What is the effect of stress on the human body. Stress and its effects on humans

The full development of the personality requires some external influence. This impact can be people, events, and ... stress. We are just interested in this last factor.

Stress can be: physical and psychological. Physical - arise from the sensation of hunger, heat, thirst, cold, infection, etc. Psychological - are the result of a strong nervous strain.

The effect of stress on the human body can be either positive or negative. Positive changes lead to stress not too strong and prolonged. However, if the impact of stress is intense, sharp, time-consuming, then it is destructive. In attempts to compensate for the growing internal dissatisfaction, a person begins to use psychoactive substances, alcohol, drugs, changes sexual preferences, makes rash acts, and plunges into the world of gambling. This behavior only exacerbates internal discomfort and adds to the problems.

In the event that stress has a negative impact, it is possible to change a number of indicators, including physical and mental health, social circle, success in implementing professional plans, relationships with the opposite sex.

Health Effects of Stress

Stress and its consequences are directly proportional to the phenomenon, the stronger and longer the stress, the greater the negative impact it has, primarily on health.

Stress breaks the usual rhythm of a person’s life. Due to the strong nervous strain under the “blow” the most vulnerable systems of the body are found: cardiovascular, gastrointestinal tract, endocrine system.

Perhaps the development of diseases such as:

angina pectoris
increased blood sugar
hypertension
heart attack
increased fatty acids
gastritis
insomnia
stomach ulcer
neurosis
chronic colitis
cholelithiasis
depression
decreased immunity, as a result of frequent colds, etc.

The effect of stress on the human body may not appear immediately, but may have a delayed in time development of a serious and sometimes life-threatening disease. No wonder doctors warn us that "all diseases are from nerves."

Hormones produced by the body during stressful stress are necessary to ensure the normal functioning of the body, but the volume of these hormones should not be high. A high amount of such hormones contributes to the development of various diseases, including cancer. Their negative impact is exacerbated by the fact that modern people lead a sedentary lifestyle and rarely use muscle energy. For this reason, active substances “wander” around the body for a long time in elevated concentrations, thereby keeping the body in a state of tension and not allowing the nervous system to calm down.

Thus, a high concentration of glucocorticoids causes the breakdown of proteins and nucleic acids, which ultimately contributes to muscle dystrophy.

In bone tissue, hormones inhibit calcium absorption, and bone mass decreases. The risk of developing osteoporosis, a fairly common disease among women, is increased. In the skin - inhibit the renewal of fibroblasts, thereby causing thinning of the skin, contributing to poor healing in case of damage.

The consequences of stress can be manifested in degeneration of brain cells, stunted growth, decreased insulin secretion, etc.

In connection with such an extensive list in medicine, a new direction has emerged - psychosomatic medicine. She is engaged in various forms of stress, playing the role of the main or concomitant pathogenetic factors that provoke the development of diseases.

Stress and social circle

Stress itself has no effect on the social circle. However, the consequences of stress, expressed in psycho-emotional rearrangements, can become one of the main factors that disrupt interaction with representatives of society. First of all, these violations are associated with a reluctance to maintain previous relationships, which leads to a narrowing of the circle of communication.

In addition, a common occurrence in this situation is conflict, sharp negativity and outbursts of anger, which, of course, is reflected in the interaction with communication partners.

As a result, a person who has survived a stress disorder, under the influence of acquired characteristics, loses the familiar circle of communication, which contributes to the strengthening of post-stress reactions.

Stress and family

Stress and its consequences negatively affect family relationships. Regardless of which spouse has experienced stress, certain difficulties appear in the family. They are associated with violations:

in communication (temper, conflict, suspiciousness do not strengthen the communication of spouses)
in the intimate sphere (refusal to perform conjugal duty)
in professional activities (job loss, deterioration of the material well-being of the family).

