Modern life, with its constant rush and nerves, has made stress a constant companion of every person. But a few decades ago people had not even heard of this concept. Life was measured, work was calm, the future was more or less clear. Today, every day is spent in continuous struggle, professional activity is associated with continuous rush jobs, and no one is sure of the future. All this causes severe nervous overload, called stress.
The effect of stress on the body is initially expressed mainly in the emotional sphere. The person becomes irritable, apathetic, lethargic. He cannot sleep at night, but walks around lethargic and sleepy during the day, he feels tired, but cannot relax and rest. Short-term stress can sometimes even be considered beneficial for a person, because it activates the body’s hidden reserves and makes it “shake up.” However, if the effects of stress continue for a long time, it can lead to depression and physical illness. The mechanism of their occurrence is easily explained. The nervous system is very closely related to the endocrine and immune systems. Under the influence of an unstable psycho-emotional state, the endocrine system begins to produce stress hormones, which ultimately lead to the fact that the immune system ceases to protect the body properly. The influence of stress causes many diseases of the cardiovascular system, gastrointestinal tract, depletes the strength of immune cells, which makes the body susceptible to viruses and bacteria.
Causes of stress
The occurrence of stress is provoked by two reasons:
- physiological,
- psychological.
Physiological causes include physical exhaustion as a result of lack of sleep, lack of vitamins, malnutrition and other factors. Today, many are forced to work extremely hard to be able to feed themselves and their loved ones. There is practically no time left for proper rest, so the body does not have time to restore vital resources.
Psychological reasons include a person’s state of mind. A favorite job, family, home give a person a feeling of comfort. Forcing yourself to perform certain actions every day leads to disharmony. Reluctance to communicate often provokes stressful situations. The lack of a heart-to-heart conversation makes it difficult to relax. Communication with an aggressor deprives you of vitality. It is believed that men tolerate stress much easier than women, but this is not true. People who openly show their emotions suffer much less from stress than those who always control themselves and maintain external calm. Stress criteria will be different for everyone. Someone attaches great importance to little things and scrolls through various life situations in their heads for a long time, constantly tormenting themselves. It is quite difficult for such individuals to cope with nervous shocks.
Working hard, a constant source of nervous tension
Restoring the body after a stress disorder
Depending on the degree of disturbance, therapeutic measures may vary. Sometimes it is necessary to carry out drug treatment to normalize the psychological state. In other cases, it is recommended to rest so that the body can recover from increased stress and normalize the emotional background.
The following measures may help:
- Emotional release. The method helps to get rid of negativity without entering into conflict with others. The methods may vary. For some people, just shouting in a private place is enough. Anti-stress dolls help you get emotional release.
- Physical exercise. Strong workouts allow you to get rid of excess energy, stabilize your psycho-emotional background and improve your overall tone. However, it is important to avoid overexertion.
- Creation. Allows you to free yourself from negative emotions and relax. You can purchase special coloring books or take up your favorite hobby.
- Communication with animals. Pets help you calm down and relax. Tactile contact allows you to normalize hormonal levels.
- Consultation with a psychologist. A specialist will not only give recommendations for recovery, but also help you believe in yourself and get rid of worries.
- Meditation, breathing exercises, yoga and other relaxing practices. Moderate exercise helps change hormonal levels.
What happens in the body
The more a person interacts with people, the more often he experiences stress. To understand how stress affects the human body, you need to understand what it is. Stress is a defensive reaction. In stalemate situations, all the body’s protective functions are activated. The central nervous system sends impulses to various systems. The thyroid gland and adrenal glands suddenly begin to secrete large amounts of hormones. The human body becomes toned and prepares to rush into battle at any second. The immune system produces large amounts of interferon, immunoglobulins and white blood cells. A person becomes more resistant to infectious diseases for some time. The need for food and rest is reduced. But after such a load the body becomes exhausted. His resources are wasted.
Pathological fatigue syndrome manifests itself when a person, even after a long sleep, feels overwhelmed and weak. The immune system weakens.
