Health matters: What happens to the body due to continuous stress?

Nowadays, due to hectic modern lifestyle, work pressure, career worries and uncertain future, ‘stress’ i.e. mental tension has become a common part of every other person’s life. People often ignore stress by assuming that some stress is a part of life and will go away on its own with time. But warnings from medical science and health experts state that when this stress is not temporary but persists for a long time (called chronic stress), it starts acting like a slow poison for the body. Mental stress not only tires our mind, but it has a direct and fatal effect on every important organ of our body. When a person constantly lives under extreme stress, the hormonal balance of the body gets disturbed and the immune system begins to weaken. Let us know in detail what happens inside our body due to continuous stress and which organs are most affected by it.

When we are constantly worried or stressed about something, the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis of our brain becomes active. Due to this, the secretion of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline starts increasing continuously in the body. In the short term, these hormones give us energy to fight any crisis, but when their levels remain high for a long time, they start damaging brain cells.

Due to continuous stress, the size of the hippocampus starts shrinking, which controls our memory and learning ability. This is why people who are highly stressed have to face problems like amnesia, difficulty in concentration, insomnia, and severe depression. Due to lack of rest to the mind, mental fatigue sets in permanently.

The health of our heart and mental peace go hand-in-hand with each other. When a person undergoes chronic stress, the heart rate increases and blood vessels begin to constrict due to the continuously increased stress hormones in the body. Due to this, blood pressure remains suddenly or continuously increased, which is called hypertension.

If this happens for a long time, there is additional pressure on the walls of the arteries, due to which the risk of cholesterol and fat accumulation in them increases manifold. Medical experts believe that the cases of fatal heart diseases like heart attack, cardiac arrest and stroke are increasing rapidly among the youth who are constantly under stress. The heart is our body’s pumping station, and when the brain is under constant stress, the functioning of that pumping system is completely disrupted.

Perhaps you know that our stomach is called the ‘second brain’ of the body, because like the brain, millions of neurons are present in our gut. When we are under stress, the nervous system has a direct impact on our digestive system. Due to stress, the production of acid in the stomach becomes unbalanced, which leads to severe acidity, indigestion, stomach ulcers and constipation.

Additionally, prolonged stress destroys the good bacteria present in the intestines, leading to chronic diseases like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Food stops being digested properly, the body does not get the necessary nutrients, and the person always feels physical weakness and heaviness.

One of the biggest side effects of continuous stress is that our immunity becomes very weak. Increased levels of cortisol hormone suppresses the ability of the body’s white blood cells to fight infection. This is the reason why people who are always under stress become vulnerable to frequent colds, viral infections and other diseases.

Along with this, the effect of stress is also clearly visible on our skin. Problems like pimples, psoriasis and hair fall are directly related to stress. Due to continuous strain in the muscles, chronic pain and stiffness in the joints start feeling in the body.

Since it may not be possible to completely eliminate stress in modern life, it is completely in our hands to manage it and protect our body from its ill effects. For this, it is very important to make some positive changes in your lifestyle. Take out at least 20 to 30 minutes daily for yoga, meditation and pranayam, which will bring peace to the mind.

Getting enough sleep, eating a balanced and nutritious diet, and spending time with loved ones naturally reduces stress levels. If stress becomes too much and mental health begins to deteriorate, do not hesitate to seek help from a professional counselor or doctor. Remember, protecting this precious temple of your body should be your first priority, because a healthy body and a calm mind are the real wealth.