How Does Stress Affect Us .... Can Exercise Spell Relief?

Stress is any emotional or physical strain on the mind or body which occurs from an external force or condition. Emotional stress may stem from a condition of fear, hate, anxiety, tension, grief or even love. Physical stress may be a result of injury, poor diet, drugs, lack of sleep, overwork or exposure to extreme temperatures. Emotional and physical stress may overlap under the strain of difficult work conditions with long hours and co-worker conflict or at home when we are raising children and keeping the home in order. Whatever the stress, our body metabolism is either increased or decreased which changes our physiological function and outlook on life mentally and emotionally. Some stress can be useful to motivate us, but if it is the wrong kind of stress or in excess it can be detrimental.

Metabolically, our body's response to stress is to produce more adrenal hormones. Adrenal hormones are secreted by our adrenal glands that lie on top of our kidneys. The adrenal hormones prepare the body for action by increasing the heart rate, blood pressure and sugar content of the blood. The body's response to stress is natural, making extra energy available to cope with the situation under "normal" situations. However, in our modern civilization there is usually little physical outlet for our stress, and the body must respond by channeling the body's responses inward to one of the organ systems, such as circulatory, nervous or digestive system. This reaction can take a toll on the system creating conditions of hypertension, ulcers, backache, arteriosclerosis, asthma, fatigue, insomnia and often allergies.

One of the most common stressful feelings we experience is anxiety caused by fear. The fear we can't cope with a situation or fear of the unknown is often distressful in a person's mind. Any kind of threat to our loved ones, our job or our beliefs can cause anxiety. The bottom line is if a person can't cope with a situation, stress on the body is increased resulting in many disorders associated with stress.