Is Stress Such a Bad Thing?
When was the last time someone asked you how you were doing and your response was “Good, just stressed!” or “Good, busy!”. For many of us, that is our default response because stress our default state. But what does it really mean to be “stressed”? And is it really as bad as everyone makes it out to be?
What is “stress”?
Hans Selye, a well-known researcher of stress, described stress as “the nonspecific response of the body to any demand, whether it is caused by, or results in, pleasant or unpleasant conditions.” (Selye, 1982). This means that stress can either be negative or positive in its impact on the body. Some stress is actually a good thing and can make us stronger! For example, exercise is a form of stress that results in a stronger body. A challenge at work that we overcome is a form of stress that results in an increased confidence in our abilities or maybe even a promotion! Many of us, however, are under so much stress (either physical or psychological) that our health ends up paying the price.
If you’re looking primarily for solutions to your stress, I encourage you to check my out my other blog posts on Stress-busting Tips or Healthy Habits for Busy Schedule. However, if you want to dive deep into what is actually going on in your body, stick with me, we are going to get a bit technical here.
In a state of stress, the brain first recognizes a danger of some kind. In prehistoric times this may have been a tiger chasing us up a tree, but these days it is more often a long line of traffic, a never-ending to do list, or a negative interaction with your partner. This danger (perceived or real) stimulates the release of cortisol from your adrenal glands. Cortisol is a hormone that gives us a quick burst of energy because it triggers a rise blood sugar levels (through the release of stored sugars). This is great if you are trying to outrun that tiger…not so helpful if the stress we are facing is the broken coffee machine at work.
Once the body reads that we have enough energy (cortisol and blood sugar) to handle the stressful situation at hand, the adrenal glands will stop producing cortisol. The problem comes, however, when our body thinks we are constantly in danger and signals a stress response a lot of the time. This is what is referred to as chronic stress and is incredibly damaging to many areas of the body.
Chronic stress and high cortisol levels results in health problems such as:
High blood sugar
Cortisol releases stored sugars into the blood and turns down the insulin (another hormone) receptors that would normally metabolize all that blood sugar. This is fine for short periods of time when extra energy is needed for a dangerous situation (like outrunning that tiger!), but is very damaging to our metabolism over time. This can lead to things like weight gain, fatigue, insomnia, high blood pressure, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, cancer, and more.
Compromised Digestion
Cortisol suppresses important immune workers in the gut and moves blood flow away from our digestion to outer extremities. In a critical situation, the body is designed to focus its resources on the systems most important to short-term survival. This leaves digestive and immune system under-nourished and can lead to dysbiosis (imbalanced gut bacteria), food sensitivities, increased risk of ulcers, constipation, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), and nutrient deficiencies. There is also a strong link between gut imbalances and brain imbalances, so this compromised digestion can add to anxiety and depression, worsening stress even more!
Low thyroid hormones
The part of our brain that regulates these important hormones (called the pituitary gland) gets suppressed when there is chronically high cortisol in the body because it gets the feedback that no more hormones are necessary. This suppression leads to an underactive thyroid, which can then lead to reproductive issues, a low sex drive, blood sugar issues, irregular periods, weight gain, and depression.
High blood pressure
In response to stress, the body releases more neurotransmitters like epinephrine (adrenaline), which makes sense- gotta be at the top of our game to deal with that danger. Part of the job of those neurotransmitters is to increase blood pressure, which over time can lead to a breakdown of important organs and heart damage.
Brain damage
With chronic stress comes a suppressed pituitary gland, which increases our risk for degenerative brain diseases (like Alzheimer's and dementia). Our hippocampus, an important nerve center in the brain, also becomes damaged, which increases the risk of depression and anxiety and gets our hormones even more out of whack.
Adrenal fatigue
The adrenals help to balance blood sugar, the thyroid, sex hormones, and neurotransmitters (as well as being in charge of actually producing some important hormones). When we have chronic stress, the adrenals are constantly outputting cortisol at the expense of its other jobs and ends up burning out, compromising its overall function.
With all of this going on in our body, we need to think outside of the box when we examine our stressors. Stress can refer to physical stress such as an injury, nutrient deficiencies, undiagnosed food allergies, illness, alcohol, drugs, metal toxicity, chemical toxicity, lack of sleep, or consuming processed foods. Stress could also be the psychological or emotional stress that many of associate with feeling “stressed out”. Often, chronic stress is a combination of physical and psychological triggers and both need to be addressed.
If all of this information is leaving you feeling stressed out about stress, PAUSE. Take a deep breath. Even if you can’t always control your situation, you can absolutely control your response to your situation. When thinking about stress management, making small changes go a long way. See 6 Stress-Busting Tips to get started, and seek out experts (like Nutrition Consultants or therapists) to start to get stress under control!
What’s your biggest stress trigger? What are your stress-busting strategies? Share below!
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