Excessive stress can have lasting effects on your health, here’s how to avoid it
Stress is an unavoidable part of life. The amount of stress we face is often out of our control. That’s OK, say health experts like Dr. Nidal Moukaddam, a psychiatrist and researcher at Harris Health System, and Dr. John Higgins, senior cardiologist at Harris Health’s Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital. Our bodies are designed to cope with some amount of stress.
“The old saying is ‘what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger,’ and that’s true, to a point,” says Higgins. However, both doctors note excessive or chronically elevated stress levels are real problems with serious health consequences. High levels of stress exacerbate pre-existing medical conditions while forcing many people to find unhealthy ways to relieve stress like abusing drugs, drinking, or smoking.
The link between mental and physical health
The idea that one’s mental and physical health are connected is not new. But according to Moukaddam, research in the last two years has definitively shown the health of one intimately affects the health of the other.
“The mind-body connection is very significant,” says Moukaddam. “If your mind is unhappy, you will have physical effects, and vice versa.” Excess stress causes depression and anxiety which leads to rising levels of inflammation in the body. Inflammation can decrease immune response and leads to worse outcomes in chronic conditions. Conversely, someone with a chronic health condition like high blood pressure, heart disease, or diabetes is more likely to be depressed and anxious than someone who’s relatively healthier. The connection, says Moukaddam, is a two-way street. Higgins agrees, saying, “Stress has a negative effect on our brain, which in turn, causes negative effects in our body. It can be a vicious cycle.”
Excessive stress and chronically elevated stress levels are connected to a myriad of poor health outcomes, from thyroid problems to gastrointestinal and stomach issues, cardiovascular and heart problems, high blood pressure, muscle pain, ulcers, stroke, and cardiac events which can be deadly. Stress is not just in our heads; it’s a legitimate debilitating health condition.
Where does stress come from?
There are two kinds of stress: stress that happens to you and stress that happens inside you. Stress that happens to you originates in your environment, and it’s the one you have some opportunity to control. “Stress must be managed in your environment first,” Moukaddam says. A failing marriage or abusive boss can cause environmental stress, as does poor diet and bad habits. Yet these are circumstances we can change through “simple, easy steps,” says Higgins. “That’s the best way forward when dealing with environmental stress.”
The more difficult stress is the one that originates inside us. Depression and anxiety brought on by our internal stress can be deadly because of the stigma around mental health that prevents people from seeking care. “We were seeing an increased need for mental health services before COVID, and now the need is even greater,” she says. “Removing the stigma around seeking help when you’re having a mental health issue allows us to take a preventive approach to many of our chronic health problems.
Taking a preventive approach
This preventive approach includes stress management. Moukaddam reminds us the first red flag of being excessively stressed is not full-blown depression or heart attack, but rather small things like feeling unhappy, unmotivated, needing an alcoholic drink to fall asleep or an extra cup of coffee to make it through the day. “We need to pay attention to these shifts inside us and realize they are significant,” she says.
When we notice we’re experiencing significant stress, there are many ways to respond. Physically, Higgins recommends getting your body “in shape for stress.” This includes things like getting 7-9 hours of restful sleep a night, eating a balanced diet that’s low on caffeine, sugar, alcohol, having stress-reduction rituals and getting regular exercise.
Building healthy habits
Healthy habits help reduce stress: mindfulness, yoga, hanging out with friends or family, engaging in a hobby, or enjoying the simple things like walking your dog or taking a bath. There are apps that can help you keep healthy habits, apps that track your sleep, and ones that remind you to schedule time off with your family. Maintaining a social network and striking the right work/life balance are two huge factors that will reduce inner stress.
Moukaddam notes that while the general components of de-stressing your life remain the same for everyone, how you care for yourself needs to be assessed individually. “We all have to find our own answers because beating stress is customizable to the individual.”
But what if you’re taking the steps to get your body in shape for stress and you’re still battling depression, anxiety, or other physical manifestations from stress? Both Moukaddam and Higgins agree that’s when medical professionals should step in. Harris Health offers mental and physical healthcare solutions like talk therapy and medication that can help you combat the negative effects of stress in your life.
Prioritizing self-care
Managing stress is like the mind-body connection, a two-way street, or what Higgins calls “prevention plus attitude.” Creating healthy habits while also keeping the right mental attitude is key to successfully managing stress. And prioritizing self-care is necessary to maintain a positive mental attitude. “Self-kindness is the way to objective reflection,” Moukaddam says. “First, be kind to yourself. Second, be honest with yourself. Then you can divide your stress management into what you can do yourself and what you need help with.” Stress, anxiety, and depression are a spectrum, Moukaddam reminds us. Not everything is a clinical entity. Knowing when your normal life is being impeded by stress and then seeking help when you can’t manage it is key to successful stress management.
“If you’re overwhelmed,” she says, “don’t think you can fix it yourself. Life is precious and short. Untreated depression has very poor outcomes. Please seek treatment.”
“A healthy lifestyle is not a quick fix,” Higgins cautions. “It’s got to be a healthy lifelong habit. Find a work/life balance and a stress reduction ritual that works for you. Get fresh air and sunshine. Drink water and rest. Eat well and exercise. See your friends and laugh. Do these things and you’ll be prepared when the stress of life comes. Remember, keep calm, smile and carry on.”