3 ways stress affects the body will be discussed in this blog. Stress is a normal part of life. We all experience stress from time to time, and as such, it’s important to know the signs of when your body is under too much. Stress can make you feel anxious or irritable, affect how you sleep or eat, and even cause physical symptoms like nausea. Knowing how stress affects the body is vital in learning how to cope with stress in a healthy way.
In this blog I will explore how stress affect our body physically, emotionally, and behavioural.
Physical Symptoms of Stress
Stress is a natural response to danger or threat. It’s the way that our bodies protect themselves from harm! When you feel stressed, your brain sends signals to release hormones like adrenaline and cortisol into your bloodstream. These hormones are supposed to help you survive by making sure that blood flows quickly through the body so it can deliver oxygen and nutrients to cells. Unfortunately, when they’re released too often or in large amounts, these hormones have some serious side effects on how we think and behave.
Stress can affect our physical health in many ways, including increased blood pressure, heart rate, weight gain or loss, digestive issues, fatigue, nausea, back pain, headaches, chest pain, and sleep disturbances. It can also cause mood swings which might lead to depression or anxiety.
Emotional/Cognitive Symptoms of Stress
Stress can be defined as an emotional or cognitive symptom that is experienced when you are feeling overwhelmed by the demands of your life. Stress is a normal response to certain events, but it becomes problematic when it’s too intense and lasts for too long. The symptoms of stress vary depending on the person, their age, the type of event that has created stress, and other factors. There are many ways to reduce or eliminate these symptoms altogether!
The teenage years are a challenging time for individuals, parents, teachers and caregivers alike. The adolescent brain is still developing which means that cognitive-emotional development is not complete or mature. The prefrontal cortex of the brain, responsible for reasoning and emotion regulation, doesn’t fully develop until around age 25. Which may make adolescent susceptible to stress and depression than adults because many parts of their brain don’t work together as well as they should.
Stress can affect our emotional and cognitive health in many ways, including worry, anger, mood instability, memory issues, and difficulty in concentrating/focus, irritability, and lack of motivation.
Behavioural Symptoms
The stress behavioural symptoms of children are often overlooked. They can be difficult to spot, but there are some tell-tale signs that you might be able to recognize if you know what to look for. Here is a list of behavioral symptoms that may signal your child is experiencing the effects of stress. Withdrawal from family members, loss of appetite, lack of interest in hobbies or activities they used to enjoy, difficulty sleeping. In addition, increase in alcohol and substance, hitting, kicking, biting, nail biting, and irritability.
Today, I explored the physical, emotional and behavioural symptoms of stress. If you found this blog post interesting or helpful in any way, please share it with your friends! You can also email me anytime to discuss how we can help you reduce levels of stress through our preventative wellness programs. Thank you for reading!
Emem Iniobong is a Brandon MB, Canadian Certified Counsellor that helps children, teens, young adults, parents, and families in dealing with anxiety, depression, grief, parenting support to live a more fulfilled and bliss-ful life.
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