How Does Stress Affect Health? – A Basic Explanation

by Inspiration4Living.com

Are you wondering – how does stress affect health?

Stress affects health in many different ways. Some of the ways in which stress affects health is physical. Other ways have to do with emotional or mental aspects.

In all cases, stress can have an adverse affect on a person’s life. It can cause them to begin to drink alcoholic beverages more, become angry and irritable with the people around them, shun relationships, and even shut down and stay away from the people and the activities that they once enjoyed.

So how does stress affect health? The root of the problem lies in the basic construct of stress and what it does to the human body at its core. When a person feels stressed, the brain interprets this stress as a direct attack on the body. As such, this kicks in the body’s natural ‘fight or flight’ response, which was developed through millennia of evolution, from the earliest animals to our deepest ancestors in time.

The ‘fight or flight’ response is basically the body’s way of trying to protect itself against a seemingly imminent threat. When the brain receives a signal that the body is stressed, whether it’s a real stressor or an imaginary one, it interprets it as the same: a direct threat. As a result, the brain sends signals out to the body to produce more hormones that are intended to boost strength, speed, and agility.

The idea behind this through evolutionary processes is that when another animal was targeting its prey, the prey could either stand firm and fight or it could run. Having that extra kick of adrenaline and other hormones helped the prey to get away faster or to stand firm and fight with more strength.

Now, when the body is under these stressful conditions (and you could be under stress about a project at work or a potential layoff for example, but the brain is still registering a threat), the ‘fight or flight’ response was only intended for short bursts once in a while, yet the stress that continues throughout the day and through night, day after day, can and will wear a body down.

Do you now have a better idea about the question – how does stress affect health?

Fatigue sets in and the person has trouble managing his or her sleeping habits. Then they may turn to drinking or using sleeping pills to help them get the rest they need. So how does stress affect health? Because the body is under constant assault (or so the brain interprets), the body can wear down.

Yet it is not just the physical aspect of the body that gets worn down, but also the mental strain that is caused. When you are under constant stress, you can become angry, irritable, and difficult to deal with. Your mind and your body begin to lash out at people because you are in a constant ‘fight or flight’ mode.

If you find yourself asking, ‘how does stress affect health,’ then you are going to want to seek out professional help in order to deal with that level of stress. At the very least, you need to do something to manage, reduce and relieve the stress in your life. If you don’t, you can see your health as well as the relationships you currently hold dear continue to deteriorate.

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