How to avoid negative consequences

We have repeatedly said that the strength of a person lies not in the ability to “hide” from stress, but in the ability to control one’s state. It is this ability that will subsequently protect against the negative effects of stressful situations. There are many tricks to restore a normal psycho-emotional state.

First of all, after suffering a nervous strain, “let off steam”. An effective remedy is an exercise consisting in the usual strong scream. To fulfill it, one condition is necessary - ensuring privacy, so as not to frighten others. You can go to nature and there in its bosom, throw out all that has accumulated. To do this, you need to concentrate on negative emotions and that there is the strength to shout. You can scream any sound or word. Three approaches are enough.
Well restores the internal balance of breathing exercises. The relationship of breathing and human condition has long been established. For example, during a moment of severe fright, it takes your breath away. Restoring the normal breathing rhythm, it is possible to restore the emotional state. There are a lot of various gymnastics options. To calm down, you need to slowly inhale through the nose, holding your breath slightly for a couple of seconds, also exhale slowly, but already cut your mouth. This exercise is well combined with exercises to relax parts of the body or muscles of the face.
Physical activity helps cope with the effects of stress. It can be sports activities (team games or individual exercises) or ordinary household work that allows you to actively move (mopping, weeding the garden). In addition to the fact that as a result of muscle work, the body gets rid of unnecessary stress products that have formed in its tissues, these activities will allow you to escape from unpleasant thoughts.
Of great importance in overcoming the results of stress is the support of loved ones. The opportunity to speak out, pour out the accumulated thoughts and at the same time get approval will allow you to "heal" mental trauma.
A good Russian bath will save the body from stress hormones.
The power of art helps to cope. Singing, music, dancing affect emotions, relieve tension, allow expressing experiences. In addition, singing and dancing contribute to the normalization of breathing (we wrote about its significance above) and increase physical activity, the role of which is invaluable in anti-stress therapy.

Thus, it is possible to cope with stress and its consequences without harm to health and loss of social connections. It is important to want this and to know some secrets that we share with you. Having defeated this “monster" once, you will be able to walk through life with a sense of winner and master of your life.

Many people are constantly under the influence of stress. This negatively affects human health. Nerve cells are depleted, immunity decreases, and a tendency to various physical diseases appears. And there is also the possibility that under the influence of stress, a mental disorder may also appear. For example, a neurosis of obsessive states, which is not so easily amenable to correction.

Life example: Anastasia lived a happy life until a loved one left her. She took this departure very hard. But Nastya did nothing to mitigate the impact of the stressful situation. On the contrary, was engaged in self-flagellation. And as a result, the girl appeared.

Or another example:

Sergei Ivanovich was constantly nervous at work. Even at home, he could not completely retire. In his thoughts he was in the office. He kept wondering how to cope with his work, how to improve his work, how to earn more money to feed his family.

And as a result, he first earned chronic fatigue. And after the ulcer.

From these two examples, it is clear that stress has a negative effect.

Here is a list of consequences the effect of stress on humans:

1. The energy of a person under the influence of stress decreases, rapid fatigue appears. The forces are exhausted, and there is a feeling that I do not want to do anything. There is no strength to successfully cope with the work.

2. The emotional sphere suffers, the mood decreases, depressive thoughts appear. A person begins to concentrate on the bad, and this leads to the fact that the bad only intensifies. And it turns out a vicious circle from which you need to get out with the help of liberation from negative emotions.

3. Physical health is malfunctioning. Chronic diseases worsen or new ones appear, such as hypertension, diabetes, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, heart disease, and many others. Also, under the influence of stress, a person has an increased risk of cancer.

4. A person under the influence of stress can recover. This is because the food begins to fulfill a protective function, stress is seized and naturally this is not reflected in your figure in the best way.

How to get rid of the effects of stress?

There are many ways to relieve stress. In this article we will focus on the easiest and most enjoyable.

1. Baths with sea salt or essential oils.

It is especially good to take after work. They help to relax and relieve stress.

