Article
Stress Kills, But What Is It?
Stress is work, traffic, relationships, time, money,
kids, etc. We see stress as the outside forces that
affect us, make us nervous and tighten our shoulders.
We all have our own ways of coping with stress. People
play golf, soak in a hot tub, smoke, drink coffee or
even over- exercise. In this sense, the solution to
managing stress seems simple. But we must consider how
our bodies interpret stress and even more important,
how stress affects us physically. Whatever the source
of the stress, our bodies translate it into pressure
and tension; our bodies tighten up in reaction to stress.
Regardless of the type of stress, physical reactions
may include:
Artery constriction (heart disease, high-blood pressure
and strokes)
The lymphatic system working overtime (decreased
immunity, cancer, etc.)
The digestive system slowing down (liver problems,
digestive difficulties)
Muscles pulling on the joints (arthritis, inflammation,
disc problems)
This
is a simplification of what really happens in the
body. But it demonstrates the wear and tear that stress
may take over time. If your body is consistently tense
it may not function properly; every system in the
body is challenged to work harder. In essence, you
could be forcing your body to operate incorrectly
without even realizing it. The best way to isolate
stress is to think about how the nervous system is
affected.
"You're
a bundle of nerves!"
You've
heard this before and probably have even been accused
of it. Your nerves are connected to the outside world
through your senses. The nervous system is one part
of the body that may suffer when exposed to the stressful
events that bombard us constantly. Negative impact
on the nervous system may generate serious physical
symptoms. Under stress, the nervous system may become
overworked and your perception of the tension in your
body can increase. The body may respond with headache,
nausea, stiff joints, back pain, etc. Your body taps
the nutrients needed to run the nervous system. You
may be unable to feel these nutrients being depleted.
It is important that needed nutrients are supplied
to your nerves.
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