronic stress on the other hand develops over a long period of time and is significantly more harmful. Stressors such as financial stress, traumatic experiences or relationship problems may cause chronic stress, usually in examples of situations where a person can see no way to avoid their stressors. This type of stress makes it difficult for the body to return to a normal level of hormone activity, causing problems in the cardiovascular, respiratory, reproductive and immune systems. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Type 2 Diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases, depression and anxiety are all examples of effects of chronic stress.
Such types of stress can often go unnoticed and automatically become a part of an individual’s personality, making them more prone to the effects of stress regardless of the type of stressor encountered.
What does stress do to the body?
Through a flush of chemicals cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine, the body may face the following changes through a stress reaction:
- Rising blood pressure and pulse
- Breathing speeds up
- Slowed down digestive system
- Tense muscles
- Decrease in melatonin production, makes you less sleepy
- Heightened state of alertness
- Decreased immune activity
You may have heard of cortisol as the “stress hormone”, but in more scientific terms it is a glucocorticoid hormone that your adrenal glands release and produce as well. In simple terms, hormones are chemicals that carry messages through your bloodstream to coordinate different functions.
What does cortisol do to the body?
Apart from just managing your body’s stress response, cortisol also helps control your body’s use of fats, proteins and carbohydrates, essentially taking over your metabolism. By being responsible in regulating your blood sugar, it is obvious that elevated cortisol levels cause a surge of energy, making your body replace it by cravings for food high in fat. This means that you would be more likely to indulge in fatty meals than a well-balanced meal, essentially stress-eating. Additionally, cortisol also leads your body to produce less testosterone, essentially decreasing your muscle mass and slowing down the amount of calories your body burns. Higher than normal levels of stress essentially leads to an unhealthy lifestyle.
Proactively invest in your well-being by scheduling regular health checkups. Detecting potential health issues early can make all the difference in maintaining a vibrant and balanced life.
Our health checkups
Don’t let the challenges of the working environment undermine your health and success. Take charge of your well-being today with Medconsult Clinic’s comprehensive health check-ups. With our dedicated team by your side, you can embrace the demands of your career with confidence, knowing your health is our top priority.
Schedule your health check-up at Medconsult Clinic and call us at + 66 2 018 7855 or visit our website to follow our SNS for contacts. Your health, our commitment!
