How Stress Affects Physical Health

In my younger years, I ignored my health. I was invincible. But as I age, my body moans and groans every morning when I climb out of bed. I often think about how I could have done things differently in my younger days. I should have thought more about how stress affects physical health.

I’m not talking about the obvious stuff like eating right or exercising. Those are important, but these physical improvements do not encompass overall health. Emotional health is a significant part of well-being. Learning to handle life’s ups and downs with grace, good humor, and a positive attitude goes a long way to promoting a healthy body.

how stress affects physical health man and woman

What Is Stress?

The term “stress” has become a bad word in society today, but it doesn’t have to be. When managed properly, stress can increase motivation and help a person grow. Poorly managed stress can have the opposite effect.

Stress is natural to life if managed well. WHO defines stress “as a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation.” A difficult situation can be a happy moment, such as getting married, or a sad moment, such as the death of a loved one. When the body detects stress, it steps into a flight or fight mode, which can alter the emotional state.

How Stress Affects Emotional Health

Stress directly affects the emotional state. So, to determine how stress affects physical health, we will first discuss emotional health. When the body detects stress, it steps into a fight-or-flight mode, which can alter the emotional state. The fight-or-flight response is a normal reaction in the brain when a person perceives danger or has a heightened awareness of fear. When a person is under continual stress, the brain may stay in a fight-or-flight state, affecting emotional well-being.

Stress On The Emotions

What emotional reactions can take place when stress is high?

  • Anxiety will rise with increased stress and may produce a fear that may or may not be real.
  • Anger may stem from stress with a decrease in the ability to cope with extra stimulation at work or home.
  • Decrease in joy and the ability to feel happy, causing a lack of motivation.
  • Burnout may result from ongoing stress, causing emotional exhaustion.
  • Depression may develop from a feeling of hopelessness or an overwhelming need for relief.

All of these emotions can determine how stress affects physical health.

How Stress Affects Physical Health

Stress can stem from happy or sad events. Regardless of the cause, it will impact physical health in the same manner and can chip away at the body with aging. It may affect the ability to sleep well, maintain relationships, manage stress, and cope with pain.

Stress On The Body

Stress and emotions actually alter how stress affects physical health when the body reacts to how we feel.

  • Hormones triggered by stress can increase inflammation in the body, increasing the risk for heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases.
  • Negative feelings such as anger, anxiety, fear, and sadness can cause the release of cortisol into the bloodstream. Cortisol causes muscle tension, weight gain, and increased blood pressure.
  • Chronic stress may damage the immune system, increasing the risk of illness.
  • Anger and depression may trigger high levels of cholesterol and triglycerides.
  • Negative thoughts may lead to higher blood sugar levels.
  • Anxiety can cause an increased rate of cardiovascular disease.
  • Depression can lead to a greater chance of developing Alzheimer’s disease. 

Times Are More Emotionally Stressful Today

In 2019, before the pandemic, stress was epidemic in the healthcare sector. This means that stress affects our health emotionally and physically more than ever before, so much so that HCA Healthcare Today said stress is shortening life expectancy.

Children are growing up in a world that seems chaotic and unpredictable. In addition, many parents work long hours and try to balance work and family responsibilities in a world with an unstable financial system.

The media reports so much negativity that it is more challenging to stay optimistic. Finding ways to improve emotional health is more important now than ever.

Why Is Health Important vector

How To Decrease Stress

Positive affirmations are uplifting statements that, when repeated throughout the day, can positively affect emotions and help alter how the body handles stress. A spoken positive affirmation will create brand new neural pathways in the brain, literally rewiring it to deal with stress. These positive pathways become dominant and override negative emotions.

Positive affirmations cancel negative thoughts, and as the brain improves, the emotional and physical intensity of the fight-or-flight response decreases. These positive spoken words decrease the amount of hormones the body releases, and then the brain feels safe and tells the nervous system to deactivate the stress response. Physically, the heart rate slows, muscles relax, and breathing returns to normal.

Write your affirmation of choice on a sticky note and put it on the bathroom mirror. Take it to work with you, and keep a few in your car. Just keep repeating the positive words and watch how the body reacts less and less in a negative way.

Conclusion

The human body is one unit, and its physical and emotional functions work together. Stress not only affects it emotionally but will also erode the physical side. However, understanding how stress affects physical health can help each one of us by lowering blood pressure, increasing the immune system, and promoting quality sleep. With positive affirmations, we can reshape how the mind reacts to stress to break the cycle of the fight or flight response.

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