HOW STRESS TAKES A TOLL
Your body takes a big knock when you suffer from chronic stress. Learn how to protect yourself
YOU’RE getting tension headaches almost every day, you feel tired all the time and there’s a nagging ache in your lower back. You realise it’s probably all due to stress, but how can you avoid it when there’s so much to stress about?
There’s work and the kids and the bills . . . Your to-do list just never seems to get shorter. Maybe your stress levels are even tipping over into anxiety that’s giving you heart palpitations and making it difficult to concentrate because you feel like your mind is in a million places.
There’s no doubt about it: chronic stress can seriously mess with your body and mind – as insurers well know. Over the past few years long-term insurers have received more claims for stressrelated illnesses – such as heart conditions, chronic back pain and mental illnesses – than they’d predicted, it was recently reported.
Back pain and chronic headaches, both linked to stress, make up a great deal of medical expenses these days, says Dr Deepak Patel, a clinical specialist at Discovery Vitality.
Mental illnesses such as anxiety disorder are among Discovery medical aid’s top 10 expenses.
“Anything that frustrates you or makes you anxious or angry can
cause stress,” says Janine Roos of the Mental Health Information Centre linked to the University of Cape Town and Stellenbosch University.
“That includes relationship problems, financial troubles, issues with your children, family or work, or major life changes.”
Stress isn’t always bad, Roos adds. “An example of good stress is the anxiety we experience before an exam or test – it helps you to excel under pressure, and be focused, awake and energetic.
“When you’re stressed the hormones adrenaline and cortisol are released, your heart rate and blood pressure rise, your senses become heightened, your breathing is more rapid, glucose and fats are released into the bloodstream and your muscles tighten.”
But it becomes problematic when the condition is sustained for too long.
“Chronic stress puts pressure on the immune system, increases the risk of heart attack and stroke and speeds up the ageing process,” Roos says.
“It also makes you more susceptible to depression, anxiety and other psychological conditions.”
Here’s a look at how stress can affect your body – and what you can do to reduce the impact.
1 YOUR BRAIN Difficulty concentrating Forgetfulness Feeling emotional, irritable and overwhelmed Racing thoughts Ongoing negative thoughts Insomnia or struggling to fall asleep at night Anxiety Depression
2 YOUR HAIR Hair loss Trichotillomania, an uncontrollable urge to pull out your hair, is linked to stress.
3 YOUR MUSCLES Spasms in your neck, back and shoulders Stress headaches, caused by tense muscles in your head and neck Back pain
4 YOUR LUNGS Rapid, shallow breathing (which can bring on panic attacks in those prone to them) Asthma attacks
5 YOUR HEART Increased heart rate High blood pressure
6 YOUR STOMACH Stomach pain Nausea Increased appetite
7 YOUR DIGESTIVE SYSTEM Indigestion Heartburn Constipation Diarrhoea Stomach ulcers Spastic colon
8 YOUR SKIN Acne Breakouts Cold sores Eczema and psoriasis flare-ups
9 YOUR BONES Lower bone density, due to the higher level of cortisol – this in turn increases your chances of developing osteoporosis.
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CRAVINGS & LACK OF APPETITE
YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM Infections, particularly recurring ones symptoms of auto-immune diseases such as Chrohn’s and rheumatoid arthritis can worsen.
YOUR SEX DRIVE Low libido due to decreased levels of testosterone in men and oestrogen in women
YOUR LOVE HANDLES Weight gain is common when your stress levels are elevated. This is partly due to poor eating habits when stressed, but cortisol is also believed to increase the amount of fat your body stores – especially in the belly area.