What should I know about Stress?
Stress refers to anything that disturbs an individual's physical, mental, or emotional equilibrium. The body has numerous stress response mechanisms and stress can affect the body in many different ways. In fact the same form of stress might cause one individual to get a migraine, a second person to have an ulcer attack, and a third to have elevated blood pressure. Stress has been linked to a number of diseases including heart disease, cancer(1) and now stroke can be added to the on-going list.(2) It is important to realize that stress is not all bad. Stress is a normal part of life. What really matters is how much stress, what kind of stress, and ultimately, how each individual handles his or her stresses.
There are a number of ways to deal with stress. One is to realize that stress places additional demands on the body in terms of energy and nutrition. Therefore, providing the body with additional nutrients such as B-vitamins and antioxidants during times of acute stress or long-term chronic stress can support the body's ability to handle stress. Other approaches involve trying to minimize the amount of time and level of stress that one is exposed to. Things like stressful jobs, fast paced lifestyles, and jammed freeways, often make it difficult to reduce the stress in one's life. Engaging in regular exercise, meditation, or deep breathing exercises may be effective at lowering stress levels.
During the course of hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, humans have developed an internal biological and biochemical mechanism for dealing with stress that is referred to as the "Fight of Flight" response. During stress, the activity of the sympathetic nervous system is changed in a global fashion, leading to an increase in cardiovascular function and a release of chemicals called adrenal catecholamines. This response is regulated by a common set of brain neurons that provide a dual input to the sympathetic neurons regulating cardiac and adrenal functions.(3) This stress response mechanism is designed to help us deal with acute stress situations. However, these days many people lead chronically stressful lifestyles, and it is this long-term stress that is more damaging to health and longevity.
The late Canadian physician and stress researcher Hans Selye developed a model of how the body responds to stress, which he referred to as the General Adaptation Sundrome (GAS). The three states of the General Adaptation Syndrome provide a clear explanation of how and why stress can cause many different types of illnesses.(4),(5) These stages are called the Alarm Stage, the Resistance Stage, and the Exhaustion Stage.
An example of the initial, or Alarm Stage of stress may occur after intense exercise that causes a stiffness or soreness to develop in certain overworked muscles. Under normal conditions, these symptoms will subside and the muscle will return to its normal state within a day or two. However, if the muscle continues to be overworked, or is exposed to additional stresses, the body engages in the Resistance Stage. In this stage, the body is trying to adapt and accommodate to the repetitive stress factors that are making excess demands on a certain part of the body. This stage of adaptation may last for years as the body tries to find ways to cope and adjust to unusual levels of chronic stress. This stage might involve changes in the liver, pancreas, or cardiovascular system. Numerous biochemical and nutritional factors may come into play. Or, in the case of the above mentioned stressed muscle, the stress might involve changes in tendons, ligaments, and skeletal alignment as the body tries to find ways to cope.
Ultimately, the body's coping mechanisms to the continued level of stress begin to fail, which ushers in the final stage of the GAS, which is called the Exhaustion Stage. It is at this point that stress is capable of causing more serious forms of illness. The stressed muscle may become torn or permanently stretched. It might cause a spasm that pinches nerves resulting in immobility and pain. Or inflamed intestines might become an ulcer, or an ulcer might progress to cancer. A chronically stressed pancreas becomes "burned out" resulting in elevated blood sugar and a diagnosis of adult onset diabetes. Ultimately, stress can affect the body in a vast number of ways depending on the type of stress, the length of exposure, and the biochemical and genetic uniqueness of the individual.
Hohnes and Rahe were also pioneers in stress research. Their work revealed that it is change from one's normal life pattern, whether good or bad, that dictates potential stress.(6) They were among the first to study the role stress plays in health and wellness. The research that Holes and Rahe conducted on stress enabled them to create a "Social Readjustment Rating Scale." When people take this questionnaire, the results provide a fairly accurate determination of the probability of developing a stress-related illness.
Regardless of the kind of stress, it is important for people to become aware of the stresses that are in their lives. The next step is to realize that there are effective methods to deal with stress in order to minimize the damage that it can potentially cause. With awareness, better coping methods can be adopted. Numerous nutrients, herbs, and other natural therapeutic agents can support the body and the immune system in the fight against stress.