What stress does to your body and mind

Unlike prehistoric times, the stressors that affect us nowadays can be unrelenting, resulting in detrimental effects both physically and mentally. — AFP

During the Covid-19 pandemic, I had a lot of stress working at home. My kids were bothering me, and I could not separate work time from home time. But now that the pandemic is largely over and we can return to the office, I am finding the commute to work stressful too! What is stress actually?

Stress is a normal physiological reaction that occurs to every living being.

We humans are designed to experience stress on a continuous basis and react to it.

The challenges that you experience are called stressors.

In response to stress, your body will react both physically and mentally.

Stress is bad, right?

Actually, stress is needed in our lives.

In the olden days, our bodies needed to be able to run away from life-threatening situations, such as a wild animal chasing us.

That is indeed stress!

Our stress responses help our body adjust to new situations by keeping us alert and ready to avoid danger.

These days, the stressors that modern people face are very different from our cavemen ancestors, but no less stressful in their own way.

If you are a student, an exam is a stressful situation and your body may respond by increasing its output of adrenaline so that you can stay awake longer to study more.

Stress becomes bad though when you are continually exposed to stressors without a break, as your body is not allowed to relax and recharge.

Would I have any physical symptoms from stress? I swear all this stress is making me ill!

Everyone reacts differently to different kinds of stress.

Some people have mental reactions and thoughts that may not manifest physically.

Others have physical reactions.

Some people may outwardly appear calm, but are going through a lot of physical and emotional changes on the inside.

Some common symptoms of continuous and too much stress may include trouble sleeping, trouble staying asleep, sweating or decreased appetite.

Some people may even have increased appetite, which leads to the term “stress eating”.

Why do I have physical symptoms as a response to stress?

Physical symptoms are triggered by a release of stress hormones, i.e. adrenaline and noradrenaline, in your body, which are designed to allow you to deal with external threats.

This is the “fight or flight” response, which may be critical to your survival.

These hormones raise your blood pressure, heart rate and sweating to prepare your body for the spurt of energy needed for an emergency response.

These hormones also reduce blood flow to your skin and reduce your stomach activity in order to pump more blood to your muscles (so that you can run or fight).

Another hormone being released is cortisol, which releases fat and sugar into your bloodstream to boost your energy levels.

As a result, you may experience headaches, pain, muscle tension, nausea, indigestion, dizziness and hyperventilation.

You may also have palpitations.

Once the threat has passed, your stress hormone levels usually return to normal.

But what if they don’t return to normal? Why am I constantly feeling like I’m on the edge?

If the stressor is still there or has not gone away entirely, it means that you are constantly under stress.

Therefore, your body reads this as the threat still being present.

Modern stressors are very different from cavemen ones.

An office worker may experience stress as in not having job security, especially when layoffs are occurring in the office.

This effectively threatens their and their family’s survival because their rice bowl may be taken away and it might not be easy for them to find another job.

A homemaker may also experience daily stressors like taking care of a newborn, while ensuring the older kids get to school with all the things that they need.

So all these hormones remain at high levels in your body, leading to the symptoms of stress.

Over time, the build-up of these hormones and other effects can be damaging for your health, leading to an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart attacks or strokes.

I am grumpy and irritable when I am stressed. Is this part of the hormonal process too?

Yes. When stressed, you may experience anxiety, irritability, depression and/or low self-esteem.

To your loved ones and friends, this may appear as though you are withdrawing socially, and being teary, irrational and short-tempered with them.

You may experience periods of constant worry, racing thoughts or repeatedly going over and over the same things in your head, which can also affect your sleep.

Even when you do manage to fall asleep, you might wake up in the middle of the night and continue to have these racing thoughts, which keeps you from going back to sleep.

See the next Tell Me About for how to manage stress.

Dr YLM graduated as a medical doctor, and has been writing for many years on various subjects such as medicine, health, computers and entertainment. For further information, email [e-mail]. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only, and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.