With busy schedules and the usual wave of life changes, both big and small, stress is a common condition for most people, if not everyone. When stress becomes chronic — meaning it might feel ongoing rather than coming and going — it can have a major effect on your body.
People often think of stress as feeling frazzled mentally and emotionally — and while stress at the right moments can be positive, chronic stress can cause numerous physical problems, and some of them might kick off a cascade of other issues.
Here are some challenges that could have stress as a root cause:
Stress triggers the release of cortisol, a hormone designed to assist with our “fight or flight” response when we’re in danger, so we have the energy to deal with threats.
Why the stubborn belly fat? Because one of the functions of cortisol is to shuttle glucose out of storage so your brain and body can use it for the expected battle ahead. But under chronic stress, the body doesn’t need all that extra glucose, so it releases insulin to deal with it. And insulin’s favorite storage facility is your belly.
Compounding the problem: Cortisol tends to make you crave simple carbs that can get turned into energy fast. That’s why “comfort foods” for many people are packed with fast-digesting sugars, which also get the insulin-belly-fat treatment.
The result is your digestion can be affected, leading to problems like constipation or diarrhea, she says. That lowered blood flow also affects how well you absorb nutrients, which means stress might be cutting down on the amount of vitamins and minerals used by the body, particularly B vitamins and vitamin C.
When chronic stress keeps your immune system tamped down, it can leave you vulnerable to colds, the flu and other illnesses. If you find yourself catching every bug that sweeps through the office, it might be time to implement more stress relief as a way to get your immune system back on track.
In addition to a cortisol wave, stress causes muscles to tense, which can affect areas like the shoulders, neck and particularly the low-back area.
Stress can also affect your perception of the pain, making it feel worse and prolonging the issue. If the pain becomes troubling enough to sabotage your workouts, then you could exacerbate the situation since exercise has been shown to decrease emotional stress and improve back pain in many cases.
That’s because stress can prompt more inflammation throughout your system as a defense mechanism. In addition to breakouts, you might get rashes, rosacea, bumps or scaly areas as your skin tries to adjust to its new, high-stress conditions.
When this is happening, your skin tends to become more sensitive as well — which means slathering it with lotions or acne cream could make things worse instead of better.
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