Ailments and Situations - Stress - What to Expect

What to Expect:

Every person handles stress differently and the effectiveness of coping is dependent on one's genetic makeup and immune, nutritional, psychological, and spiritual health. While one person may be able to deal with stress very well, others are significantly affected. When under stress, a person is typically angry, anxious, depressed, fatigued, irritable, and lacking concentration and most of these symptoms stem from increased adrenal hormone production.

A person may also experience lowered self-esteem, shallow breathing, nervous twitches, panic attacks, sleep problems, a lowered sex drive, cold hands, gastrointestinal disorders, and may grind their teeth. Nutrient absorption is also significantly compromised when your body is under stress, hindering the ability to restore lost nutrients. Many stress-related disorders originate from nutrient deficiencies.

Acute vs. Long-Term Stress

Acute stress is not life threatening, however, long-term stress can pose significant danger. Manifestations of long-term stress can include cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and a weakened immune system as your body's defense mechanisms are gradually weakened over the long term and can no longer adequately deal with foreign organisms, chemicals, et al. Chronic stress also results in high levels of the amino acid homocysteine in the body, increasing the risk of arteriosclerosis and stroke.

It is believed that stress contributes to 80% of all illnesses. Allergies, anxiety, backache, candidiasis, colds, depression, digestive problems, endocrine disorders, flu/influenza, headaches, heartburn, high blood pressure, infertility, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome, liver toxification, malnutrition, metabolic disorders, migraines, nervous system disorders, poor appetite, premenstrual syndrome, skin disorders, substance abuse, ulcer flare-ups, urinary tract infection, and yeast infections can be caused or aggravated by stress.

It has been historically thought that ulcers are caused by stress, however, they occur largely as a result of intestinal bacteria.