2. Walking in the fresh air.

They calm and calm thoughts well. In addition, they help to strengthen health.

3. A trip to your favorite fitness club.

Great stress reliever. Therefore, do not neglect physical activity. Sign up for dancing or yoga. And if you can’t go to a sports club, do it at home.

4. Relaxation.

A widely known and recommended way to relax the mind and body. For its implementation, it is enough to include pleasant calm music, it is convenient to sit down and relax. To make it more pleasant, you can also visualize nice pictures during the session. For example, the seashore, or a walk in the forest.

Hello everyone! Stress is the immediate response of the human body to dramatically changing external conditions. It can be any situation, both harmless and requiring caution. The individual is able to experience shock at the sight of a car rushing into a red light, when an aggressive person or a stray dog \u200b\u200bapproaches. Such situations cause the release of hormones, with the help of which one or another reaction to such an event is formed.

Nowadays, stress is an integral part of everyday human existence. Its peculiarity lies in the manner in which and with what intensity the body of the individual will respond to the current situation. Most often, the greatest load falls on the emotional or physical sphere. And today we will talk about how stress affects human health.

Causes of stress

The most common causes of stress are:

overload;
new job;
constant bossing;
severe shock;
conflict;
anxiety;
panic fear;
diffidence;
significant hypothermia;
possible accident;
disease;
trauma;
hunger;
thirst and others

Such effects entail a corresponding reaction of the body. It can be very different. It depends on the complexity of the situation and its impact on the person. It also matters whether he himself is involved in it, the people for whom he is responsible or his relatives.

It is very important how it manifests itself. A person either hides and suppresses them. There may be such an option that he does not show the feelings that he actually experiences in order to achieve the necessary reaction of others.

Stress can occur at any time. Even a small child, who is called to the board in school, is already experiencing it. In the future, almost every step of an adult is accompanied by one or another negative impact.

What are the reactions to stress

If there are too many such situations or the body's reaction to them is inadequate, then they can cause harm. Gradually:

the person becomes anxious;
he is declining;
he is constantly nervous;
annoyed;
crying
screaming;
swears, etc.

As a result, he gets exhausted very quickly, gets tired, his attention is dissipated, his memory is declining, muscle clamps begin to appear, entailing quite severe pains.

Human health is gradually beginning to suffer. Oriental medicine generally believes that most diseases occur under the influence of stress. Indeed, bronchial asthma, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, gastric ulcer, etc. develop precisely due to nervous overload.

This happens because a significant negative nervous effect does not pass without a trace for a person. He develops a severe disorder of the emotional sphere, temporary under normal conditions or permanent under ongoing stress. Any malfunction in the body of an individual begins with psychological trauma. It is she who pulls along with herself and other dysfunctions of internal organs.

Therefore, specialists in the field of medicine and psychology are closely engaged in the study of this serious problem. It is proved that most diseases of internal organs occur under the influence of nerve overload. If they are repeated too much, then pathology may develop.

It happens as follows. At the time of a stressful situation, endocrine organs are activated. Active release of hormones begins. Their excessive amount has a strong effect on the brain, stomach, cardiovascular system. If this state is delayed or not neutralized, then a failure occurs.

A sharp exit of a large number of different hormones leads to a significant increase in heart rate, sudden jumps in blood pressure, and the reaction of the parasympathetic system. If this is repeated often enough, then gradually the body's defenses are reduced. Sometimes a poor state of immunity is no longer able to protect a person from even the development of cancer.

Thus, the abundance of stress weakens a person, disrupts his metabolism, and inhibits the regeneration processes in cells and tissues. From this suffer:

leather;
muscle
brain;
spinal cord;
bones;
hair;
nails
thyroid;
spine, etc.

The bones become thinner, which leads to fractures, and a constantly increased hormonal background disrupts the activity of metabolism, the genitourinary system, the gastrointestinal tract and nerves.

