Whenever you’re stressed, some people are quick to say it’s all in your head. For those without those symptoms, that’s easy to believe. After all, all negative thoughts take place in the brain, so it is all in your head, right?
Nope. You probably know that those worrisome thoughts can actually impact the rest of your body, resulting in physical symptoms. From digestive issues to exhaustion, anxiety and stress can rear its ugly head.
But just what is stress capable of doing to your body?
Find out:
How Stress Affects All the Body Systems
When you’re stressed, your body triggers its “fight or flight” mode. In this state, your body readies itself for immediate reaction. Thanks to that panic reaction, our primal ancestors were able survive during archaic times. It even keeps us on our toes sometimes, but what happens if we experience it daily?
Constant fight or flight can be really detrimental. And that’s exactly how it affects your blood.
Blood Pressure
When your body is in its reactive state, your body taxes the adrenal glands. These glands release an increased amount of hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol.
And what do these hormones do?
They get your heart beating faster (and your breathing too), which signals blood to travel throughout your body. Those hormones also cause blood vessels to tighten up, in order to deliver more oxygen to your muscles.
Of course, this makes sense. Your body is preparing you for a fight…except you’re not fighting.
So, your blood pressure rises for no reason.
And chronic stress can cause this to happen frequently and/or for a longer period of time – which is not sustainable. If this becomes your daily norm, eventually, your blood pressure and body will adjust, causing damage to how your body normally functions on a daily basis.
Blood Sugar
You may think that stress can’t affect blood sugar levels, but it sure can.
When put under pressure, your liver will excrete glucose, which is blood sugar. Your liver tries to give your body the energy it needs to either put its dukes up or leave.
If this happens on a continuous basis, your blood sugar leaves will be higher than average.
And this is dangerous. Why? Because it can put you at a higher risk of type 2 diabetes!
Plus, stress can cause you to overeat or when paired with depression, lose your appetite. Both can have indirect effects on your blood sugar levels.
Muscle Tension
This elevated state also pushes your muscles to react as well. Like your blood vessels, the muscles tense up, too.
This tightening can lead to soreness and pain across the body. While tension is supposed to go away, chronic stress can put your body through a hurricane of trouble, leading to chronic fatigue or soreness.
Digestive Woes
Thanks to an increase in hormones, breathing pattern and heartbeat rate, stress can also affect your digestive flow.
How’s that?
All that internal chaos can actually upset your stomach. According to Healthline, stress can cause:
- an increase in stomach acid production leading to heartburn or acid reflux
- an increased risk of ulcers or ulcer irritation
An Effective Stress Coping Plan
As you can see, handling and coping with any kind of anxiety should be multifaceted, in order to cover all parts of how it can affect you.
The most easiest thing you can do is to remove a stressor from your life, to relieve the symptoms. But we know that is not possible for everyone.
A possible effective approach may be to control how you react to stress. That can be a little more of an involved process, but trust us, it can be so effective.
How can you do this?
Ask yourself these question and make actions based on your responses:
- Why does “x” make me stressed? Can I change this?
- What helps me relieve stress?
- What are some bad stress habits that I have? (This can include “eating your feelings” or ignoring body pains). How can I change these habits?
As for products that can help you, you’ll want to make sure they are safe, natural and effective.
Here are some of our favorites:
- White American Ginseng Extract helps promote stable energy to your body.
- BIO Relax Capsules help relax muscle and mind tension, and contribute to better and deeper sleep with tart cherry (melatonin) and passiflora plant.
Sources
https://www.healthline.com/health/stress/effects-on-body#1
http://www.diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/complications/mental-health/stress.html
https://www.prevention.com/life/a20451079/how-stress-impacts-high-blood-sugar-levels/
