Stress vs. Your Body

Posted: Dec. 1, 2004

Stress is what you feel when you react to pressure from others or from yourself. Pressure can come from anywhere, including school, work, activities, friends and family members. Stress comes in many forms and everyone feels stress.

Your body has a built-in response to handle stress. When something stressful happens, your body might react with sweaty palms, dry mouth or knots in your stomach. This is totally normal and means that your body is working exactly like it should.

Other signs of stress include emotional signs such as feeling sad or worried, behavioral signs such as not feeling up to doing things, and mental signs such as not being able to concentrate or focus.

Is stress always a bad thing?
No! A little bit of stress can work in a positive way. For instance, during a sports competition, stress might push you to perform better. Also, without the stress of deadlines, you might not be able to finish a project or get to where you need to be on time.

How does stress affect my body and my health?
Everyone has stress. We have short-term stress, like getting lost while driving or missing the bus. Even everyday events, such as planning a meal or making time for errands, can be stressful. This kind of stress can make us feel worried or anxious.

Other times, we face long-term stress, such as racial discrimination, a life-threatening illness or divorce. These stressful events also affect your health on many levels. Long-term stress is real and can increase your risk for some health problems, like depression.

Both short and long-term stress can have effects on your body. Research is starting to show the serious effects of stress. Stress triggers changes in our bodies and makes us more likely to get sick. It can also make problems we already have worse.

What is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be a debilitating condition that can occur after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened. Traumatic events that can trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults such as rape or mugging, natural or human-caused disasters, accidents, or military combat.

Many people with PTSD repeatedly re-experience the ordeal in the form of flashback episodes, memories, nightmares or frightening thoughts, especially when they are exposed to events or objects that remind them of the trauma. Anniversaries of the event can also trigger symptoms. People with PTSD also can have emotional numbness, sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety, irritability or outbursts of anger. Feelings of intense guilt (called survivor guilt) are also common, particularly if others did not survive the traumatic event.

Most people who are exposed to a traumatic, stressful event have some symptoms of PTSD in the days and weeks following the event, but the symptoms generally disappear. But about 8% of men and 20% of women go on to develop PTSD, and roughly 30% of these people develop a chronic, or long-lasting, form that persists throughout their lives.

Does stress cause ulcers?
Doctors used to think that ulcers were caused by stress and spicy foods. Now, we know that stress doesn’t cause ulcers — it just irritates them. Ulcers are actually caused by a bacterium (germ) called H. pylori. Researchers don’t yet know for sure how people get it. They think people might get it through food or water. It’s treated with a combination of antibiotics and other drugs.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office on Women’s Health

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