If you could just look at the bodies chemistry and how it changes when chronically stressed you would get scared. Some people reading this might even say to themselves, "I wonder if I am at risk because I have stress and some of these issues already." If someone reading this has these thoughts then I would says you probably are at risk. Stress is known as the silent killer. The first sign of any stress related issues is sometime death. Cardiac Arrest or Heart Attack is sometime the first sign of a chronic stress condition unfortunately. Let me explain how stress works and why some stress is normal and good and how other stress is not and what happens to the body physically. Stress is need and good in most cases. If you needed to run from danger because someone is trying to mug you then the bodies response to this is natural and needed. The brain stimulates the release of ACTH, then the ACTH stimulates the Adrenal Glads to release adrenaline and cortisol. The bodies physiology changes to think faster, be stronger, and feel less pain so it can fight or flee. Triglycerides are mobilized and glucose is used for quick energy. This is all needed and very natural. After the threat is over the body adjusts back to normal. The blood that had been shunted from the core to the extremities and brain returns to the core and growth hormone production resumes along with digestion. The parasympathetic nervous system returns the body to the rest and recovery state that it so much enjoys. So what is wrong with stress? Nothing if this is the only stress you are experiencing. If you experience this kind of stress and then experience another and another and you start to get that feeling of being "stressed out" you just might be. Stressed out is going from being late to work, traffic jam, anxiety for being late, then your deadline for work is five minutes away but you still have two days of work on it, followed by bad eating choices, then the drive home in another traffic jam, finally home to kids or you significant other that starts dumping their day on you...... I'm feeling my blood pressure rise just writing this. What if this not a one day event but an everyday event? You stop sleeping because your brain will not slow down and now you start to look for something to bring you down or at least slow down your mind. Alcohol works so you start drinking a little at first. Since your cortisol levels never normalize your adrenal gland is hyperactive. You blood pressure, pulse and respiration are gradually rising little by little day by day. This elevated pressure starts to break down the vessel walks and tears begin to appear. Since cortisol increases blood fat levels and vasoconstriction is already happening, paired with small tears in the vessel walls from the increased pressure this will create plaque formation in those constricted torn vessels. Are you starting to see how slowly over time this could lead to disaster? Also there are studies that have shown that people under chronic stress make poor choices when it comes to healthy eating. Also the heart is an amazing thing. It just keeps pumping and pumping twenty for hours a day 365 days per year. Under chronic stress the heart is working harder than its normally used to and over time this can lead to failure. Stress might not be the actual cause of a heart attack but it sure is directly related to the other aspects of the overall degeneration of the tissues.
This is a list of pathological condition created by chronically elevated Cortisol levels.
1. Suppressed immune system
2. Hypertension
3. High Blood Sugar
4. Insulin Resistance
5. Carbohydrate Cravings
6. Metabolic Syndrome
7. Type II diabetes
8. Fat deposition int he neck, face, and belly
9. Decreased Libido (who the heck wants that?)
10. Bone Loss
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