Here's How Stress Can Manifest Itself In The Body
Stress is a globally unanimous feeling right now. It’s the answer I hear the most when I check in on friends to see how they’re doing. It’s the way I feel more often than not, trying to navigate the absolute fustercluck of the times we’re living in. We’re all experiencing it, but of course, none of us actually want to.
Stress is caused as a biological response to a perceived threat, which kicks our ‘fight or flight’ response into motion. For that to happen, there’s a multitude of goings-on. For a start, your nervous system gets activated, and your adrenal glands start pumping out stress hormones, such as adrenaline (a.k.a. the fight or flight hormone). This adrenaline production increases your heart rate, blood pressure and general energy supplies, which allows your muscles to work better in response to the aforementioned ‘threat’.
Stress happens. Our bodies are made to be able to deal with it in small bursts, but when stress becomes more prolonged, and we experience it regularly, even without triggers, it wears the body out and leads to overall exhaustion, which impacts the body in numerous ways. So what other effects do stress have?
It can make you tired.
Given its ability to tire out our body, it’s no surprise that we can feel shattered during a particularly stressful period. Throw in to the mix how stress can also give us grief when we’re trying to sleep, either causing us to have trouble dropping off to sleep, or experience interrupted sleep, and it’s no wonder that you need another nap.
It can cause behavioural changes.
When you’re stressed out, you’ll probably notice a difference in your general demeanour, and often you feel like you’ve got no control over it. Even the most chilled out person can become snappy or irritable when stress takes its toll. Plus, it can make you more likely to turn to external factors, such as food, alcohol, smoking or drugs to calm you down.
It can create aches, pains and extra muscle tension.
Stress can physically manifest in the form of tension, knots and spasms in the muscles as well as joint aches and pains. It’s also why tension headaches can form after particularly busy or stressful days.
It can exacerbate other conditions.
One of the reasons it’s so important to try and keep stress levels under control in the long-term is because of its direct impact on other conditions. Many illnesses can flare up or worsen as a result of stress, and can bring about new, unwanted symptoms. For example, those with cardiovascular issues are more likely to experience more frequent bouts of angina, heart palpitations, and other heart-related symptoms when they’re stressed. Stress can also encourage conditions such as Teitze Syndrome, which encourages painful inflammation in the chest area and sends intercostal muscles into spasm.
It can mess your periods up.
Cortisol – another stress hormone – affects the production of the oestrogen and progesterone hormones, which are linked to the reproductive system and menstruation. When the production of these hormones are thrown out of whack, so is the menstrual cycle, causing late or irregular periods.
It can cause stomach issues.
As we know, when we feel stressed, our nervous system kicks in, and it’s a part of our nervous system that subsequently controls digestion. So when stress hits, our body responds in a number of ways, such as changing up the secretions that are needed in order to digest food, and our stomach muscles contract. That irritates the hell out of your stomach, which can cause a whole host of horrid IBS-like symptoms, such as cramps, diarrhoea, and constipation.
It can have an impact on your immune system.
Once again, this is cortisol at play. When we experience short bursts of stress – the kind our body is prepared for – the boost of cortisol limits inflammation, in turn boosting immunity. Ironically though, when you stress for a bit longer than your body can handle, it has the opposite effect, worsening inflammation. As a result, it can reduce the efficacy of white blood cells, which help our bodies fight off nasties such as viruses and bacteria. That’s why it’s so common for you to get ill after a fairly stressful period.
It can wreak havoc on your skin.
Surprisingly, or perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s a pretty extensive list of symptoms that can manifest on our skin when we’re stressed. For one, we can explain those stress breakouts. That pesky cortisol can encourage the release of another hormone called corticotrophin-releasing hormone (also known as CRH). CRH stimulates oil production and release from the sebaceous glands (which are found around our hair follicles), and too much oil can cause clogged pores, the main culprit when it comes to acne. Plus, if you’re feeling particularly stressed, you might want to be sure you’re keeping your skin moisturised, as it’s believed that stress can affect that too. A pair of studies found that stress can have a direct impact on the stratum corneum, which is the outer layer of your skin. The stratum corneum has a barrier-type function, that contains lipids and proteins that work to keep skin cells hydrated. It’s said that when you’re stressed, it can impair the effectiveness of this barrier, and skin water retention is negatively affected. Not to mention, stress can irritate our skin in other ways, such as itching, excessive sweating, and hives, as well as the aggravation of conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea.
It can cause hair loss.
When our body is presented with a threat, it reacts in such a jolt-like manner, that it can send all kinds of things haywire. For one, our hair. Sometimes, hair loss can be caused by the disruption of our hair's growing cycle, which can ultimately result in excessive shedding due to the shock to our system. This is commonly known as telogen effluvium, but stress can also encourage the onset of stress-induced alopecia.
It’s crucial to recognise all the ways in which our bodies are impacted by stress, as it goes ways beyond the mental implications. That’s why it’s so important to take time to yourself, find something that you enjoy that relieves stress, and, ultimately, try to avoid it as much as possible. How many of these symptoms did you read through and think, that’s me!?
Remember that stress can be brought on by a number of external factors, and cause problems even as a byproduct. If you need extra support, head to our Resources or explore online to find the right help for you.
Image credit: Anthony Tran
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