In order to prevent this from happening, it is necessary to give stress a way out. This is possible in the presence of muscle or emotional stress. If you do not accumulate it, but get rid, then it can even be useful for the body.

The essence of hormonal attack is to activate all the systems needed to cope with the situation. Since these days increased efforts for this, as a rule, are not required, the way out can be given through an emotional or muscular response. Subsequently, the body, faced with a similar problem, no longer reacts to it so sharply, but quickly finds a solution already embedded in memory cells.

If stress occurs only occasionally and is not destructive, then it can be beneficial to health. This happens when its action does not exceed the danger of the situation or a person can cope with it. The main thing is that the problems do not become too frequent and strong. Otherwise, the body simply stops fighting them.

First, headaches begin to appear. Then arrhythmia occurs, an increase in blood pressure. After a short time, these pathologies generalize and become chronic.

It is very important not to try to cope with stress with alcohol, smoking or drugs. In addition to a strong blow to the psyche, the influence of such substances will significantly worsen the state of health. The consequences may be delayed. That is, at first the person will feel relief, and then a serious illness will gradually arise that can even lead to death.

How stress affects human health

Then a condition called distress appears. It negatively affects health, damaging cells and tissues. It is subdivided into:

nervous;
short-term;
chronic;
psychological;
physiological.

Therefore, stress can affect a person in a variety of ways. Do not think that for a significant violation of health requires too much nervous shock. Small, but constantly recurring nervous situations are no less dangerous. Gradually they merge together and pose a direct threat to health.

It can manifest itself sharply, under the influence of a specific negative situation, or accumulate day after day in a traumatic situation.

Then stress can create serious problems. This is because its course obeys a certain logic. The response of the body is aimed at helping a person adapt to the created unfavorable situation.

Therefore, stress passes through three successive periods of time, consisting of anxiety, the stage of adaptation to specific conditions and exhaustion, if this did not happen.

Anxiety and adaptation is the normal course of this reaction, leading to positive results. But in the case when there are a lot of stressful situations and the body does not have time to adapt to them or they are repeated so often that the adaptation loses its strength, the stage of exhaustion begins. It is usually followed by the development of any disease.

They can manifest themselves in the psyche, nervous system, metabolism and the functioning of the internal organs of a person. If he already suffers from a disease, it may aggravate and even degenerate into a malignant tumor. Most often, an excess of stressful situations leads to:

coronary heart disease;
heart attack;
a stroke;
hypertension
angina pectoris;
cholecystitis;
duodenal ulcer;
gastric colic;
dermatitis;
urticaria;
neurodermatitis;
neurosis.

The nervous system and psyche do considerable harm. It becomes increasingly difficult for a person to cope with ordinary everyday situations, he ceases to believe in himself, it is difficult for him to force himself to do something, he does not believe in the success of the work that he has begun. Gradually, he develops depression and even suicidal thoughts arise.

A completely healthy person may begin to catch a cold first. Then suffer from mild ailments, and subsequently discover that he has developed a serious illness.

Very harmful stress for women. Under its constant influence, they age, the skin ceases to be fresh and supple, and the hair begins to thin.

Thus, a person should be able to cope with such situations or, if it is not possible, to avoid them. If you live in a state of constant nervous tension, this can result in very serious consequences.

Under the influence of chronic stress, the human body simply wears out, the resources of its psyche and nervous system are depleted, and internal organs cease to cope with their load. The individual becomes ill and is not always able to recover. As soon as one disease recedes, another immediately begins. The overall life expectancy is also decreasing.

Therefore, it should be understood that stress can occur both under the influence of an external situation (conflict, attack), and internal (anxiety, fear). Moreover, the problem does not have to be real, it can only happen in the imagination of a person. For example, a student who is well prepared for the exam experiences an inexplicable horror before the teacher. Or a person who has received a new position and is thoroughly familiar with the technological process is worried that he will not be able to cope with the work.

