30 Sep Stress and its Effects on the Body
The stresses and strains of life!
It’s no great secret that stress can not only effect your emotional health but also your physical health as well; you may become ‘run down’ or old injuries that you have may begin to flare up. So a question that needs answering is what actually happens to our bodies when we become stressed? Let’s take a look…
What it is
A raw definition of Stress ‘is pressure or tension exerted on an object’ in this case the object being our bodies. For different people different things will be labelled as pressure or tension and to make it even more complex this could mean different reactions for each, but in all cases it is the body’s reaction to try and deal with the stress that will be the key.
What happens
When the body detects that we are under some kind of stress, areas of the brain start to communicate with each other which then leads to well-meaning chemicals known as hormones being produced.
What is the reaction
The hormones cause physical changes (known as the fight or flight response) to our body systems which includes increase heart rate, muscle tightening and raised blood pressure. Once the stressor has been removed the body then tries to restore balanced by activating a different part of the brain responsible for have the opposite effect known as the rest and digest response.
It is the repeated/prolonged changes caused by chronic stress which leads to damage to our body and this can include:
- risk of heart disease and stroke
- raised blood pressure
- gastrointestinal disorders
- headaches
- muscular aches
What to do
- try to relax – once the body detects that it is no longer under stress it will try to restore balance
- calming exercise – regulates the heart and eases muscular tension
- remove stressors – if possible this may mean changing environments or activities and routines
- get a massage– one of the best ways to relax!
- seek professional help – if you are no longer able to control the stress then it is now time seek a professional such as psychologist or counsellor or your local GP.
Often, people will find they get a lot of tension in there muscles and when this occurs a good message can be the perfect remedy, so if that is the case with you why not contact us for a Deep Tissue Massage appointment to help relieve all your stress and tension!
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