Stress has a detrimental effect on all organ systems. The fact is that the human body needs some time to restore its resources. In a state of stress, he is deprived of this opportunity, so disturbances occur in the functioning of:
- nervous system,
- thyroid gland,
- cerebral cortex,
- adrenal glands
- Gastrointestinal tract,
- genitourinary system,
- of cardio-vascular system.
Transfer factor and stress management
Physical and emotional states are closely connected. Therefore, illnesses cause stress, and stress causes illnesses. Relieving stress, among other things, involves taking serious care of the state of the immune system. A strong immune system that properly performs its functions will support the nervous system and limit the production of stress hormones by the endocrine system, which will make stress relief not such a difficult task. The drug Transfer Factor will help restore the functions of immune cells. Thanks to the information embedded in it, which it provides to the immune system, retraining occurs, restarting the entire system. Cells begin to interact better with each other and more effectively fight the causes of disease. Thus, the whole body is healed, including stress relief. Transfer factor is a natural preparation based on a concentrate of information compounds taken from cow colostrum. It is prescribed to absolutely everyone, since it has no contraindications or side effects. Transfer factor is recommended by the Russian Ministry of Health as a means for the prevention and treatment of various diseases and disorders, including the psycho-emotional sphere. They say that nerve cells do not regenerate. Transfer factor proved the opposite!
Nervous system and brain
The effect of stress on the human body leads to a decrease in brain activity. It is the brain and central nervous system that suffer first. Constant overstimulation provokes nervous behavior. An irritable state leads to insomnia, which greatly depletes the body. A person constantly feels the need for energy boost from caffeine, smokers begin to smoke more.
Many people feel a strong need for sweets. Glucose is converted into energy, which is necessary to stimulate the central nervous system and brain. But even with constant use of stimulants, brain activity still decreases over time. Stress provokes panic attacks and leads to emotional instability. The person becomes hysterical. The slightest emotional shock can throw him into a stupor and provoke long-term depression. Often there is an involuntary contraction of muscles in the corner of the eye, on the eyelid, at the edge of the lips.
This mental state can lead to the development of a number of diseases:
- brain tumors,
- clinical depression,
- neuralgia,
- VSD,
- epilepsy,
- bulimia,
- brain abscess.
Thyroid and adrenal glands
The effect of stress on the body leads to the activation of the production of sex hormones, corticoids, and adrenaline. Blood pressure rises, heart rate accelerates, muscles become toned. Tremors in the limbs are sometimes observed.
Excessive production of hormones provokes the appearance of a disease such as diabetes. When the body is in a state of exhaustion, it is open to all kinds of infections. A decrease in protective function can cause the appearance of a cancerous tumor.
Gastrointestinal tract
A stressful situation has a negative impact on the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Spasmodic muscle contraction leads to diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Often these symptoms are observed in young children because their nervous system is not yet fully developed.
Disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract cause the appearance of gastritis, peritonitis, and ulcers. This leads to vitamin deficiency, which results in a decrease in protective reactions and allergies.
Nausea, a common gastrointestinal disorder during stress
Genitourinary system
The influence of stress on a person disrupts the functioning of the genitourinary system. Women experience delays in menstruation and may experience premature menopause. When the emotional state returns to normal, the functioning of the reproductive system improves. In men and women with constant nervous overexcitation, the following disorders are observed:
- infertility,
- impotence,
- frigidity,
- lack of sexual desire,
- premature ejaculation.
The cardiovascular system
Muscle performance increases as a result of nervous shock. The heart begins to beat faster. With prolonged exposure to an irritating factor, a heart attack or micro-stroke can occur. Prolonged exercise can lead to heart disease.
When under nervous tension, the heart begins to beat faster
Treatment of stress: what methods help get rid of symptoms and consequences?
In the frantic pace of modern life, stress haunts a person constantly. But what is hidden behind this common concept? Today, it is customary to call stress any emotional upheaval, painful experiences, or the bitterness of unjustified hopes. However, the medical interpretation of the term is much narrower - not every fear, pain or disappointment is stress.
