Health Complaints
Long-term Stress |
It is safe to say that it is 100% impossible to avoid stress in our daily lives. It certainly seems that the demands placed upon us are immense, and are increasing at an ever rapid pace. Modern life places huge demands upon our time, upon the stability of our home lives - and our health!!
The stress response within the body is by no means a bad thing, and is programmed to help us when faced with grave danger. At early stages of Human evolution, when we were not tucked up in our 5 bedroom detached house in the heart of the countryside, there were dangers, preditors, and mishaps around every corner. At every moment the body aims to maintain equilibrium and preserve itself at all costs. If anything threatens this, the body reacts in a way that is known as the ‘fight or flight’ response. This response is governed by the sympathetic division of the nervous system. High levels of tone of this branch of the nervous system essentially supports vigorous activity. This response invloves the release of various hormones - namely cortisone and adrenalin. These hormones will cause the pupils of the eye to dilate, in order to enhance visual acuity. The heart rate increases, as does force of heart contraction, and the pressure within the blood vessels. These changes within the cardiovascular system arise to increase blood flow to skeletal muscle, thus priming the individual for action. The airways dilate, allowing faster and more efficient movement of air in and out of the lungs. This allows sufficient oxygen for the increased metabolic requirements of skeletal muscle when physical activity is underway. The blood vessels that supply digestive and excretory organs such as the liver and the kidneys, decrease in size so as to reduce the flow of blood to these areas temporarily. This reduces energy expenditure on unecessary activities. Conversley, vessels supplying the heart increase drastically in order to meet the increased metabolic demands. The liver begins to release stored glycogen to create glucose for greater energy production.
Now, these things are all well and good if there is an 8ft grizzly bear demonstrating its malicious intent, and you need to run away from it in order to preserve your life. Upon running away, much of the excesses of hormones, glucose etc will be used up in your retreat. However, today (unless you are Steve Irwin - Crocodile Hunter) it is unlikely that you will need to run away from dangerous animals. Despite this, the fight or flight response still arises. Daily activities can instigate this response, and because we have no need to run or fight, the excesses produced remain in circulation for a considerable amount of time. This results in physical symptoms such as tense muscles, anxiety, palpitations, hypertension, headaches, fatigue, and a marked depression of immune function. Individuals suffering from prolonged stress often find themselves suffering from recurrent infections due to this immunodepression. Prolonged stress can also age the body prematurely. This is essentially as a result of increased oxidative damage. Also, due to disturbances within the endocrine system, there is a reduced level of cellular repair, and collagen production. Thus skin loses its elasticity and connective tissue loses its give. There are also associations with prolonged high levels of the stress hormone cortisol and reduced memory.
This isnt the best picture to be honest, and fact is fact - stress is unavoidable in our daily life. However, something that IS achievable is stress management. Techniques such as meditation, or simply just taking regular exercise can have a drastic effect on the levels of stress hormones in our body, and how we actually respond to potential stressful stimuli in the first place. There are herbs and dietary interventions that can be helpful in managing stress and helping the body to recover from bouts of stress. Such practices will become more and more essential in our day to day lives.