Therefore, the manifestation of such unreasonable emotions should be controlled, since the human brain, which sends signals to the endocrine organs, does not distinguish where the real danger lies, and where the imaginary one.

In addition, even if a person has already developed any psychosomatic illness, he must learn to properly respond to stressful situations. This can be achieved by putting your emotional reactions under the control of the mind, for example,.

If a person begins to be fully aware that every traumatic problem leads to a sharp deterioration in his health, then he should think about how important it is for him to work in an unfriendly team, engage in unnecessarily nervous work or be married to an alcoholic.

Now you know how stress affects human health. Take care of yourself! See you soon!

Stressful situations can be displayed in different ways on the well-being of a person, the functioning of organs and systems. Short-term stress helps mobilize forces, make the right decision in a critical situation, and improve relationships with close people. Prolonged and intense exposure to stress negatively affects health. This leads to problems in the work of the cardiovascular, nervous, immune systems, gastrointestinal tract. A person does not have a desire to do anything; interest in life disappears. Periodically, sudden attacks of rage, irritability, aggression may occur.

General concept

There is one crucial point that you need to pay attention to before talking about the effect of stress on your health. This is a reaction to external circumstances, which everyone perceives differently. This means that the degree of influence of the same situations on different people will differ. The effect of stress depends on how a person perceives the current state of affairs.

Stresses have a different nature of origin, depending on the factors that provoked them. Conventionally, they can be divided into two categories: physical (appearing against the background of sensations of thirst, hunger, heat, cold, infections) and psychological, which arise as a result of severe nervous strain.

Stress affects both positively and negatively on health. It all depends on its intensity and duration. Short-term and not very strong stresses can be regarded as positive. If the effect is long and intense, then it is dangerous for health and well-being. In order to get rid of internal tension, there is a addiction to alcohol, nicotine, drug addiction, a passion for gambling, there are changes in sexual preferences, rash acts are made. Such behavior does not solve the accumulated problems, but only contributes to their exacerbation. Stress negatively affects not only physical, but also psychological health, communication with loved ones and the opposite sex, the implementation of professional plans.

How does overstrain affect health?

Intense stress, which lasts a long time, significantly worsens the work of almost all internal organs and systems of a person. Its insidiousness lies in the fact that it leads to a deterioration in well-being not immediately, but after a certain time.

Stress has many negative consequences for the physiological health of a person:

Angina pectoris develops.
The risk of myocardial infarction increases.
Significantly increased blood pressure.
Blood sugar levels increase.
The level of fatty acids rises.
Gastritis, a stomach and duodenal ulcer, chronic colitis, and gallstone disease develop.
The body's defenses are reduced, a person is often sick with acute respiratory infections.
There is a loss of appetite or addiction to a certain type of food, weight is lost.
The skin turns red, peeling, various rashes appear.
Insomnia, depression, a feeling of depression, neurosis, excitement, sudden mood swings appear, attention and memory deteriorate. A person quickly gets tired, cannot perform his duties at work qualitatively.
A person suffers from severe headaches.
The use of a large number of alcoholic beverages begins, alcoholism develops.
Excess hormones that are produced during stress lead to thinning of the skin, osteoporosis, degeneration of muscle tissue.
Stress contributes to the development of cancer.
In rare cases, irreversible processes in the form of degeneration of the cells of the spinal cord and brain are possible.

If unexpected strong stress (emotional shock) occurs, this can lead to the following consequences:

Spasm of muscles, tissues, blood vessels.
Damage to motor function.
Miscarriages in women in position.
Decreased libido, testosterone levels, the development of impotence.
Panic attacks, heart attack.
Nausea, indigestion.
A sharp increase in blood pressure.