Not all people who have been subjected to a powerful emotional attack break down, lose their vitality and fall into a depressive state. At the same time, true stress is destructive and poses a health hazard. That is why it is so important to recognize it and begin treatment on time. Let's take a closer look at how to distinguish stress from nervous tension, what consequences this phenomenon entails and how to deal with it.
Afobazol is a modern drug that helps restore the natural mechanisms of the nervous system and allows you to cope with stress.
What will help you protect yourself from negative emotions?
Many diseases begin to progress due to disturbances in the nervous system. If a person feels that he cannot cope with psychological stress, then it is best to seek help from a specialist. He will prescribe a course of sedatives, the effect of which will appear within a few weeks. Almost all of them have a cumulative effect. When the level of adrenaline in the blood increases, sedatives help reduce the activity of the central nervous system and normalize the activity of the cerebral cortex. Regular exercise and contrast showers also help keep the body in good shape.
Stress can also have a positive effect on our body. For example, when a person works long and hard, pursuing a certain goal, and achieves it, then negative emotions become positive.
The effect of stress on the gut
Gut health is very closely linked to our overall health. This is why it is so important to take care of your colon and entire digestive system.
When the level of stress in the body increases, the intestines will be one of the first to “notice” this. Problems such as gas formation, abdominal pain and inflammation (of various types) will begin to appear.
This is interesting: 5 healing infusions that will help cleanse the large intestine
The result of prolonged exposure to irritating factors
The negative effects of stress do not appear immediately. The functioning of organ systems is gradually disrupted. Chronic fatigue has a detrimental effect on the entire body, provoking the occurrence of various diseases.
First of all, a stressful situation greatly affects the psyche. Nervous tension leads to conflict situations in society.
The negative effects of stress can result in suicidal tendencies.
The influence of stress overstrain on the psyche and state of mind
Constantly being under the influence of stress has a negative impact on one’s state of mind, since a person can experience apathy towards everything for a long time or even lose interest in life. The consequences of this condition may be:
- attacks of irritability, short temper, aggressiveness, intolerance;
- outbursts of anger;
- insomnia;
- lack of complexes and self-doubt;
- depression, neurosis.
It is difficult for a person who is often in a stressful state to plan his time wisely and completely relax. Trying to distract yourself from unnecessary problems, you try to immerse yourself in work or simply escape from your problems with the help of alcohol.
Stress often leads to the emergence or worsening of bad habits and changes a person’s behavioral characteristics.
To be stressed or not to be stressed: that is the question
An accurate description of stress was compiled 80 years ago. Austro-Hungarian biologist Hans Selye pointed out that stress is a complex of adaptive reactions of the body to demands placed on it due to the influence of factors that lead to a violation of homeostasis (the body’s ability to maintain a constant internal environment). In other words, this is tension that is caused by a combination of external, usually unfavorable, factors.
Any change in a person’s usual life activities can become a stress factor. Emotional turmoil is often provoked not only by external circumstances, but also by a subconscious attitude towards specific events. The death of a close relative, a breakup with a loved one, troubles at work, lack of confidence in the future, a frantic pace of life and constant time pressure - all this can throw you out of balance. The reasons can also be “internal” in nature: poor nutrition, deficiency of minerals and vitamins, disturbances in the functioning of the endocrine and immune systems, allergies. Nervous stress is much deeper than ordinary anxiety; it is a physiological reaction of the body to stress, which has specific symptoms, phases and consequences.
American psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Ray, based on large-scale research, compiled a table of the stress potential of life events. On the top line with a score of almost 100 points is the death of a spouse. On the second - 78 points - divorce. On the third - 65 points - separation from your partner. Thus, the end of a relationship with a loved one has a stronger impact than imprisonment (63 points), death of a relative (63 points), or serious illness (53 points).
When adversely affected, the pituitary gland begins to actively produce adrenocorticotropin. This hormone, in turn, affects the adrenal glands, which produce cortisol, norepinephrine, and adrenaline. There is an increased production of glucose, cholesterol, and fatty acids. A person's blood pressure increases and their heartbeat increases. In small doses it is even useful - stress stimulates activity and encourages action.
