Moderate stress can be beneficial, but if you constantly feel like you're under a lot of pressure, overwhelmed with work, anxious and completely exhausted, it can have very harmful consequences.
1. PROMOTES THE SPREAD OF CANCER
Researchers have shown that stress can contribute to the survival of cancer cells despite the use of anti-cancer drugs. Cancer cells can survive thanks to adrenaline that is secreted under the influence of stress.
2. SHRINKS THE BRAIN
Stressful situations, such as divorce and being fired from a job, can cause a decrease in gray matter in the parts of the brain responsible for feelings and physiological functions. Researchers warn that changes in gray matter may be a harbinger of future psychological problems.
3. CAUSES PREMATURE AGING OF CHILDREN
Long-term exposure to violence in childhood can cause premature aging of cells. Children who were abused or witnessed violence had shorter ends of their chromosomes, which is a sign that they age faster.
4. IT CAN AFFECT THE GENES OF THE DESCENDANTS
The effects of stress on genes can be passed down from generation to generation. It is believed that certain features of genes, created under the influence of external factors such as stress, disappear in the next generation.
5. PROMOTES THE APPEARANCE OF DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS
Stress can cause depressive forms of behavior. Studies have shown that animals that were under stress developed symptoms of depression.
6. INCREASE THE RISK OF CHRONIC DISEASES
In addition to stress itself, health is also affected by the way a person reacts to it. It was shown that people who were under the influence of stress were more upset and anxious, ten years later they were more likely to suffer from chronic diseases, such as heart problems and arthritis.
7. INCREASE THE RISK OF STROKE
People who are constantly tense are at a higher risk of stroke than their more relaxed peers. Experts point out that people who are constantly on the move, walk fast and eat fast, are impatient and the like, are exposed to a greater risk of stroke.
8. INCREASE THE RISK OF INFARCTION
Anxiety and stress increase the risk of heart attack by 27 percent. The researchers point out that the most important thing for heart health is that a person feels good and that everything that contributes to reducing stress also contributes to heart health.
9. MAKES COLD SYMPTOMS WORSE
If you've always been under the impression that you got sick because you were under stress, you're not far from the truth. Cold symptoms worsen under the influence of stress. The body produces more of the stress hormone cortisol, which has a devastating effect on inflammatory processes in the body.
10. IT CAN AFFECT THE OUTCOME OF THE DISEASE
Diagnosis or treatment is an extremely stressful process, and research shows that methods that contribute to dealing with that stress have a positive effect on the outcome of the disease. Experts have found that psychological therapy has a beneficial effect on the immune system of women with breast cancer.
Bonus video:
