Stress affects everyone. Due to the pandemic and current political climate, many people are experiencing higher levels of stress than their bodies are accustomed to. If we do not take steps to identify and manage the stress we are experiencing, our mental and physical health can suffer.

Why do we stress?

When we experience stress, that’s our brain’s way of signaling the body to prepare to face a threat or flee to safety. However, sometimes life circumstances cause us to experience stress for longer than an immediate danger. Issues at work, school, or among family can cause prolonged stress ¬— and even further, sudden change, such as losing a job, going through a divorce, or battling an illness can cause continuous stress, and major accidents, war, assault, or a natural disaster can trigger traumatic prolonged stress.

Because we experience chronic stress continually rather than the short-term stress caused by an immediate threat of danger, the body never receives a clear signal to return to normal functioning. Our body’s reaction to this constant stress can disturb our immune, digestive, cardiovascular, sleep, and reproductive systems.

How does stress affect our body?

Stress is directly linked to immunosuppression – so the more we stress, the weaker our immune system becomes. Stress can negatively affect our metabolism and ultimately impair our body’s growth. Continued stress may contribute to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other illnesses. Additionally, stress can lead to or worsen chronic disease and weight gain.

Stress can prevent your stomach from emptying, which can increase your intestinal bacteria and have a negative impact on blood flow to the gastrointestinal tract. This can cause GI system inflammation and can modify your appetite, GI tract movement, and digestive functions. Further, stress can activate or alter many endocrine processes concerning the pituitary gland and adrenal gland, thyroid, and the pancreas. For those already suffering from a chronic illness that affects these systems, additional stress only exacerbates the issue.

How does stress affect our mental health?

Stress can have a massive impact on your mood and overall mental health. Continued stress can cause restlessness, a lack of motivation, irritability, and depression. Stress can affect our sense of well-being and our ability to perform basic tasks, and can negatively impact our ability to manage social interactions in a positive way. If you’re suffering from chronic stress, you may experience headaches, sleeplessness, sadness, anger, or irritability. On the more severe side, prolonged stress can even cause psychiatric disorders.

Because the reason we stress is to allow our body to prepare for an immediate danger or threat, stress causes our nervous system to release adrenaline and cortisol. When you are experiencing chronic stress, the influx of these hormones can disturb our ability to adequately sleep. Being in this heightened state of alertness when you’re trying to sleep only causes more anxiety and ultimately, even more stress. This turns into a compounding issue when the effects of stress cause even further stress, worsening the problem. This sleep deprivation can alter your psychological state and the effect on your mental health can be extensive.

How can we manage our stress?

The first step to managing stress is to recognize the signs of your body’s response to stress, so you can recognize when stress is affecting your health and know when you need to make changes in your life. If you feel your stress is negatively impacting your health, you should speak to your physician. And if you are having suicidal thoughts, cannot cope, or are abusing drugs and alcohol due to stress, seek help immediately.

There are many things we can do to keep our stress level in check. When you’re feeling overwhelmed with tasks to accomplish, making lists of what needs to be done immediately and what can wait, and then tackling your tasks one by one, can help reduce your stress. Regular exercise – such as thirty minutes of walking each day – can boost your mood and improve your health. Our family and friends can help us to feel grounded, so it’s important to stay connected. Keep in touch with those who can provide emotional support and practical help. With the stressors of work, school, child care, elder care, or just simply trying to make ends meet, it’s important to take time to ourselves to breathe and meditate.