Stress Help Guide

What are stress related illnesses? These are illnesses that develop due to stress.

Stress is not only a mental state, as people so often think. It is a physical state with physical symptoms. Stress related illnesses are a group of symptoms brought on by the body suffering from stress.

The source of stress related illnesses is the biochemical effects of stress. Stress causes higher levels of “stress hormones” such as cortisol, GH and norepinephrine, which then cause a variety of changes in the body, many of which can be detrimental if prolonged, and are referred to as stress related illnesses.

A list of stress related illnesses:

Heart condition – Stress can encourage the development of heart disease by raising blood pressure, and through the effects of prolonged high levels of stress hormones. Indirectly, it can contribute to heart illnesses by encouraging people to over-eat, exercise less, and smoke.

Headaches – Two main types of headaches can be affected by stress, tension headaches and migraine headaches. Stress can make you more susceptible to the triggers that cause migraine headaches. Stress can also more directly bring on tension headaches, which are so named because stress is their main cause.

Sore muscles – Stress can cause soreness and pain in the muscles as elevated stress hormone levels tax the muscles.

Digestive problems (including constipation) – Digestive problems are prominent among stress related illnesses. Most suffer from them at one point n their lives. Stress can contribute to the development of digestive problems. When the body is under stress, and stress hormone levels are elevated, blood supply is directed away from the digestive system, and digestion is slowed or interrupted. This can cause constipation, diarrhea, stomach cramps, etc.

The common cold – Stress suppresses the body’s immune system’s ability to fight off attackers, and therefore makes us more susceptible to infections. This causes many stress related illnesses. A very prevalent such infection is the common cold.

Sleep deprivation – The high levels of stress hormones caused by stress can prevent the body from falling asleep. Although not part of the group of stress related illnesses, it is definitely a possible result of stress. This may be more pronounced in middle-age. Therefore, stress can lead to sleep disorders such as insomnia. The resulting sleep deficit can cause additional stress, and so the cycle may continue.

Skin conditions – The suppressing affect that stress ahs on the immune system can trigger many skin conditions. The body’s difficulty to fight off attack when it is under stress can lead to aggravation of skin conditions such as acne, cold sores, hives, eczema, warts, and more.

Obesity – Stress is interconnected with the problem of obesity. Stress often encourages people to over-eat as a detrimental coping mechanism, as well as discourages them form exercising and eating a healthy diet. The biochemical affects of stress have also been linked to unlocking fat-cells, causing them to both grow in both size and number. The obesity itself is often a cause for additional stress to the individual, thus creating a vicious cycle.

It is important to remember that chronic stress affects most of your body’s systems, and so there are stress related illnesses that can affect almost every organ in our body.