Stress: Your Body Under Attack

[Guest guest]

Stress: Your Body Under Attack by Anita

Having trouble sleeping? Popping more antacids than usual? Or maybe you've

had more colds this winter. Maybe these symptoms are related to stress.

Just about everyone has experienced a pounding heart, tense muscles, and

sweaty palms—the body's evolutionary " fight or flight " response when facing a

threat.

It's a well-known phenomenon that a certain amount of stress can sharpen your

mental prowess, and new research suggests that brief exposures to certain

stressors may enhance the body's immune response. However, responses designed by

evolution to protect us from predators may sometimes be useful, says

Sloan, PhD, director of the Department of Behavioral Medicine at the Columbia

Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. They are counterproductive in many

situations today.

Your Body Under Stress When you experience stress, Sloan explains, your

blood clots more readily so you bleed less, and blood flows to your muscles so

you can fight back with strength. This would be very helpful if you were being

attacked by a lion, he says, " but it's not useful when your boss yells at you. "

According to some studies, prolonged or frequent exposure to stressful events

might increase our vulnerability to illnesses like depression, heart attacks,

and the common cold.

Scientists are only just beginning to understand how this works, according to

Firdaus Dhabhar, PhD, an assistant professor and neuroimmunologist at Ohio State

University.

As he explains it, when our sensory organs encounter a potential threat, they

transmit signals to the brain which, in turn, releases chemicals that stimulate

nerves and glands throughout the body. In the adrenal glands—which are located

near the kidneys—the brain chemicals induce the secretion of the hormones

corticosterone and epinephrine, which stimulate the organs to act in various

ways.

The result is what Dhabhar calls " the typical stress response " :

The heart beats faster.

The muscles tense.

Sweat glands are activated.

Blood flow is diverted from the intestines to other parts of the body.

Immune cells move from the blood to other organs.

Ordinarily, Dhabhar says, within three hours following the threat, " Everything

goes back to normal. "

The Dangers of Chronic Stress Under conditions of ongoing or repeated

stress—such as continual worry and anxiety, a bad work situation, or medical

illness—the body's " fight or flight " system gets " hammered, " Dhabhar says.

Constant stimulation might lead to overproduction of stress-related hormones and

" the systems begin to break down. " This, in time, could negatively affect the

immune system.

According to Herbert Benson, MD, chief of the Division of Behavioral Medicine

at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, chronic stress can lead to

the following:

Depression

Anger

High blood pressure

Cardiac arrhythmia

Insomnia

Atherosclerosis

Infertility

Chronic stress might also increase the risk of heart attacks and make

premenstrual syndrome and hot flashes more severe. Recent research suggests that

high levels of stress might speed up the progression of AIDS and multiple

sclerosis, and hinder the effects of medication.

Crying Wolf Repeated or constant exposure to stressors may also impair the

brain's ability to evaluate whether a stress response is warranted and make it

less able to regulate the response, according to a 1998 article in the New

England Journal of Medicine by Bruce McEwen, PhD, of the Rockefeller Institute.

This could be problematic at several levels—from the day-to-day management of

average stressors to suddenly being faced with a situation that would normally

call up the fight or flight response.

Recognizing There's a Problem To begin with, it's important to recognize

the presence of stress-induced symptoms. The signs may include the following:

Excess anxiety

Stomachaches

Headaches

Diarrhea

Temper outbursts

Unexplained anger or crying spells

Nightmares or insomnia

Personality changes

Impatience

Reducing the Stress Change your situation

Do what you can to change stressful conditions, Benson advises. If they involve

a relationship or workplace situation, he says, " more often than not, this is

difficult to do. "

Learn to relax

Benson advocates invoking what he calls " the relaxation response " . This

well-known technique, based on the principles of transcendental meditation,

involves repeating a word, sound, prayer or phrase or performing a repetitive

muscular activity.

" When other thoughts come into your mind, let them go passively, and come back

to repetition. " According to Benson, who is the founder of the Mind/Body Medical

Institute, these activities have been shown to quiet the brain and to decrease

blood pressure, heart rate, and the rate of breathing.

Change your outlook

Sloan suggests learning relaxation techniques such as biofeedback, and what he

terms " cognitive restructuring, " a method that involves questioning whether the

physiologic reaction you are experiencing is rationally justified.

" You may learn that your office is being moved and think 'that's the worst

news I've had in years,' " he explains. By " reforming " the issue, you may decide

it's not so bad—and your body will respond accordingly.

Practice remaining calm

Sloan also suggests rehearsing in advance how you will respond to a stressful

situation. For example, if you need to deal with a difficult person, " figure out

how you will address your concerns without yelling or provoking an angry attack

and then practice these behaviors. "

Seek help

Others suggest developing a network of family and friends to avoid social

isolation, and seeking professional counseling if needed.

Keep it simple

In Dhabhar's view, " Grandma's advice still stands. " You should " eat good,

wholesome food; exercise moderately and get enough sleep. " This may seem " too

simple, " he says, but being in a state of healthy equilibrium helps you minimize

the impact of stress and makes your body better able to fend off any immune

challenges that arise.

RESOURCES:

American Institute of Stress

http://www.stress.org

Mind/Body Medical Institute

http://www.mbmi.org/Default.asp

Stress Management Briefs from the University of Minnesota

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/familydevelopment