(Stress Affects Your Body first appeared in the Public Opinion Newspaper in August 2015.)
Dr. Jagdeep Kaur, psychiatrist at Keystone Behavioral Health shares how stress can negatively affect your body.
Body and mind
Stress can affect our body and our mind. It’s important to understand how stress affects the body because it can cause damage to our health. Coping with stress in an unhealthy way can also add to the way stress damages our body. If you experience stress, be sure to learn ways to cope and reach out to a medical professional for help if you need it.
Why manage stress?
Life is stressful for many reasons but it is important to manage stress to lead a happy and healthy life. To keep our physical health in good shape and keep our mental health sharp and sound we need to manage stress. Research has shown that acute and chronic stress predisposes us to infection due to a weak immune system. Stress can affect our ability to manage work, family life, and relationships as well.
What affect does stress have on the body?
Stress can cause many physical symptoms because it affects all the organ systems in our body. It can cause headache, difficulty paying attention, eye strain, appetite change, weight gain or loss, difficulty breathing, sleeping less or more, lack of energy, fatigue, lack of motivation, feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, chest pain, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, changes in menstrual cycles, and infertility.
Unhealthy stress management
Unhealthy ways of coping with stress include smoking, drinking, eating (more or less), withdrawing from family and friends, spending more time in front of a television or computer, using drugs or prescription medications, not facing problems or experiencing angry outbursts. These strategies might decrease stress for a short time period but in the long run they are making problems worse. Use only healthy ways to cope with stress.
Where to turn?
Stress management should be part of your daily life and it’s important to find the way to manage stress that works best for you. If you still are not able to avoid stress and it is affecting your ability to function, enjoy things, or causing you to experience outbursts of anger, be sure to talk to your doctor. It’s important to seek help when you need it. Unmanaged stress can increase risk of depression, anxiety, and sleep problems as well.
For more information about Keystone Behavioral Health, click here.
This article contains general information only and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis, treatment or care by a qualified health care provider.
