6 Ways Stress Can Affect Your Health

Did you know that stress can have a profound impact on your health? Stress can even be sneaky, creating health problems when you are not even sure it’s there. Here are some ways that stress can affect your health.

Digestive Problems

The digestive organs have a tendency to take the brunt of our stress. This is why stress got such a reputation for causing ulcers. While ulcers are said to be caused by bacteria, some experts theorize that stress still plays a role by making an individual more susceptible to bacterial infection.

Stomach pain, diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, and other digestive disorders can be the result of stress. The “fight or flight” response, which is a factor in the body’s response to stress, affects the digestive organs by temporarily shutting them down. You can imagine what havoc this could wreak on your digestive organs if stress were chronic.

Reproductive Problems

Excessive stress is said to disrupt hormones in men and women. Women may experience menstrual irregularities, acne, problems in pregnancy or difficulties becoming pregnant. Men may experience impotency or other sexual dysfunction.

Heart Disease

The heart is directly affected by stress in that the “fight or flight” response involves its function. The heart becomes stressed itself, which studies indicate can make you more prone to heart disease. Other sources not that stress particularly affects the cardiovascular system by exacerbating or even helping to bring on atherosclerosis (this is a deformation and narrowing of the arterial walls that results in decreased blood flow).

Upper Respiratory Illness

Some experts point out the effect of stress on the immune system. They say it decreases the immune response and suppresses the immune system. A suppressed immune system can leave you open to infections and illness, particularly colds and flu.

Weight

Stress may affect your metabolism due to the production of cortisol, the stress hormone. This slowing of the metabolism can make weight loss difficult, and weight gain can occur even if you aren’t eating more. It’s also possible that stress makes you crave sugary foods, making weight gain more probable. This is why some people call their eating habits “worry eating.”
Some experts even claim that stress affects where you gain weight – excess weight around the abdominal region may be caused by stress.

The excessive weight gain that may be brought on by stress can result in a host of other health problems associated with obesity: diabetes, joint problems, and perhaps even cancer.

Anxiety

Stress might manifest in anxious behavior. Excessive worry or obsessive-compulsive tendencies may be manifestations of an anxiety disorder brought on by stress.