Stress Management for Better Health

People who are not stressed, are people who go into retirement, they don’t have stress but they go into decline. So a moderate level of stress is essential in life. And this is part of life. But unmanaged or prolonged stress can wreak havoc on your body, resulting in unexpected aches, pains and other symptoms. 

Stress Hormones

When we perceive a threat, the amygdala sounds an alarm, releasing a cascade of chemicals in the body. Stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol flood our system, immediately preparing us for fight or flight. When this deeply instinctive function takes over, we call it what Daniel Goleman coined in Emotional Intelligence as “amygdala hijack.” 

In common psychological parlance we say, “We’ve been triggered.” We notice immediate changes like:

• Increased heart rate or sweaty palms
• Breathing becomes more shallow and rapid
• A quivering in our solar plexus, limbs, or our voice
• Heat flush our face, our throat constrict, or
• The back of our neck tighten and jaw set

We are in the grip of a highly efficient, but prehistoric set of physiological responses. These sensations are not exactly pleasant — they’re not meant for relaxation. They’re designed to move us to action.

The active amygdala also immediately shuts down the neural pathway to our prefrontal cortex so we can become disoriented in a heated conversation. Complex decision-making disappears, as does our access to multiple perspectives. As our attention narrows, we find ourselves trapped in the one perspective that makes us feel the most safe: “I’m right and you’re wrong,” even though we ordinarily see more perspectives.

Moderate Stress is Good

Life is changing. If you look at the biochemical definition of life, it involves change - you change yourself all the time, it could be psychological or biochemical and that low amount of stress is good; because it's like if you were a soccer player who spent all your time on the bench you would not be stressed and you wouldn't perform well. 

So it's very similar in all walks of life, from biochemistry to psychology, you really need a low level of stress. 

Unmanaged or Prolonged Stress Is Bad

Stress can do some strange things to your body, affecting it in various places:

Areas	Potential Impacts of Stress
Muscles and joints	Stress lowers your threshold for pain which can Cause pain, tightness or soreness in your muscles, as well as spasms of pain Lead to flare-ups of symptoms of arthritis, fibromyalgia and other conditions
Heart and lungs	May make heart and lung conditions worse include Heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and asthma
Skin and hair	Make skin condition such as eczema, rosacea or psoriasis worse Can lead to hives and itchiness, excessive sweating and even hair loss
Gut	Can make your digestive system sick: From simpler symptoms such as pain, gas, diarrhea and constipation to more complex conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and acid reflux (GERD).
Shoulders, head and jaw (tension triangle)	Trigger tension headaches, tightness in the neck and jaw, and knots and spasms in your neck and shoulders. Contribute to TMJ, a jaw disorder
Immune system	Weakens your body’s defenses Make autoimmune conditions such as lupus and inflammatory bowel disease worse.
Mental health	Bring on symptoms of depression and reduce your enthusiasm for activities you usually enjoy People tend to eat poorly and exercise less when stressed

References

1. 7 Strange Things Stress Can Do to Your Body
2. Mitochondria - the energy factories of our bodies
3. Stress Paralyzes Immune Cells
4. Adrenergic regulation of the vasculature impairs leukocyte interstitial migration and suppresses immune responses
5. Calming Your Brain During Conflict