Why is it important to manage Stress and not crack under it ? There is help!
Why is it important to manage Stress?
Stress is a blanket term that you often hear during your doctor’s appointment. It is a term that has been used as the causative factor for multiple disorders. We are often counseled about how important it is to manage your sleep hygiene, your diet and lifestyle to help control the level of stress you experience. Most everyone knows that stress in not a good thing for your body, especially your mental health. When there is too much stress, you are unable to cope with everyday issues and undergo physical and mental deterioration. Having said that, let us expand on the term.
Stress occurs when there is an inability to cope with the demands of one's life. There is a handicap in your ability to manage your pace of life. Lifestyle is the key word here. If you can manage your lifestyle by controlling your habits like smoking, diet, behaviors, exercise, alcohol intake, sleep hygiene and work- life balance, this will help you to manage your stress levels. There should be a big focus on relationships.Spousal conflicts, deaths, and separation, rank very high on the scale of stress triggers. One of the big killers in society, cardiovascular disease is also linked with a persons stress level and response. We realize that people are more prone to a host of infections when they are under high stressful situations. Their immune system seems to malfunction under stress. This may be related to the host of hormones that are released during the stress response.
What does stress do to a person? It is not a psychological symptom alone, it causes real physical manifestations as a result of chemical agents that are released into the blood stream. The stress responses of fight , flight, were created to give human beings a short- term boost to escape a dangerous situation. Stress was never supposed to persist for long periods of time and create havoc in our hormonal balance and in turn have real physical findings.
The major hormones released include Cortisol, Adrenaline and Aldosterone. Let us review the after effects of these hormones.
Stress hormones causes weight gain that can in turn secrete chemical agents that worsen glucose metabolism.( remember obesity is linked to several cancers)
Weight gain causes resistance to insulin( a hormone that regulates blood sugar)
Stress hormone, Aldosterone will enhance blood pressure increase and salt retention that can worsen Heart failure.
Rapid increase in blood pressure can cause dislodgement of plaque in your blood vessels and can precipitate a heart attack
Stress hormones increase the heart rate and can cause rhythm disturbances like atrial fibrillation and also increase the oxygen consumption of the heart and thereby decreasing cardiac efficiency. ( an optimum heart rate in athletes is lower and indicates efficient working of the heart - this is also the basis of using rate lowering medications in high blood pressure and heart patients)
Stress hormones increase clotting, which in turn increases the chance of clots in the heart, lungs, brain and other organs
Stress hormones increase the constriction of blood vessels in vital organs like the heart and brain and can precipitate Heart attacks or Strokes.
Stress can actually cause a condition called Broken Heart syndrome or Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
Having elaborated on a few of the effects of stress, let us talk about how we can manage stress. The answer is two fold, it revolves around your perception of a situation and ability to handle it. Lifestyle is key here. It is all about how you can manage your relationships, your habits which include diet, smoking, drinking, exercise, sleep and work-life balance. My emphasis is on communication. Communicate with your spouse, your siblings, your parents, friends, your manager and get things out in the open, so the stressors can be identified, then tackle them. Try having a conversation, this is the first step. With respect to the lifestyle and habits, this is mostly in your hands. Make an investment in yourself and do the right thing, even though it maybe a struggle to start off with. Remember discipline is not an inherited trait, it is a learned behavior. Stay in partnership with your physician and explore the many modalities that they can offer to help manage your stress. My advice to you, is to make an investment in yourself,and live long and strong!
