How Stress Affects Your Health

How Stress Affects Your HealthIndividual, even very negative, emotions do not become causes of disease. But if there is too much psychological stress and it lasts a long time, then the body signals this. People begin to get tired more, sleep less, gain or lose weight, remember information worse, diarrhea or constipation, headache, problems in sexual life can occur.

Stress also exacerbates acne (but does not provoke it). The reason for such signals may be a new job or dismissal, divorce, loss of a loved one, moving and other changes in life.

But what about psychosomatics

Psychosomatics (or psychosomatic disorder) is another. This is the name of a large group of disorders that usually begin against a background of stress, and not because of a certain type of emotion.

And no one knows the exact cause of such disorders. There are some factors – genetic (family history of the disease) and psychosocial, which may be associated with the development of somatic symptoms, but their effect has not yet been adequately studied.

More specifically, how does psychosomatics manifest

Often a person experiences pain. The stomach, back, joints, arms or legs can be sick, there can be a chest pain. Sometimes there is weakness, shortness of breath, palpitations, nausea, vomiting, general malaise, and other symptoms.

At the same time, standard treatment does not help, doctors consistently exclude one diagnosis after another. This may be an occasion to suspect a somatized disorder, which is usually referred to as “psychosomatics”.

What else can stress lead to

Usually short-term stress does not interfere with the body. When a person is nervous, pressure can increase, but there is no evidence yet that this leads to long-term health problems.

True, do not forget that chronic stress often leads to an unhealthy lifestyle – a person begins to overeat, smoke or abuse alcohol.

And this behavior contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. In addition, stress is a risk factor for depression.

It happens that emotional trauma along with physical stressors – such as infections and a genetic predisposition – can cause or affect the severity of the symptoms of some diseases. It is believed that this, for example, occurs with functional dyspepsia, which is often confused with chronic gastritis, and with irritable bowel syndrome.

Irritable bowel syndrome – is this when a person often wants to use the toilet?
Or, conversely, less often than usual. With irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a person feels cramping, abdominal pain, and stool becomes irregular, its consistency changes. There may also be flatulence, bloating and belching. Symptoms occur at least once a week, and this continues for at least three months. IBS is not a dangerous disease. It does not affect life expectancy and does not increase the risk of other health problems, however, symptoms of IBS can be very unpleasant, cause anxiety and create awkward moments.

What to do with stress

Sometimes good sleep, physical activity, a varied diet, and relaxation from the news help to cope with stress, if a person is worried about them.

If all else fails, you can’t cope with stress on your own and this greatly interferes with life – there is a reason to consult a general practitioner or general practitioner and think about psychotherapy. For example, using cognitive-behavioral therapy, you can learn skills that will help you manage stress and control your emotional state.

Picture Credit: Pixabay

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