The Negative Effects of Stress

In my last post, you learned that there were actually three stages of the stress response: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion. All of these stages are potentially harmful. You also learned that sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) is responsible for initiating this response. It is helpful to think of the ANS as being automatic, or what the body does without any effort on our part. It affects every body system in preparation for fight-or-flight while the parasympathetic nervous system slows the body back down and brings balance back to the body, or homeostasis. It, too, is without effort on our part. Remember that sympathetic nervous system activity is not inherently bad, because it allows us to escape potentially dangerous situations, like avoiding car accidents or being burned while cooking. The following videos explain this concept well.

This video has some narrative and explains in both words and cartoon, which may be more appealing for those of you who are audio learners.

One more image here that shows the sympathetic nervous system response to stress, which may help to understand why prolonged stress can be damaging to health.

All of this activity within the body takes its toll on our health, physically, psychologically, emotionally, even spiritually. In fact, the list is so long that we could use another entire blog just to explore the effects! Here are some highlights from Harvard Health Publications (2011):

• anxiety
• depression
• diabetes
• headaches
• heart issues (chest pain, arrhythmias, or heart attack)
• insomnia
• pain (all sorts, and everywhere!)
• slowed wound healing

The American Holistic Nurses Association (2012) also provides a comprehensive list that includes:

• increased use of cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs
• poor attitude
• increased risk of stroke
• gastrointestinal disorders
• sexual and reproductive dysfunction
• poor attention that affects memory, concentration, and learning

Whew! That was a lot of information to take in! How many of you were nodding your heads in agreement throughout the videos or reading the above lists? Now you know why it is so important to manage your stress in healthy ways. Don't forget to check out the references below to learn just a bit more about those effects of stress. Next time you visit, you will be directed to take a stress test, an inventory of sorts, that will allow you to see just how stressed you are by the events in your life. Then we will finally be ready to explore those stress management ideas, which is why you tuned in. Thank you for reading through all this information that gives you the knowledge and encouragement you need to try something new for the sake of your health!

References:

American Holistic Nurses Association. (2012). Effects of stress. Retrieved from http://www.ahna.org/Resources/StressManagement/EffectsofStress/tabid/1810/Default.aspx

Understanding the stress response. (2011). Stress Management: Approaches for preventing and reducing stress (pp.2-6). Boston, MA: Harvard Health Publications. Retrieved from www.health.harvard.edu