Stress: Long-Term Implications

STRESS: LONG-TERM IMPLICATIONS

Exposure to stress on a long-term basis can be impairing our health and vitality. It is attacking us both physically and mentally.

Under stress, the body produces an increase in the hormones adrenaline, nor adrenaline and corticosteroids. In the short-term these hormones produce tense muscles, restlessness and an increase in breathing and heart rates.

Long-term complaints that are stress related include:

? Anxiety and depression

? Digestive disorders

? Allergies

? Fatigue

? Heart disease

? Headaches and migraine

? High blood pressure

? Insomnia

? Bladder and bowel disorders

? Muscular aches and pains

? Menstrual problems in women

? Impotence and premature ejaculation in men

? Ulcerative colitis

A number of other diseases including multiple sclerosis, diabetes and genital herpes can also be aggravated by stress.

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Possible Physical Disorders Aggravated By Stress

? Hypertension

? Cardiovascular disorders

? Cancer

? Respiratory disease

? Ulcers and colitis

? Muscle tension problems

? Migraine and tension headaches

Possible Emotional Disorders Aggravated By Stress

? Anxiety

? Depression

? Panic attack

? Adjustment disorders

Possible Behavioral Disorders Aggravated By Stress

? Eating and conduct disorder

? Alcoholism and Hyperchondrism

Recent Research Findings: Stress and Aging

Recent research results suggest that long-term exposure to adrenal stress hormones may boost brain aging in later life.

Article in the journal Nature Neuroscience, scientists at the University of Kentucky in Lexington examined the results of memory tests taken by elderly patients with high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, released by adrenal glands when the body is stressed. That high-level group scored lower than others with reduced levels of the hormone, according to researchers.

Researchers found that level of hormone released apparently affects the total volume of the brain's hippocampus -- a major source of recall and memory function -- in later life. Those with high levels had a hippocampus (An area buried deep in the forebrain that helps regulate emotion and memory) volume 14 percent less than those with lower levels. The study results suggest "chronic stress may accelerate hippocampal deterioration.”

Recent Research Findings: Job Satisfaction vs. Sick Leave and /or Absenteeism

Researchers at England’s Manchester University say if you feel you are underpaid and are fed up, you are a prime candidate for back pain. Their study is based on interviews with 1,600 people, half of whom were employed.

Doctors say there was little difference in the risk of backache between those who do not work and those who work. But those who were unsatisfied about their job status, whether in work or currently unemployed, were twice as likely to suffer from the ailment.

Workers unhappy about their salaries were three times more likely to go for medical help or simply take time off work than those satisfied with the money they were receiving. Researchers say the study refutes the myth that those who suffer from pain in the lower back are just work-shy.

Note: Tolerance of stress levels differs from person to person. Some people are able to sustain a highly stressful lifestyle or adapt themselves to a series of stressful events easily. However, many others succumb more readily to a variety of stress-related illnesses and even accidental injuries.

Reference:

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/stress/article_em.htm

http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm

http://www.holisticonline.com/herb_home.htm

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