Stress!
A persistent and constant factor in everyone’s lives that ebbs and flows, sometimes a little and sometimes more than a little.
Stress is a natural reaction that your body has when change or challenge in your life occurs. Your body is designed to react to stress in certain ways. Originally a survival mechanism, stress today looks very different than it did for our ancestors. Stress responses can be positive – like keeping you vigilant and alerting you to danger. However, stress can also be negative – particularly with chronic stress without periods of release.
There are three types of stress:
Acute stress comes and goes quickly. It can be positive or negative, like having a fight with a friend or being on a roller coaster.
Episodic stress is acute stress that comes more frequently, often in regular intervals. You don’t get enough of a break to be able to regulate your nervous system. A good example is those who work in healthcare or being a caregiver for a loved one.
Chronic stress occurs for weeks or months without respite. This is the most concerning type of stress because it can lead to short- and long-term health issues.
And this is where we want to focus today. Everyone experiences stress differently, and this is an important factor to highlight. We all know about the typical responses to stress: anxiety, difficulty sleeping, under or over eating, mood changes or lack of motivation, high blood pressure, shortness of breath – among other things. But there are also some less common side effects that stress can bring about in your body.
Stress can cause a generalized pain response in the body. All those little aches and pains you have that feel that much more acute? It could be related to chronic elevated cortisol (the stress hormone) and how it affects the musculoskeletal system. If you have an autoimmune disease, like rheumatoid arthritis, or a diagnosis that is tied to chronic inflammation, like fibromyalgia, you may be more likely to experience a flare. Your threshold for pain may be lower overall. Stress can also cause tension headaches and increased frequency of bruxism (teeth grinding).
Stress can also have a real impact on your GI and immune systems. You may experience stomach aches more easily. You may also have more bloating or acid reflux. You may also find that you get sick more easily the longer you have been under stress. Stress affects the ability of the body to fight off diseases, like the cold or flu.
You may also experience weight gain. Even if you are exercising and eating well, persistently elevated cortisol can release more sugar into your bloodstream. This can affect the ability of your body to metabolize energy and increase insulin resistance, which decreases the ability of your body to regulate blood sugar. Some people also may move less and eat more.
Chronic stress can also affect your fertility and reproduction. If the body thinks it is in constant “fight or flight” mode, the last thing it will want to do is prepare to make a baby. This may be affected by a hormone imbalance that causes irregular or missing periods, anovulation, and the like. Continuous missed periods can lead to a hormone imbalance and secondary amenorrhea.
Overall, there are some things we typically associate with stress. We know that stress is not good for the heart or to help you get a good night’s sleep. But if you have some of the more persistent, unusual symptoms as noted above – it may be good to get checked out.
Here at Recharged PT, we have previously covered good ways to assist with stress management (Other Blog Here) . The most important to note is that everyone’s response to stress is different: from how much they can cope with to their techniques for trying to manage it. But sometimes it is good to keep these symptoms in the back of your head to watch out for – and realize just how much putting our health first (mentally, physically and emotionally) is so important for our body systems as a whole.
<3 Recharged Performance Therapy
paige@rechargedperformancetherapy.com
https://www.rechargedperformancetherapy.com
References
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/things-stress-can-do-to-your-body
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987
https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/body
https://livehealthy.muhealth.org/stories/sorry-tell-you-your-weirdest-symptoms-may-just-be-stress