10 Consequences of Stress with 5 Tips to Help you Release it and Relax!

For some, the hype of the holidays can bring excitement, joy, and a sense of nostalgia. For others, the holiday season can bring up past trauma, estranged relationships, and feelings of loneliness once the visitors and loved ones have gone. No matter where your feelings fall regarding the Christmas season, it is not uncommon to feel sadness or post-holiday blues after the New Year’s arrival. Could this be caused by the irrepressible desire to make this New Year "the best year"?

During the post-Christmas lull, the post-holiday blues accompanied with waves of anxiety, feelings of sadness, or depression with characteristics of SAD (seasonal affective disorders) is more common than you think. Add to that the notion of deadlines and demands that we set ourselves as “new year’s resolutions”, whether it be to make changes to undesired trait or behavior, to accomplish a personal goal, or otherwise improve a behaviour, we often put a lot of pressures on ourselves at the beginning of the new calendar year. Sometimes even the notorious question, "What am I doing with my life?” can make a great recipe feeding incessantly "New Year's anxiety".

There are many consequences of stress, and the causes are multiple. A busy job, a busy schedule or financial problems are just some of its causes that we can experience on a daily basis. If those feelings seem rather numbing to us, they are very dangerous for our health.

So what is stress?

Indeed, there are two types of stress: acute and chronic. The first is the one whose immediate effects we feel, when our body puts itself in a combat situation to counter a threat – the “Fight or Flight” response with increased heart rate, more jerky breathing, profuse sweating, nausea, muscle stiffness. The level of stress will then depend on the symptoms’ intensity, but it will disappear once the danger has passed, allowing the body to return to normal.

The problem is when these anxiety-provoking situations settle into our daily lives, and when our body lives continuously on the defensive. The consequences of stress can then be disastrous, and the reason is simple: when our nervous system feels in danger, our brain is stimulated. It then produces adrenaline, while at the same time soliciting our adrenal glands. To manage stress, not only will the adrenals produce adrenaline, but also many important hormones, including cortisol and aldosterone. The adrenal hormones help regulate several bodily functions including metabolism, blood pressure and your body's response to stress. Cortisol can be harmful to many of our organs and too much of it switches off repair mechanisms.  Chronic high cortisol is bad for our brain and can even cause brain shrinkage, causing functional atrophy of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), the hippocampus, the amygdala, and the frontal lobe in the brain. Chronic (persistent) stress can also affect thyroid health, heart health, deplete the adrenal glands (and can ultimately lead to ‘burn-out’).  It also greatly affect our immune system. 

So let’s look at 10 harmful stress consequences on the body.

1. Cardiovascular System

Under stress, our heart beats faster, and our blood pressure rises to activate our blood circulation, which will then supply our muscles with oxygen to give them energy.

The blood vessels are reduced, and the arteries, hardened. Also, to ward off a possible injury, the blood will thicken, which can cause, as a result of stress, heart disease and stroke.

2. Skin

The consequences of stress also affect our superficial blood vessels, since they will prefer to direct blood to the muscles rather than to the skin. Our epidermis will then be less well nourished and will tend to redden, or on the contrary become pale, as well as age prematurely.

Skin diseases and inflammations can therefore result from the consequences of stress, such as psoriasis or hives. Acne, on the other hand, will be caused by excess sebum due to high cortisol production.

3. Hair

Just like the skin, blood flow supply to our hair lessens in times of stress. The growth of our hair is slowed down, which can even lead to hair fall.

The scalp, more sensitive, is also affected. It can itch, be painful or peel and cause the appearance of dandruff as a result of stress.

4. Immune System

In normal times, our body has the necessary resources to counter the viruses and aggressions that threaten us on a daily basis. Unless, of course, it is too busy fighting an immediate threat, a message conveyed by the consequences of stress.

As a result, we are more vulnerable to new infections, in addition to waking up existing ones, while worsening their symptoms and disrupting their recovery. In addition, a little-known fact, a weakened immune system could even cause the appearance of new allergies.

The gut microbiome is intimately linked with the immune system; not only do gut bacteria play a key role in educating immune cells, but bacteria and their metabolites can both stimulate and soothe our immune response. Exposure to stress impacts colonic motor activity, which in turns can alter gut microbiota profiles, including lower numbers of potentially beneficial species.

5. Digestive System

We observe the same process in our digestive system in the face of the consequences of stress. Too busy counteracting the danger transmitted by stress, it slows down and disrupts intestinal activity, and no longer assimilates food properly.

