The most common stressors are not physical. Usually family, financial, and career related problems are the culprits. They may all combine to create excessive amounts of stress which can be harmful to your body. Daily responsibilities and non stop activities are compounded by not getting enough sleep and lifestyles that don't allow for time to relax and rejuvenate. When you put your body's needs aside, it suffers in a variety of ways.



Stress is anything that disturbs your mental, emotional, social, economic, and/or physical equilibrium. Stress causes your body to boost production of the hormones cortisol and adrenaline, which speed up your heart rate, raise your blood pressure, and increase your metabolic rate.



In most cases, the body's first symptoms of stress are things like headaches or weight gain. This is because in your heightened state of flight-or-flight, levels of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline raise your blood pressure and increase your heart rate, among other things.



Too often, no one listens to the body's warnings signs. They simply take a pill to make the headache go away, and then go about heaping on additional stress and burdens. Your body was not meant to live under constant psychological and emotional stress.



Suppressing the body's warnings about your stress levels can lead to additional major problems in the future. Some people may simply start getting sick much easier and more often than normal--catching every cold or flu bug that comes along. Other's may experience more severe side effects.



It is a well established medical fact that people who suffer from excessive levels of stress are more likely to develop heart disease than those who live calmer lives. One study showed that accountants and tax preparers had a greater incidence of artery-clogging blood clots during tax season than at any other time of year.

One way our body tells us it's had too much stress is to simply break down. Emotional breakdowns are somewhat common for people who have subjected their body to too much stress for too long for instance. Physical breakdowns can occur too--the body will simply collapse from exhaustion, or you may experience a more severe warning signal such as panic attacks or chest pains.



When these types of warnings occur, most people end up in the hospital. And even though it's found that there is no major health issue - a person with chest pains or limited breathing didn't actually have a heart attack for instance - the end result is that the body got what it needed: rest. It put you in a hospital bed, and that gave it the much needed rest it required.



No one can completely eliminate stress from their lives, but each of us can learn to deal with it in ways that don't compromise our health. Conventional treatment may recommend a drug for anxiety such as elavil or valium. Both of these drugs have multiple side effects however including drowsiness, agitation, and weakness. Other drugs in this class such as Lorazepam and Diazepam cause blood abnormalities. Amitriptyline has caused hair loss, change in sex drive, coma, and stroke. And remember, your problems are still waiting for you when you stop taking the drugs.



Resource: Natural Stress Relief

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