Stress and Health Cover Page

Stress and our Health Aaron Quintana Salt Lake Community College Psychology 101

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Stress affects many people in the world. In this day in age, where we are surrounded by so many distractions, where our lives are constantly on the go, there is a lot of information that is thrown at us that we have to process. From the young to old, we all have some amount of stress in our lives. Many can deal with it, but there are many others that cant. Stress can take a hold of ones life and completely disable them. Many people have to deal with major stress, but when is it too much? There is help but many either dont know about it, or dont seek it out. Thanks to years of research, we have many ways of now of treating stress and conditions it may cause or have connections to. Stress doesnt have to take over. We just have to recognize and understand what stress is, how it affects us and finally what we can do to help us deal with it. Anything that poses a challenge to our well-being can cause stress. Stress can sometimes be good, and sometimes gives us a little drive and pushes us, but when stress undermines both our mental and physical health, it can be bad. Many things can cause stress, such as work, relationships, big life events, tragedies and even natural disasters. All these things are called stressors, or things that can inhibit our well-being. When stressors are present, and our level of stress rises, it can take a toll on our body. According to Huljich (2012), stress can raise blood pressure, suppress the immune system (or, alternatively, lead to autoimmune diseases), worsen allergies, increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, impair fertility, and accelerate the aging process (par. 3). Its no wonder we feel ill when we are stressed out. We are in an altered state of being that we are not used to and there are many imbalances that happen. These imbalances are part of a natural response that our body takes when faced with major stress. There are ways we can avoid stress, but sometimes our environment can even increase our stress by having chronic stressors. Chronic stressors are sources of stress that occur continuously or repeatedly

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(Schacter, Gilbert & Wegner, 2011, pg. 430). We are sometimes placed in situations that where stress is a constant thing, be it a busy work environment, long lines at theme parks or even a stressful relationship. All this can definitely affect our lives in many ways. As a student that works 40 hours a week, life can get pretty hectic. Ive noticed that having a full time job has definitely added to the stress of having to have homework and attend class. When Im at school, I think about work and while Im at work I think about school. Its a circle of stress that can lead to many issues. Ive noticed that when Im having a busy week, Im more irritable and get tired easily. These are definitely symptoms that come along with stress. Along with all this, I also have asthma, and this doesnt really bode well for when Im stressed. I definitely feel small asthma symptoms occur with high stress. I have shortness of breath and I can feel my chest tightening up. But it can also turn into a cycle that isnt good. Stress can cause my asthma to flare up, and when my asthma gets worse, I get stressed about going through an asthma attack. Medication has definitely helped, but I have had to learn how to control the situations around me so that I dont increase the likelihood of an asthma attack. This is just a personal example of how stress has affected my life, but stress can definitely cause many other health issues. When we have high levels of stress, it really does take a toll on our body. All the things that go on with our body can have negative effects on our immune system and even affect our cardiovascular health. Stressors can cause certain body chemicals to increase, such as cortisol, adrenaline or glucocorticoids. These increases cause negative effects like slowing down our immune system or cause muscle spasms and increased heart rate. Simple things like the rate of healing can decrease as well. In one study, volunteers received small wounds in the roof of their mouths and researchers would observe the rate of the healing process in students that had exams

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versus students that were on vacation. The study showed that the wounds of those with the added stress of exams would heal at a slower pace (Marucha, Kiecolt-Glaser & Favegehi, 1998). Another study had volunteers swab their noses with a cotton swab that had a cold virus on it. The results seemed that those that had high stress were more likely to succumb to the cold virus and get sick (Cohen et al., 1998). High levels of stress can also affect our heart health, including developing coronary heart disease. The main cause of this is linked to atherosclerosis which is when arteries gradually narrow as plaque or other build up stick to the inner walls of the arteries. This reduces blood supply and can completely block an artery resulting in a heart attack (Schacter et al., 2011, pg 435). Though other things can contribute to heart disease, research has shown that chronic stress is a major contributor to this (Krantz & McCeney, 2002). As research has proven, stress can lead to many health issues that can be major, but the good thing is that are many things we can do to help decrease our stress and help us be healthy. Decreasing our stress doesnt have to be through medical help like prescription drug or medical procedures. There are many things we can do ourselves. Medication can often times just masks our stress, so it is good to know that we can do many things that can actually relieve us of stress. Exercise has been proven to have a beneficial effect on our mental and physical health. Nutrition can also have major benefits. Many physical activities that combine relaxation with exercise, yoga for example, have positive effects on our well-being. Eating a healthy, well balanced diet can help keep our body running well. Cutting down on the consumption of alcohol or caffeine can also decrease our stress. Many substances like these alter our state and can add to the stress we already have. It might seem weird, but talking can also relieve stress. Being able to express your thoughts and feelings with someone, be it friends and family or a professional

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counselor, can help sort your thoughts. There are many ways to cope with stress that are easy and things that we can change in our everyday life. Stress is definitely present in our everyday life. There are many factors that come into play. Basically, life as a whole can definitely bring us stress in many shapes and forms. From everyday stress to sometimes the overwhelming stress that we face, there are many ways it affects our health. Though debilitating at times, there are many ways to help us cope with or relieve our stress. Our own instincts can help us cope, but also there are many easy things that we can do to help us decrease our stress significantly.

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References Huljich, P. (2012) The Stress Pandemic retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mind-wellness-awareness/201207/the-stress-pandemic Krantz, D. S., & McCeney, M. K. (2002) Effects of psychological and social factors on organic disease: A critical assessment of research on coronary heart disease. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 661-669 Marucha, P. T., Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K., & Favagehi, M. (1998) Mucosal wound healing is impaired by examination stress. Psychosomatic Medicine, 60, 362-365 Schacter, D., Gilbert, D., Wegner, D., (2011) Introducing Psychology New York: Worth Publishers

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