The result: bloating, heartburn, acid reflux, peptic ulcer, irritable bowel syndrome and, of course, constipation, diarrhea and indigestion.

6. Weight Gain and Maintenance

It's not always easy to maintain a healthy weight when you're dealing with the consequences of stress, let alone when you have a hectic lifestyle. For lack of time, or interest, we tend to swallow the contents of our plate in one go, or skip healthier meal options.

The major culprit is observed in many people who are continually stressed and is closely related to their overweight tendencies: the famous cortisol. This stress hormone sends a hunger signal to our brain, since our body usually needs food to recover from an "aggression". Except that these comfort foods are not always the most balanced.

7. Sleep

As we know, stress and sleep do not mix. In the evening, we often ruminate on our day and anticipate negatively over what is in store for the next one. And that's not to mention that, tired, we are less able to deal with anxiety, which over time, tends to settle in on a more permanent basis.

But the psychological aspect is not the only one responsible for sleep disorders. Physiologically, our sympathetic nervous system also gives us a hard time; it refuses to put itself on standby by producing excess catecholamines neurohormones (dopamine, noradrenaline, and adrenaline) which as discussed above, are important in stress responses, thus keeping us awake to face the perceived dangers that awaits us.

8. Memory

The hippocampus plays an essential role in the memorization process. So, when cortisol rushes to destroy the nerve cells in this area of our brain, it is all of our cognitive functions that are affected by stress accordingly.

This explains why our focus and lack of judgment are so lacking when we are on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

9. Libido

Let's face it: after a hard day, we don't feel the most attractive. So, when stress gets involved and reaches our precious hypothalamus, another part of the brain, our production of sex hormones is also slowed down.  When we are stressed, there is no room for the parasympathetic nervous system to kick in.  The "rest-and-digest" or "feed and breed" activities that occur when the body is at rest, especially after eating, including sexual arousal, salivation, lacrimation (tears), urination, digestion, and defecation are suppressed.

10. Reproductive System

We know now that stress hormones such as cortisol disrupt signaling between the brain and the ovaries, which can trip up ovulation. When women trying to procreate suffer from chronic stress, it affects their fertility, interfere with other glands in the endocrine system, and reduce their production of hormones that send the appropriate signal to their ovaries to release an egg each month. Be aware that it is not only excess mental stress that does this, but physical stress to the body too, like too much exercise, can also stop ovulation. Furthermore, stress can greatly affect symptoms related to menstruation, making them irregular or even painful. Through menopause, stress can accentuate symptoms such as hot flashes.

Men see the consequences of this stress as well, through erectile dysfunction, and even a decrease in sperm production. When they have to cope with stress, it negatively impact on their fertility, by increasing adrenergic activation, leading to more vasoconstriction in the testes resulting in a lower testosterone level and decreased spermatogenesis, the production or development of mature sperm.

Here are 5 tips that could help you when the consequences of stress are overwhelming.

If stress is difficult to eliminate on a daily basis, we can learn to control it. We already know this, but regular sleep, a balanced diet and the practice of a gentle physical activity are the basis of a healthier lifestyle and can provide the extra energy needed to cope with chronic stress.

1. Do an express yoga or meditation session

We isolate ourselves for about fifteen minutes, and we breathe. We focus on our breathing movements, without trying to modify them, and we remain attentive to our body sensations and emotions. The goal? Refocus on what is most important: us and stay in the now so we cannot worry about the past or the future.

2. Relax our muscles

From head to toe, one at a time. Starting with the toes, each muscle is contracted as much as possible before it is released, gradually moving up to those of the face.

3. Take a walk

And no need to travel miles! Ten minutes is enough to clear our heads and divert our minds from our little stressors, tunning into our senses.

• Hearing – listening to a dog barking or bird singing,

• Seeing – noticing colours and textures around us,

• Touching – noticing the breeze on our face, the clothes on our skin,

• Smelling – the odours around us, in the room we are in,

• Tasting – the lingering taste of our cup of coffee, or toothpaste.

4. Listen to music

It is proven, music softens the emotions ... and the consequences of stress. Classic, it would even lower blood pressure and heart rate. But the main thing is of course to listen to our favourite songs, since they will activate the famous hormones responsible for well-being.

5. Visualize

Our imagination can also help us relax in the face of the consequences of stress. Comfortably seated, we visualize a scene that makes us feel good: a place filled with happy memories, a loved one, our next vacation, etc.

In the end, just remember,

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” William James

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