This blog has been approved by our Medical Director, <strong>Dr Deji Akinyooye MBBS MRCGP</strong>
We all experience some level of stress but when it becomes too much for prolonged periods of time, it can cause detrimental effects to your mental and physical health. Studies say at least 1 in 14 adults feel stressed everyday in the UK and within this group, 79% of Brits say their main cause of stress is work.
What is Stress?
Stress is described as the feeling of being overwhelmed, leading to the inability to deal with any mental of emotional pressures in day to day life. Stress triggers something within our bodies called the ‘fight or flight’ response. This was once used by our ancestors to either fight or run away from our stressors but nowadays, your fight or flight response can be triggered to help avoid any accidents, keep ourselves relaxed in stressful scenarios and even give us a helping hand in handing work in on time.
Within our bodies however, stress is a normal biological reaction to situations that could have the potential to harm us. Your brain begins by flooding the body with chemicals and hormones like adrenaline and cortisol and your heart will begin to beat faster as it sends blood to important organs. This results in a rush of energy and having heightened senses to help you focus and get through the stressful situation you are in.
Effects on the Body
When stress is temporary, reactions within your body such as your heart rate increasing should return back to normal. However, in some cases, if you undergo stress for prolonged periods of time, you can develop what is known ‘chronic stress’. Chronic stress can cause harmful effects on your body. This includes:
Acne
Stress doesn’t cause acne but if you already suffer with it, then it can cause a break out. This occurs when stress hormones such as cortisol are released which increases sebum, a natural oil produced by the skin. Stress can cause excessive amounts of sebum to be produced, leading to blocked pores and causing breakouts. People are also more prone to touching their faces when they are stressed, spreading bacteria and further aggravating sebum production.
Wound healing
Wound healing can be slowed down due to stress, particularly chronic stress. The elevated and excessive production of cortisol when you are stressed can affect the immune system and affect the body’s ability to produce cytokines, which has a massive effect on the body’s immune and inflammation responses. This means any wounds, acne or pimples will take longer to heal and will be more prone to increasing in severity.
Headaches
Headaches are one of the most common effects stress has on the body, these are known as tension headaches. You are likely to feel pain in your head, face and the neck alongside a tight sensation, like someone is squeezing your skull. They can last anywhere from 30 minutes to a couple of days and can be treated with painkillers. With tension headaches, you usually won’t experience symptoms such as nausea, vomiting or sensitivity to light. It will feel like a steady ache and you may feel tenderness in the affected areas.
Chronic pain
A prolonged or exaggerated stress response may perpetuate cortisol dysfunction, widespread inflammation, and pain. High amounts of cortisol in the body can cause your adrenal glands to slowly deplete. Your adrenal glands control help regulate your metabolism, immune system, responses to stress, blood pressure and more. It results in your body becoming sensitive to pain, causing backaches, muscle aches, neck pain and even trigger IBS.
Change in libido
Stress causing high amounts of cortisol can impact your sex life massively. This is due to the fight or flight response that causes an increase in aspects such as your heart rate, but other aspects like your libido will completely deplete during this response so that your body can respond in the most efficient way possible. A change in your mood can also be the cause of a low libido such as feelings of irritation alongside factors like poor sleep.
