What are the dangers of stress?

Unfortunately, this mobilization of the body for survival also has negative consequences. In this state, we are excitable, anxious, jumpy and irritable. This reduces our ability to work effectively with other people.

With trembling and a pounding heart, we can find it difficult to execute precise, controlled skills. And the intensity of our focus on survival interferes with our ability to make fine judgments based on drawing information from many sources. We find ourselves more accident-prone and less able to make good decisions. This causes bad decisions and leads to more stress causing a vicious cycle.

Does stress cause other diseases too?

Yes it does. Among the number of ailments caused by stress, the more common ones are diabetes, raised blood pressure, low back pain, constant headache, neck pain, anxiety, anger, lack of concentration, emotional imbalance, reckless driving, sexual difficulties and eating disorders.

Not all people have all the manifestations of stress and the symptoms vary from person to person, however most people can sense that they are stressed.

The behavioral effects of stress

The behavioral effects of an over-stressed lifestyle are easy to explain. When under pressure, some people are more likely to drink heavily or smoke, as a way of getting immediate chemical relief from stress while some people tend to overeat. These themselves have dangers and if one is addicted to either of them, it starts another vicious cycle which can be extremely difficult to get out of! Stress hormones accelerate the heart to increase the blood supply to muscles; however, blood vessels in the heart may have become so narrow that not enough blood reaches the heart to meet these demands. This can cause a heart attack! Smoking and drinking can themselves accelerate the heart attack.