LONG-TERM EFFECTS
OF CHRONIC STRESS ON BODY AND MIND
By Suzanne Kane
Source:
psychcentral.com
Last updated: 8 Oct 2018
Last updated: 8 Oct 2018
Everyone knows that chronic stress
is bad. But just how bad can it be? Tallying the negative effects of long-term
chronic stress is quite an eye-opener. Prolonged stress can not only shorten
your life, but also seriously erode the quality of the life you live. Here’s
how.
Prolonged
stress leads to memory loss.
When
stress is sustained over a long period, such as remaining in a difficult
marriage or working for an intolerable boss, the result is memory impairment
caused by inflammation and the immune system. Ohio State University researchers
found a relationship between prolonged stress and short-term memory in
a study involving mice. The study focused on the hippocampus, the
body’s hub of emotional response and memory.
Chronic
stress promotes spread of cancer through the lymphatic system.
Research by
Australian scientists published in Nature Communications finds
that stress hormones ramp up the lymphatic system, acting as a fertilizer to
promote the spread of cancer in mice. According to the researchers, chronic
stress both increases the number of lymphatic vessels draining from a tumour and
increases the flow in existing vessels.
By using propranolol, a
beta-blocker drug, scientists were able to block the action of the stress
hormone adrenaline in mice. The drug stopped stress hormones from remodelling
lymph vessels in the tumour and reduced the risk of cancer spreading through the
lymph nodes.
The team is now involved in a
pilot study of women with breast cancer to see if treatment with propranolol
can reduce the risk of tumours spreading to other parts of the body.
Your
face shows the effects of stress by ageing more quickly.
Look no further than your face
to see the damage stress can do:
§ It shows up in dark circles and bags under your eyes. That’s
because the under-eye capillaries are fragile and break up under stress. Waking
up to puffy eyes is a result of stress causing fluid to pool below the eyes.
§ Wrinkles appear in lines between the eyes, on the forehead, around
the mouth and under the eyes.
§ Itching and hives are the result of inflammation from stress.
§ Teeth grinding is another sign of stress.
§ Hair loss can result from stress.
§ Stress also causes adult acne.
§ Skin takes on a dull, dry appearance. Chronic stress triggers a
constant flow of cortisol, which, in turn, may cause a dip in estrogen. This
can then result in a dull and dry appearance in the skin.
Changes
in personality have been linked to long-term workplace stress.
New
research from the London School of Economics and Political Science reveals that
being stressed out at work can lead to changes in personality over time.
The research, published in the Journal of Vocational Behaviour,
found that workers who felt excessive stress in the workplace reported higher
levels of neuroticism. They became more worried and irritable, and less
extroverted. They also showed more signs of shyness and spoke less often. On
the other hand, workers who said they had greater control over their jobs
reported increases in such desirable personality traits as warmth, cooperation,
creativity and imagination.
Loss
of a partner increases stress and may cause heart attacks.
Losing a loved one is an
understandably stressful event. But the aftereffects of grief can be personally
devastating, with sustained stress levels increasing the risk of developing an
irregular heartbeat. The risk is greatest in the first 12 months after the
loss. The condition, called atrial fibrillation, further increases the chances
of having heart failure or a stroke, both potentially fatal.
The research was
conducted by Aarhus University in Denmark and published in the UK medical
journal Open Heart. Scientists found that the risk was heightened
when the partner’s death was unexpected. Atrial fibrillation, affecting about
one million people in the UK, becomes more common as the person gets older. It
affects about seven out of 100 people over the age of 65.
Chronic
stress increases weight gain.
The
culprit is betatrophin, a protein that blocks an enzyme, adipose triglyceride
lipase, that breaks down body fat. Chronic stress stimulates the production of
betatrophin in the body, according to researchers at the University of Florida
Health. Their results provide experimental evidence that long-term
stress makes it harder to break down body fat.
Prolonged
stress can lead to chronic fatigue syndrome.
Researchers at
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that abnormally low
concentrations of the hormone cortisol in the morning could correlate with more
severe fatigue in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).
A debilitating, complex disorder,
CFS doesn’t improve with bed rest and may get worse with mental or physical
activity. The CDC researchers found that people with CFS have reduced output of
cortisol overall during the first hour after they wake up — one of the body’s
most stressful times. While the exact cause of CFS hasn’t been identified, it’s
believed to be related to an imbalance in the interactions of normal working
systems in the body that help manage stress.
Chronic
stress increases risk for cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and
stroke.
A study conducted by researchers from Massachusetts General
Hospital, examining brain scans for 293 patients, found that higher activity
levels in the brain’s stress center, the amygdala, were associated with
arterial inflammation — a high predictor of heart attack and stroke. The study
results point to the conclusion that stress, which is known to be not only the
result of adversity, may also be an important cause of disease.
Depression, anxiety, digestive
and sleep problems may result from long-term stress.
The
list of problems associated with or believed to be caused by chronic stress
continues to grow as researchers delve more into the effects of prolonged
stress. In addition to an increased risk for heart attack, stroke, memory loss,
weight gain, chronic fatigue syndrome, cancer, quicker ageing and personality
changes, long-term stress may also induce or exacerbate depression
and anxiety-related disorders, as well as digestive and sleep problems.
If you have a highly-stressed
life or have been diagnosed with chronic stress, it’s important to do something
about it. Change your habits. Get professional help to manage stress so that it
doesn’t overwhelm you and wreak havoc on your life. Some short-term behavioural
and lifestyle changes can make all the difference in the quality and length of
your life.
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