Stress can Kill you

                      Stress is a physical expression of our Fight or Flight survival mechanism.

A threatening situation which trigger a stress response, which prepares us to confront or flee a possible danger. This helps for immediate danger but unfortunately the stress response is also triggered by tense situations where physical action is not an option, such as unreasonable boss, heavy traffic, or financial problems. Stress is measurable and can be observed at cellular level. By not turning off the stress response we hyperventilate and our heart beats faster. Stress response is more harmful than stress itself.

There are 2 types of stress :

• Acute – Acute stress prepares us for fight or flight, and is generally short-term.

• Chronic – Chronic stress is long term and is the main cause of stress-related health problems.

Stress causes chemical changes in the body that, left unchecked, can have negative effects on both mental and physical health. High levels of stress contribute to health issues as diverse as depression, insomnia, heart disease, skin disorders and headaches.

Chronic stress can kill brain cells and can be a reason of severe health problems. It involves an endocrine system response in which corticosteroids are released. Stress effects memory cells, with time we loose the capacity to remember things. It can cause many other severe health problems too.

Stress is the cause of major health problems. You will be surprised to know that stress even can be the reason of Poor gut health or even stomach ulcers. When you are stressed, your body shutdown all important systems. It also shutdown our Immune system by disrupting ability to respond to disease.

Stress today will effect the body tomorrow and years after that. Imbalance of cortisol and other stress-related hormones weaken health over time and the effects are not immediately seen. Cortisol promotes the synthesis of glucose from proteins in order to make more glucose available as fuel in response to stressful situations. This reduces lean muscle mass and increases blood sugar levels. Research has shown that cortisol also increases the deposition of abdominal fat and increases cravings for food, especially carbohydrates (sugars).

We all are stressed in life but its very important to know how we can handle it and how we can avoid it affecting our health. Practicing stress management techniques can help us to minimise the effects of stress on your health.

How to make Stress your friend?

How you think about Stress matters a-lot. Believing stress is bad for you can be very harmful. When we change our mind/perspective about how we feel about stress. Stress & anxiety can be beneficial.

Increased heart rate, fast breathing and forehead sweat – we generally relate them to stress & anxiety but we can also look it as a response of our body to energise and to prepare for the upcoming challenge, its like increase heart rate is a sign of providing more oxygen to brain and once you start considering this as a positive response of body in tough situation – you become more confident, less stressed and can analyse the situation better.

Stress makes you Social – Oxytocin is a peptide hormone and neuropeptide. It is normally produced in the hypothalamus and released by the posterior pituitary. It plays a role in social bonding. It fine tunes our brain to develop social instincts. It helps to be more compassionate and social. Oxytocin not only acts on brain but also on our body, one of the main role is to protect our cardiovascular system from the effect of stress. Oxytocin helps our heart to regenerate and relax in stressful conditions. Our body is designed to handle stress in a better way than what we can imagine, its just we have to change the perspective how we see towards it. Reaching out to others when you are under stress, helping others , caring for others – these all things help you to have better health and also reduce the risk of diseases which can be caused by stress.

Connecting with others and helping others can help us to live a better life and rejuvenate ourselves.

Absence of Stress can improve our health and also can reduce many health problems and inflammations in body. We need to be careful how much stress we are putting on ourselves and how to handle its response.