How Chronic Stress Can Impact Physical & Mental Health?

Stress has been shown to have an impact on virtually every system in the body, not just mental health.

Stress it has become ingrained in daily life as a result of fast-paced lifestyles, peer pressure, school and work demands, and difficulties. According to the WHO, stress is a state of mental worry or tension that arises from a difficult situation. When this state of worry becomes constant and continuous to the extent that one feels pressured and overwhelmed for a long period of time, it becomes chronic stress. Dr B. Unnikrishnan, Dean and Dr Nithin Kumar, Associate Professor of Community Medicine, Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal reveals how chronic stress can affect mental and physical health.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF CHRONIC STRESS

Stress can manifest itself in many forms, from fear and anxiety to irritability, and includes a plethora of physical symptoms such as headache, body aches, changes in eating habits, irritable bowel syndrome, and difficulty sleeping. Continuous or repeated (chronic) stress can also affect your heart rate and blood pressure, increasing your risk of high blood pressure. It can also predispose a person to use alcohol, tobacco and other substances, thus increasing their dependence. When these symptoms become persistent, they will affect an individual’s daily functioning, in the workplace or at school, resulting in poor mental health outcomes such as depression.

Prolonged stress can affect an individual’s physical and mental well-being and predispose them to a variety of conditions that may include the following:

• Cardiovascular conditions such as high blood pressure.
• Metabolic syndrome and type II diabetes
• Internet, food or gambling addiction
• Addiction to alcohol, tobacco, and prescription drugs, such as anti-anxiety medications
• Anxiety, insomnia and depression

HOW DOES STRESS AFFECT THE DIFFERENT SYSTEMS OF OUR BODY?

1. Musculoskeletal system: During the stress episode, our muscle tenses or contracts, which is the body’s defense mechanism that protects us from injury. Chronic stress puts the body in a constant state of tension. This is most evident with stress-induced headaches in which the muscles in the neck and shoulders are tense.
2. Respiratory system: The smooth respiratory muscles between the nose and the lungs can also contract during acute episodes of stress or emotional outbursts that manifest as sudden shortness of breath or rapid breathing. Emotional or stressful outbursts are more problematic among people with existing breathing problems such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
3. Cardiovascular system: The effect of stress on the cardiovascular system is well documented, with stress being identified as one of the modifiable risk factors for high blood pressure. Stressful events trigger the release of so-called stress hormones: adrenaline, norepinephrine, and cortisol that prepare the body for emergencies. The release of these hormones is associated with an increase in heart rate and elevation in blood pressure, which returns to baseline once the stressful event has passed.
4. Gastrointestinal system: An uncomfortable feeling when anxious or under stress is due to the stimulation of millions of neurons in the gut. However, excessive stress can affect this communication between the gastrointestinal system and the brain, which can manifest as pain, bloating, acid reflux disease, and gastritis.
5. Male reproductive system: Stress over a long period of time can lead to low testosterone production which, in turn, can manifest as decreased libido or erectile dysfunction. It can also affect sperm count and maturation, resulting in difficulty conceiving between couples.
6. Female reproductive system: Menstrual irregularities along with painful periods among adolescent girls and women are generally associated with stress. Prolonged periods of stress can affect a woman’s ability to conceive and can affect her prenatal and postnatal health. During menopause, women experience a variety of symptoms including anxiety, mood swings, and feelings of distress. This can further increase emotional stress in women.