How Does Stress Affect Health?

You may be wondering, "How does stress affect health?"

In a report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it states that 90 percent of visits to the doctor in the United States may be caused by a stress-related illness.

Dr. Mercola agrees with this statement. He says that in his experience, nearly all of the patients that he sees have stress as a serious factor in the cause of their illness.

Most people associate stress with worry, but stress has a much broader impact. Apparently, any kind of change can have an effect on your body. Your emotions, the environment, your hormones, an illness or pushing yourself too hard, can be stressful.

Even positive events, such as getting a promotion or taking a vacation, can be stressful, and the stress caused can gradually weaken your health before you realize what is happening.

How does stress affect health? Long-term exposure to stress can lead to serious health problems.

Chronic stress disrupts nearly every system in your body by:

• raising blood pressure,
• suppressing the immune system,
• increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke,
• contributing to infertility, and
• speeding up the aging process.

It can also lead to the following health problems

• Pain of any kind
• Heart disease
• Digestive problems
• Sleep problems
• Depression
• Obesity
• Autoimmune diseases
• Skin conditions, such as eczema

Long-term stress can even rewire the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety and depression.

If you are wondering, "How does stress affect health?" you may have recently experienced one of the following changes:

• change in your sleep patterns,
• fatigue or anxiousness
• lack of enjoyment for life,
• multiple aches and pains,

Chances are that you are probably overstressed. One method of handling stress that is 100% natural and effective is by taking herbal medicines that leave no side effects like prescription drugs.

Find out more information on herbal medicine at herbs for healing and particularly herbs for stress. You can contact me to order any of these herbs made by Pure Herbs in the U.S.

Severe stress attacks your body on a cellular level. When you are stressed, your body’s adrenal glands produce hormones, such as adrenaline, which increases blood pressure.

If you’re constantly stressed on a daily level such as chronically stressed, these hormones remain at dangerously high levels.

Studies on stress are indicating that severe cases of stress go beyond the temporary increase in blood pressure and begin to injure cells of the body. This could accelerate the aging process, causing people to be susceptible to various diseases.

In a study to determine how stress affects people on a cellular level, researchers analyzed the cells of caregivers of Alzheimer's patients, who dedicated at least 100 hours a week to caring for a loved one with this degenerative disease.

They found that a damaging substance in the blood called interleukin 6 (Il-6) increased dramatically among these caregivers.

Results: The average caregiver who was about 70 years of age had Il-6 levels that looked like those of a 90-year-old.

Chronic stress, which has been called America’s number one health problem, is not something to take lightly; it can have profound effects on your immune system and your overall health.

Dr. Mercola agrees that stress can play a major role in the immune system. Furthermore, he says that it has a negative impact on:

• Blood Pressure - High blood pressure eventually affects up to 90 percent of Americans making it a condition that requires definite attention. The other major cause is a high-grain and high-sugar diet with not enough exercise.
• Cholesterol
• Brain Chemistry
• Blood Sugar levels
• Hormonal Balance

Furthermore, mental stress plays a huge role in causing heart attacks. Mental stress can be caused by unresolved emotions stemming from trauma, or by relationship problems with friends, family or your spouse, or even by your work.

If you are struggling with these kinds of issues, you should seek help before the negative emotions and stress take their toll on your health.

If you need help with finding the causes of your stress and how you can deal with stress that is out of your control, contact me for a session at online counseling.

Dr. Mercola also believes that mental stress from unresolved emotional conflicts can also cause cancer.

Read how you can reduce your stress at how to deal with stress.

Learn which herbs for stress can help you.

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