The effects of stress on the psyche

A negative effect on mental health is manifested by the following symptoms:

There is chronic fatigue, apathy, a breakdown.
A person loses interest not only in work, but in life in general.
Intolerance, increased conflict, unexpected outbursts of anger, aggression, irritability periodically occur.
Marked mood lability, emotional instability.
Inferiority complexes appear, self-confidence and self-confidence are lost.
Hypochondria, sleep disturbances develop.
The work of the hormonal sphere is disrupted.
It is difficult for a person to plan his time correctly, he cannot relax and fully relax, his circle of communication narrows, disagreements and quarrels appear in the family, he does not want to fulfill his conjugal duty.

You can boast of excellent health and the ability to withstand any disease as much as you like, but in order not to experience stress once in your life ?! Such people simply do not exist! Negative, conflict situations, reasons for nervous overstrain in the life of a modern person, alas, abound. A is a natural reaction of the body to such factors.

Everyone knows the negative impact of stress on human health, both mental and physiological. It is not without reason that they say that all diseases arise from nerves, but in what exactly can this manifest itself?

Psychoemotional state

A surge of negative emotions, regardless of the reasons that caused it, introduces an imbalance in the usual measured way of life. Stresses affect a person’s behavior in society, affect his mental abilities, lower his working capacity. The organism can cope with isolated cases. In this case, stress is not so dangerous and does not lead to serious consequences. But if the nervous strain lasts a long time, a person experiences stress constantly, then this can cause various psycho-emotional disorders and nervous disorders.

The usual effects of stress are:

imbalance;
causeless mood swings;
neurosis;
emotional instability;
memory impairment, impaired attention;
anger;
fatigue.

In this state, the quality of human life is significantly deteriorating. Simply put, it becomes much more difficult for him to live, since any action is given with great difficulty and requires incredible mental strength. Often, against the background of the transferred stress, insomnia, irritability, intolerance may occur.

The most disappointing post-stress state is severe prolonged depression, apathy to everything around. The consequence of this may be a complete loss of interest in life, suicidal behavior, obsessive thoughts about suicide.

Stress and Physical Health

One way or another, stress causes a temporary dysfunction of the central nervous system and brain. And since all systems and organs in the human body are interconnected, this cannot affect his physical health. That is why stress is mentioned as one of the main causes of the occurrence or exacerbation of a huge number of somatic diseases. The most common consequences are:

Weakened immunity, low body resistance to viral, bacterial, infectious diseases.
Muscle dystrophy.
The likelihood of cellular degeneration of brain and spinal cord tissues.
Increasing the risks of developing cancer with various etiologies, etc.

Most often, due to stress, diseases of the cardiovascular system (ischemic disease, angina pectoris, etc.) and the gastrointestinal tract (,) develop. But on the work of other systems, strong nervous overvoltages also affect the most negative way. This happens due to the fact that during stress hormones are produced in excessive quantities, which are necessary for the normal functioning of the body. As a result, hormonal regulation goes out of control, which causes reactions that provoke the appearance of ailments, the occurrence of certain diseases, and the exacerbation of chronic diseases.

For example, an elevated glucocorticoid level causes a rapid breakdown of proteins and nucleic acids. The result of a deficiency of these substances is muscle dystrophy. In addition, a high concentration of glucocorticoids in the body complicates the absorption of calcium by bone tissues, as a result of which their structure changes, becoming more porous, brittle. Stress - One of the most probable reasons for the development of such a common disease today as.

Hormonal disorders caused by stress are reflected in the condition of the skin. An excess of some and a lack of other hormones impede the growth of fibroblasts. Such structural changes cause thinning of the skin, resulting in its slight damage, a decrease in the ability to heal wounds.

The negative effects of increased levels of stress hormones in the body, exceeding permissible norms, do not end there. Among the most dangerous are growth retardation, destruction of the cells of the spinal cord and brain, decreased insulin synthesis, the development of tumor processes, and oncological diseases.

Based on the foregoing, the conclusion follows one: stress - an extremely dangerous condition, entailing serious consequences, both for physical and psychological health! Therefore, you need to try by any means to avoid stressful situations, emotional overstrain, and depression.

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