Stress Effects!
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How does stress affect us? 
Everyone
may deal with stress differently, depending on our background and
experiences in life; our own personality and characteristics; what the
particular stressor is and how meaningful it is to us; what the context
of that stressor is, for example ,whether it is "the last straw" in a
pile of other, smaller strains; and what our overall health and
well-being is like at that time.There are, however, universal reactions to something which we perceive as a stressor:
1. Immediate responses to perceived stress
We perceive something (a stressor) as a "threat". This triggers an immediate, automatic, biological defence, from the primitive core deep in the middle of our brain - the limbic centre. This threat message is received by our brain, triggering off a "flight / fight / freeze" response. This response then releases a surge of chemicals / hormones throughout our bodies to help us deal with the immediate threat in our environment, whatever it may be. Originally, of course, stressful threats were likely to have been "life-threatening" - e.g. the attack of a sabre-toothed tiger. We therefore are hard-wired to protect our lives by our reactions, and possibly the lives of our loved-ones, or those we are responsible for. Our bodies prepare to FIGHT to protect ourselves, or we may need to FLEE (RUN!), or if that fails, we may need to FREEZE so that we are less likely to be spotted (think of the rabbit in the headlights).
- Blood rushes to our arms and legs to help us FIGHT or RUN
- Our breathing speeds up and becomes shallow (to help us FIGHT or RUN)
- Our digestive system slows or stops (and our stomachs may empty!)
- Blood pressure rises and heart rate increases
- Blood re-directed to arms and legs leaves us feeling light-headed and dizzy
- Our vision changes, so that we can stay tracked on the THREAT
- Our attention and concentration is highly targetted towards the THREAT (we become less aware of what is going on around us)
This happens outside of the logical centre of our brain, and is so automatic it is instantaneous and can feel completely overwhelming. It is a defence mechanism, and should not be switched off. If it were not present, when we are faced with real dangers / threats to our lives, we would be unable to respond quickly enough.
Unfortunately, because it occurs outside of the logical centres of our brain, the response in modern life now occurs far more frequently than ever before. Our primitive instincts are unable to differentiate between a REAL THREAT and something that we are reacting to which distresses us, but is not life-threatening. Each and every incidence creates the same reaction - an instant surge of powerful chemicals meant to help. This means that we are exposed to these powerful chemicals much more frequently than is healthy for us, and this alone can have an impact over time.
2. Chronic exposure to stress over time
Whether
you have repeated sudden surges from a high number of events, or
ongoing, chronic responses from everyday stresses and strains, if these
reactions are unchecked, they cause damaging physical changes over time.
Leading
to:
- Chronic changes to our blood pressure (higher);
- Changes to our heart rate
(faster);
- Interruptions to the natural flow of our digestion
(constipation or diarrhoea);
- Our breathing is shallow, with a tendency
to "hyperventilate" (breathing too quickly);
- Chronic muscle tension
throughout our bodies, leading to increased pain and headaches;
- A sense
of feeling "outside ourselves", a sense of light-headedness /
dizziness;
- Problems in concentration / attention and memory.
Often, if we are not aware of the automatic reactions occuring deep inside us, we may misinterpret these signs and symptoms, and create an added threat or stressor - concern about our health - creating a vicious cycle of reactions which magnifies the problem.
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