Anxiety & Health: Why does stress make people sick or worsen conditions?
By award-winning author and stress-relief expert Susie Mantell
Well...you've asked a BIG question, and it would have as many answers as there are people! In fact, even in an individual there will be different dynamics and processes mobilized, depending on their physical and emotional condition, heredity, overall health and life circumstances at the time.
So...let me try to offer a general reply:
It is now widely accepted that the mind-body (and spirit, if you will,) interact in a constant exchange of information. For example, "That's a scary movie!" may generate the physiochemical Galvanic Skin Response. (That's what biofeedback and polygraph tests measure.) Maybe sweating, or even Goose Bumps. Similarly, "I am anxious about my sales presentation" may elicit sweaty palms, or wobbly knees. "Junior took his first step today!" might stimulate Dad's tear ducts, and then 16 years later, when Junior is out an hour past his curfew, Pop's cheeks may flush and heart begin to pound.
This elegant ongoing dialog is unconscious for the most part, and the "Fight or Flight" response of the central nervous system whenever we are under stress (e.g. fear, pain, worry, anger) is mobilized to release stress hormones, increase blood-flow to the large muscle groups, speed respiration, release heat through perspiraton, etc., in order to cope with what the body perceives as a crisis. Now when that crisis is in reality a life-threatening one, this system is brilliant! We get what we need to survive in many cases..or to rescue another. However, when the perceived "crisis" is a traffic delay...or a long line at the bank...or a billing error...many of us respond with an over-reaction that initiates this "Emergency" mechanism unnecessarily.
As you might guess, the stress reaction described above takes considerable resources from the rest of the body's work, and often other systems like digestive, endocrine and the immune system are compromised by the over-reaction to stress. This effect is cumulative, as are relaxation practices. Additionally, each of us appears to come "hard-wired" with varying numbers of receptors sites for transmitters, as well as a personal history of experiences, and the learned behaviors from observing others' coping techniques, that influence our own reactions to stress in its many forms. Overall health, self-esteem, quality of relationships, job satisfaction all play roles here in the ways in which we handle stress.
I guess the bottom line is that we do not have endless reserves of energy, and when we appropriate them to "perceived" crises, especially on an ongoing basis, the system becomes depleted and we become more vulnerable to illness, depression, sleeplessness, aches and pains, headache, etc. We have overdrawn the account. That’s why creating preventive, stress-release techniques and strategies for everyday use is essential.
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Award-winning stress-relief expert Susie Mantell ...is the author of the deeply soothing relaxation CD, "Your Present: A Half-Hour of Peace,” clinically approved for symptoms associated with stress and sleeplessness, depression and grief, anxiety, P.T.S.D., Fibromyalgia, caregiver stress, cancer, pain, divorce and addiction recovery. Featured in The Los Angeles Times, NBC, ABC, CBS-TV, Town & Country, The American Pain Society, Hazelden and The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, listeners include The Mayo Clinic, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, The Betty Ford Center, V.A. Hospitals,and Canyon Ranch (#1 Spa.) Customizing stress-reduction for Fortune 500 companies, distinguished hospitals and spas, Mantell has facilitated thousands in relieving health-related, work-related, chronic or traumatic stress. Her multi-sensory, mind-body techniques appear in national media, medical and corporate publications. Susie Mantell's Stress-Relief & Wellness Tips are intended as an adjunct to, not a substitute for, professional health care. Order “Your Present: A Half-Hour of Peace” and find more of Mantell’s stress-relief tips at www.relaxintuit.com