Effects of Stress on the Body
What is stress? So often we hear ourselves and others talk about being stressed out, feeling stress, events being stressful – but what is stress, really? Stress is a normal response that occurs physically, mentally and emotionally within your body when it senses changes in your environment.
When you experience stress, your body responds in a very specific way. Your primal brain kicks in because it senses “danger”. Your heart rate goes up, adrenaline production increases and your heart beats faster. Your body is ready for fight or flight. The events that induce stress are called stressors, and they can come from your environment, your thoughts or your own body. It doesn’t matter what the stressor is, whether it’s a traffic accident or you are experiencing a strong emotion, the body’s response is the same.
Our bodies are hard-wired to perceive and react to stress, because stress is a body reaction that helps keep us safe from threats. Feeling stress can be a good thing, because it keeps us alert in situations where our brain perceives danger. After the perceived danger has passed, your body begins to calm down within 20 minutes and goes back to normal. Stress starts to become problematic when you experience it very often, because chronic stress affects your health.
A study conducted by the American Psychology Association shows that women are more likely than men to report high levels of stress, and having stronger physical and emotional symptoms of stress. Furthermore, women who balance their career and married family lives report feeling more stress and having less time to manage their stress, compared with single women.
Married women report higher levels of stress than single women. Single women report doing more to manage their stress than married women.
Symptoms of Stress
These are a few symptoms of stress that you may experience.
Change in sex drive
Change in appetite
Feeling as though you could cry
Feeling nervous or anxious
Feeling sad or depressed
Difficulty sleeping
Poor concentration
Headaches
Fatigue
Muscular tension
Irritability
Anger
Indigestion
Lack of motivation or energy
It is easy to see how these symptoms on their own can affect your lifestyle. Many business women, however, experience chronic stress, which can become problematic to our health.
Stress can cause depression, anxiety, insomnia, autoimmune diseases, heart disease, skin conditions, weight problems, and especially in women, it can have strong effects in our fertility.
Furthermore, the stress hormone, cortisol, can also affect women by inducing acne breakouts, hair loss and irregular periods.
Because stress is most strongly perceived by women who juggle their careers and families, and it can have such strong effects on women’s health, it is extremely important to learn how to manage it effectively.
Visit our next article, on stress management.