Rapid heartbeats that make you feel like you’re on the verge of a heart attack. Breathing problems, joint pain – and even blurred vision.
These may seem like the symptoms of a deathly disease. In fact they are just a selection of the things that go wrong in your body when you experience an emotion felt by 84 percent of Americans every week.
Stress will no doubt have been suffered by many over the past fortnight. The majority of Americans consider the season of cheer to be the most stressful period of the year, according to surveys.
Experts have long noted that stress impacts nearly every part of the body – with the sensation linked to a host of conditions including heart disease and bowel problems.
And it is no wonder, given the cascade of harm that happens throughout the body when we start to feel overwhelmed.
Fleeting feelings of stress are normal and healthy. But when the emotion continues for longer than a week or two, a cascade of bodily processes can lead to serious harm
‘We are only beginning to scratch the surface with regards to the effects of stress on the human body,’ psychiatrist Dr Peter Zafirides told DailyMail.com.
‘It’s a topic that underscores the intricate relationship between our mental state and physical health.’
In 2018, a major study by researchers at the University of California found that people with emotional problems like anxiety and depression were just as likely to have a stroke or heart condition as those who smoked or were obese.
Here, DailyMail.com reveals the fascinating chain reaction of events that happen inside the body the moment stress sets in.
Unsurprisingly, it all begins in the brain. Specifically, the amygdala in the center of the organ involved with emotion. When a trigger presents itself, this region sends signals to the adrenal glands, telling them to release hormones called cortisol and adrenaline.
These are the ‘fight-or-flight’ hormones that tell the rest of the body that it is in danger.
Scientists don’t quite know why, but these substances signal to the apocrine glands in the armpits and groin, telling them to release water; or sweat.
The hormones also trigger a bigger supply of oxygen-rich blood throughout the body, making you feel more alert as your heart races and your breathing speeds up.
In small doses, this reaction isn’t harmful. Initially, stress was meant to protect our ancestors from being hunted or hurt while they tried to survive.
But the health complications come when the stress is chronic – which means the feeling continues for longer than a week.
Lauren Thayer, a registered nurse at online health blog Health Canal, told DailyMail.com: ‘Stress is not always a bad thing as it helps our body respond to things that are just that: stressful and out of the ordinary.’
However, in higher doses, stress can cause the entire body to react, leading to lasting health issues like high blood pressure, a weakened immune system, headaches, and hormonal issues.
‘Chronic stress that does not go away is incredibly detrimental to one’s health and must be dealt with,’ Ms Thayer said.
When you’re stressed, those surges of cortisol and adrenaline cause the heart to pump faster to accommodate the extra blood flow.
Blood vessels also begin to constrict, which raises blood pressure and makes it more difficult for blood to reach the heart muscles.
‘These both will make your heart work harder. The increased work of your heart combined with chronic high blood pressure increases your risk of a heart attack or stroke,’ Ms Thayer said.
Your muscles are also more likely to tense up when you’re stressed – in order to protect them from injury. However, that tension can lead to body aches, back and shoulder pain, and headaches.
‘If you are constantly stressed, then your muscles might never fully relax,’ Ms Thayer said.
The quickened breathing can also make asthma – which constricts the airway, leading to difficulty breathing – more severe.
Constantly elevated cortisol sets off an inflammatory response in the body, which can attack the joints. Inflammation fuels joint conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, so stress could lead to symptoms becoming more pronounced.
‘Within the joints, the interplay of stress and inflammation can amplify sensations of pain and stiffness, manifesting as discomfort in response to heightened stress levels,’ Dr Zafirides said.
During times of stress, the liver produces increased levels of the sugar glucose to boost energy. This causes blood sugar to rise. In the short term, high blood sugar can make you feel hungry or thirsty or need to urinate more often. It can also lead to headaches, blurred vision, and fatigue.
Stress hormones interact with compounds that determine how hungry or full we are.
This can result in food moving faster or slower throughout the digestive system, leading to constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.
Stress also depletes prostaglandins – the fats that help heal damaged tissue, and absorb stomach acid. Without them, you’re more prone to acid reflux.
This can also exacerbate peptic ulcers, open sores that form on the inside lining of the stomach and upper part of the small intestine. Though it can make symptoms worse due to that lack of protection against stomach acid, stress cannot cause them, according to the Mayo Clinic.
In small doses, the immune system can benefit from stress. ‘Stress causes the immune system to be stimulated, helping it to be at the ready to avoid infections and wounds,’ Ms Thayer said.
However, too much stress eventually weakens the immune system, making it unable to fight off invaders like viruses or bacteria.
‘If someone is chronically stressed, it will likely take them more time to recover from a common cold and also make them more susceptible,’ Ms Thayer said.
Meanwhile, the excess sweating that is often involved with stress and anxiety – can worsen conditions such as eczema or acne, Dr Langham said.
Finally, if stress continues for long enough, it can affect fertility. Brain imaging studies show that high levels of cortisol can interrupt the delicate balance of sex hormones, estrogen, progesterone and FH.
This means that women may find their periods stop, are irregular and may have cycles in which they do not ovulate.
Dr Langham adds that the disruption of testosterone can also affect sperm production in men.
