Stress has a number of effects on a person’s body. These effects may be physical, emotional, behavioral or even mental. In this chapter, we look at some of these effects.

• How will stress affect your body?
• How will it affect how you live and relate with others?
• How will stress affect your mind?

Stress usually has both positive and negative effects. Positive effects are good but you have to watch out for the negative effects since they can be dangerous to the point of being life threatening.

Health Problems

Stress can greatly affect your health. This commonly happens when stress levels get out of hand. There are a number of health problems that are normally directly linked to stress. Acute or chronic pains can be brought about by stress. One of the most common pains is headaches. A person maybe having severe headaches that cause isn’t indefinable.

These headaches may be acute of even chronic. Another common pain is chest pain. Someone may experience a tightening in the chest that can be painful. There are also people who experience a sharp pain in the stomach. All these pains can’t be treated by medicine. Medication may just offer a temporary relief. To get rid of the pain, it is important to move away from the stressor.

Stress may also make pain from other illnesses feel much worse. For instance, a stressed cancer patient may easily experience very severe pains. Stress can also bring about very serious health problems such as heart diseases. It can also affect how the heart functions. For instance, sudden bad news can cause a heart attack.

This shows that the person was subjected to high stress levels that their bodies couldn’t handle. Living in constant stress can also bring about heart problems. Stress can also bring about obesity. There are people who like to eat a lot whenever they are stressed up. There are others who turn to their “comfort foods” which in most cases may be junk food.

This can bring about rapid weight gain. On the other hand, there are people who experience lack of appetite. They may start skipping meals or eating less. This deprives the body of essential nutrients and may bring about diet deficiency illnesses. It also weakens the body’s immunity system making one very susceptible to becoming sick. It also minimizes their ability to fight infections. Digestive problems may also be easily experienced.

A person may start feeling constipated. Other people start having diarrhea. If the stressor is not removed, the person will not get rid of these symptoms easily. Stress causes insomnia. Every person needs to get adequate sleep so as to keep their bodies healthy and functioning well. Lack of sleep can bring about more health problems.

In addition, it will inhibit a person’s abilities to live normally and continue with their daily routines. On the other hand, there are people who start sleeping a lot when they are stressed. They even have trouble keeping their eyes open even at work or school. This person will feel fatigue and sleepy at all times. One of the most serious effects of stress is depression.

This can greatly affect the quality of a person’s life. They will feel alienated from others and may even start isolating themselves. This will definitely have a very negative impact on their relationships. A person may also start experiencing the feeling of hopelessness.

They may give up on life. This is very dangerous. Statistics show that the major cause of suicide is depression. Stress also causes problems with the blood pressure. It can make this go really up or down. In addition, people who have had any previous problems with blood pressure can get serious complications due to stress.

Any stressful event can make their blood pressure go up to levels that can be dangerous. Stress also brings about skin problems. It can bring about acne. A person’s skin will also start looking unhealthy and lose its natural glow. People who are stressed tend to look almost ten years older than they actually are. Their skin naturally loses that young fresh look. Stress can have very serious negative effects on your health.

Psychological Effects

Stress can actually make a person lose their sense of self-worth. They start feeling that they are not equal to others. They may even feel like life has been cruel to them and that maybe they deserve. For instance, a person who has a problem finding a job may easily be stressed. This can happen especially if they see that everyone around them seems to be succeeding in their careers.

They may start thinking that they do lack something that others have. They may also start feeling like they will never be able to achieve their goals. Stress can actually lower a person’s self-esteem. Stress can make a person feel very negative about life. This person will be unable to think positively. They may lose interest in their dreams or the pursuit of these dreams.

Such a person may start withdrawing from others. They may also start giving up on things that they used to enjoy doing. For instance, an artist may suddenly lose interest in art. They will adapt the “what’s the point” attitude. This means that everything seems to have lost meaning to them. Stress can make someone very negative about life.

Behavioral Effects

Most people turn to drugs and alcohol when they are stressed. They normally use this as an escapism strategy. A person may start drinking to avoid dealing with stress at home or at work. They may also turn to drugs so as to get a quick relief from their stress.

However, this relief is normally very temporary. Once the effects of the alcohol or drugs fade away, the person will again start feeling the stress. This is why it is better to find permanent stress relief that an escapism strategy of not dealing with your stress.

Stress can cause alcohol or drug abuse. A person may also start acting irrational. This is a common phenomenon that some people refer as to “one not acting themselves”. They will make rush decisions that seem completely out of character. The decisions they make may not be bad. They may seem good but in actual sense they may have negative repercussions.

Cognitive Effects

One of the most common cognitive effects of stress is memory loss. A stressed person can easily become forgetful. They will make plans and completely forget about them. An employee may forget his assignments completely. A spouse may forget important dates such as anniversaries. Forgetfulness may be temporary or long-term.

People also tend to have a lapse in memory. They may not be able to remember things that they said or did not long ago. This simply happens due to the minds inability to concentrate on anything else apart from the stressor. Another common effect is inability to concentrate on anything. This can greatly hinder a person’s performance in a number of areas.

They may be unable to concentrate at work and therefore end up losing their jobs. They may also be unable to concentrate in school and therefore start performing very poorly. A person may not be able to perform simple tasks that they use to enjoy. They may not even be able to sit still and watch their favorite movie or listen to music.

Their only preoccupation is the stressful event or situation. A stressed person may also have low sex drive. They will withdraw from all forms of intimacy be it sexual or even emotional. Stress can easily tear apart a relationship due to the lack of intimacy between the couple. Stress can make one lose interest in any form of intimacy particularly sex.

Excerpted from the book Stress Soothers.

This excerpt has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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