How Does Stress Affect a Person’s Health?
In honor of Stress Awareness Month this upcoming April, the healthcare providers here at Abraham Family Medicine wanted to take some time to talk about stress and the many ways that it can affect a person’s health. When it comes to a person’s health, the body and mind are very closely connected. Being overly stressed, or not understanding how to properly manage your stress, can affect a person’s mood and emotional wellbeing, while also contributing to potentially serious health conditions. We wanted to take some time to get specific about stress and what it actually does to the body as well as offer a few helpful tips to manage it.
When a person experiences a stressful situation, this sets off a reaction in the body where stress hormones can produce physiological changes. For example, experiencing stress can cause the heart to pound, muscles to tense up, and a person’s breathing to become faster. While the body is able to use these hormonal changes and physiological responses to either combat these effects, the body can also overreact to stress. And over time, repeated activation of this stress response can often take a toll on a person’s health and wellness.
Too much stress can lead to short-term and long-term health issues if not properly managed. Short-term health effects of stress include headaches, chest pains, stomach, and digestive issues, and tension in muscles all over the body. Being overly stressed for an extended period of time can increase a person’s risk of developing high blood pressure or experiencing a heart attack while weakening the immune system. Additionally, there is a connection between stress and fertility issues in both men and women.
Research suggests that chronic stress over the years can also have negative effects on a person’s mental health. This includes contributing to anxiety, depression, addiction, and sleep disorders.
While stress may be unavoidable, there are things that our providers recommend to help manage stress in a more healthy way. Getting regular daily exercise and eating a healthy, balanced diet are certainly helpful steps. Breathing techniques and meditation are also known to help reduce stress. As are taking a break from technology and giving your mind time to decompress during the day. The bottom line is to find or do healthful things that can allow you to reduce your stress levels. For more information on stress management or if you would like to schedule an appointment, please contact Abraham Family Medicine today. Our providers offer a wide variety of general healthcare services for patients of all ages at our Snellville office, located very close to Grayson, Dacula, and Lilburn.
