Why Is Being Stressed Bad For You?
Being under a lot of pressure seems to be a way of life for many people. The world has become a much busier, much more demanding place, and it can feel as though if we don’t at least try to keep up with it all, we’ll be left far behind both in terms of our careers and our lives in general – no one wants to miss out. Yet trying to do everything all at once and do it well can put us under a lot of stress, and when this stress is never-ending, it can be seriously detrimental to our health. The following reasons explain why being chronically stressed is not a good thing.
Emotional Problems
Being under a little stress is a good thing – it can make us work harder for a short period of time, for example, and it has its roots in the ‘fight or flight’ mode that we can fall into when there is a problem at hand that might be dangerous. However, it becomes less easy to deal with when this stress is long-term. It’s easy to spot someone under a lot of stress because they will have a short temper, become angry at the slightest thing, and have difficulties keeping their emotions under control.
Even the mildest levels of stress can mean that we don’t have complete control over our emotions anymore. This could be stress encountered in everyday life, such as having financial or health issues. In other words, problems that they can solve if they took a moment to think about them; seeing an expert for financial advice or seeking help regarding remote TRT treatment could be the solution. It’s just that when you are feeling stressed, it’s difficult to see these reasonably easy answers.
Disease
Everyone is different, and some people are more susceptible to disease than others; it all depends on the health of their immune system, as well as family history in some cases. Chronic stress can cause these diseases to become more prevalent, possibly because the immune system is already damaged. These diseases include some forms of cancer, lung disease, cirrhosis of the liver, depression, and heart problems. You can see how important it is to be checked out by a professional if you feel stressed or worried and can’t solve the issue by yourself. It’s far better to ask for help than to suffer in silence.
Teeth And Gums
People’s stress manifests in a variety of different ways. Some, for example, will grind their teeth. They won’t necessarily know they are doing it, especially if they are doing it in their teeth, but this issue can actually cause long-lasting problems in your jaw and teeth, wearing them thin and making them more prone to damage or even loss.
Your dentist will be able to tell immediately if you grind your teeth; they will be able to spot any damage and notice that your jaw is clenched or stressed in some way. This is a hard habit to break and could even continue when the stressful situation is over. However, wearing a mouthguard at night can help to prevent further damage, even if the grinding itself doesn’t stop.
Heart Problems
Stress can do physical damage to your heart, which can be a serious issue. Your heart becomes damaged because your body produces more of the stress hormone, cortisol. When this happens, your heart rate increases (your body thinks it will have to fight or run away – in either case, you will need as much oxygen as possible in your blood), and your blood vessels are constricted. Your heart has to work harder than usual, and if this continues for the long term, damage can occur.
Weight
When we are stressed, many of us eat more. This dates back to prehistoric times when hunter-gatherers had to eat as much as possible when there was food to make up for the times when there was none. This ‘stress eating’ still lives on in us today and is why, when we are stressed, we ‘stock up’ on food – our body and brain think that danger is threatening and that food may become scarce.
This is a difficult habit to get out of, but one suggestion is not to eat while watching the nightly news. Watching bad news on TV, or listening on the radio, can cause us to eat more than we usually would. The same is true for any TV show that depicts fear and worry in some form.
Look Older
When you suffer from chronic stress, you will usually find that you are prematurely aging too, and there is a physical reason for this. Stress makes the structures at the ends of your chromosomes (known as telomeres) shorter, which means that new cells can’t grow very quickly. Lines therefore form where the cells can’t reproduce, causing the aging look. It can also contribute to poor eyesight and weakened muscles.