How Too Much Stress Contributes To Illness

By Kathi Whitten, LCSW

No. VA Psychotherapy Associates

. http://www.kathiwhitten.com/

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How Too Much Stress Contributes To Illness

Most people understand anxiety. We know it when we feel it it's uncomfortable, sometimes frightening, and we'd prefer to avoid it.

Sometimes there are obvious reasons for anxiety. Recently, we've experienced earthquake, hurricane and floods, leaving us frustrated, and often anxious, not to mention the everyday strains of traffic, the economy, stressful jobs, and sometimes relationships. Sadly, some of these more common situations occur with such frequency they start to feel normal.

Though different events, they share one thing in common; they are stressors in our lives. Even though such situations leave us with uncomfortable thoughts and feelings of frustration, it's important to understand that stress is actually a physical event. Our bodies are affected by ongoing stressors in such a way as to be a common factor in many diseases.

Stress is fairly common in our modern society. And, accordingly, rates of heart disease, stomach and intestinal problems, asthma, immune system disorders, cancer, diabetes, psoriasis, even reproductive difficulties (among many other physical conditions) are affected by chronic stress or anxiety. This is no longer speculation many studies have demonstrated that long term stress affects every organ system in the body.

What's the distinction between stress and anxiety? Generally, what's viewed as stressful differs from person to person. One person may feel overwhelmed by too many tasks at work, for instance, and become very stressed, even anxious, while another may like having a variety of things to do all day and simply view it as an interesting challenge.

Stress, therefore, is “in the eye of the beholder” so to speak. It is a matter of how one appraises the situation they are facing. Anxiety is the awareness of physical symptoms such as rapid heartbeat, apprehension, fear, and/or trembling (among other things) and is a common reaction (or accompaniment) to stress. However, stress may be taking its toll on the body without the person being consciously aware of anxiety.

Here's the good news; stress and anxiety are conditions that can be treated. There are many simple forms of relaxation exercises that can help, but beyond that, talk therapy and medication are useful in treating severe stress or any of the anxiety conditions.

Excessive worry and anxiety leave people uncomfortable in their lives and can contribute to illnesses. If you're trying to cope with too much stress, worryor anxiety consider making an appointment a professional to discuss ways to improve your situation.