How Stress Affects Your Body: Signs, Risks and How to Manage It

Key Takeaways

• Stress is a natural response to challenging situations, but chronic stress can negatively impact both physical and mental health.

• The fight-or-flight response increases alertness and energy in the short term, but long-term activation can damage the heart, immune system, and overall wellbeing.

• Physical symptoms of stress can include headaches, digestive issues, fatigue, sleep problems, chest pain and changes in appetite or weight.

• Chronic stress is linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, anxiety and certain cancers.

• Effective stress management strategies include planning ahead, improving time management, supporting wellbeing with sleep, nutrition and exercise, spending time in nature, and seeking professional support when needed.

Whether it’s work, money, relationships, or even your health, many aspects of life can be a source of stress. It’s no wonder that 74% of people in the UK have felt overwhelmed by stress at some point in the last year.

Stress is a feeling of mental pressure or tension that is caused by the situation we’re in. Although everyone experiences some amount of stress, some people are better at dealing with it than others.

Without having good stress management strategies in place, stress can take over your life, contributing to both physical and mental health issues. By focusing on managing stress in a healthy way, you can limit the chances of developing any long-term health consequences.

In this article, we’ll explore what stress is, the impact it can have on our health, and learn a few strategies to manage it effectively.

Understanding stress

Stress is the body’s natural reaction to a challenge or uncomfortable situation. What causes stress can vary between individuals, but common causes of stress include:

• Work or education

• Relationships, family life, and parenting

• Finances or issues with housing

• Life changes

• Health concerns

• Loneliness

• Life experiences, upbringing, and genetics

While some people can manage their response to stress and can carry on as normal, other people struggle to keep on top of it. In some cases, stress can trigger a reaction from the body that’s known as the fight-or-flight response.

The fight-or-flight response

The fight-or-flight response helps the body to deal with a dangerous situation by increasing alertness, improving blood flow to the brain and major muscles, and slowing down non-essential functions like digestion.

Traditionally, this response would help us to deal with a physical danger, like an attack from a wild animal. Nowadays, the fight-or-flight response can be activated in situations where it may be less helpful, such as during a stressful day at work or when someone cuts you off in traffic.

The stress response is designed to be a short-term response to an acutely dangerous situation. When the threat is gone, the body should return back to normal. However, with chronic stress, the body continues to stay in this high-alert state and doesn’t go back to normal, which can lead to long-term health consequences.

To understand how stress can lead to health problems, we first need to understand what stress does to the body.

How stress affects the body

In the short-term, the body responds to acute stress via the fight-or-flight response that we’ve discussed.

Signs of the fight-or-flight response include:

• Dilated pupils (to improve vision of your surrounding area)

• Increased heart rate and breathing (to provide enough oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to power your body)

• Shaking or trembling (due to changes in hormone and blood sugar levels)

• Reduced pain response (to help you deal with injuries)

• Pale or flushed skin (due to redirected blood flow)

When your body perceives a threat, the brain triggers the release of a hormone called adrenaline. Adrenaline works alongside your nervous system to increase your heart rate, which helps deliver more nutrient-rich blood to your muscles and vital organs. It also helps to free up more oxygen and glucose by increasing your breathing rate, opening up your airways, and stimulating glucose release from stores in the body.

If the stress response continues, the body also produces a hormone called cortisol which helps to maintain this high-alert state and to provide enough energy to power it.

These responses from the body can be helpful in the short term as they can improve your concentration and prepare you to deal with a dangerous situation. However, these changes are not always helpful in many modern stressful situations.

Physical symptoms of stress

Although the physical signs of stress are your body’s way of preparing you to deal with a potential challenge, they can be unhelpful or uncomfortable.

Some of the physical symptoms of stress to look out for are:

• Panic attacks, difficulty breathing, or chest pain

• Fatigue

• Sweating

• Muscle aches and headaches

• High blood pressure

• Indigestion

• Sleep problems

• Constipation or diarrhoea

• Feeling or being sick

• Dizziness or fainting

• Menstrual cycle changes

• Rashes or skin itching

• Weight loss or weight gain

If you continue to feel stressed long-term, your body may continue to stay in a high-alert state, which can increase the risk of experiencing both physical and/or mental symptoms of stress.

Mental and emotional impact of stress

Stress can significantly affect our feelings and emotions. When you’re stressed, it’s common to feel:

• Irritable or angry

• Tearful, sad, or depressed

• Overwhelmed

• Anxious or nervous

• As if your thoughts are racing

• Uninterested in life

• Tense

• Lonely

• Hopeless

• Like you can’t make a decision

• As if it’s hard to concentrate

For people who already struggle with their mental health, stress can make things worse. In some cases, stress can also lead to behavioural changes like:

• Withdrawing from loved ones

• Avoiding normal activities or hobbies

• Diet or exercise changes

• Drinking alcohol, smoking, or taking other substances

If stress continues long-term, these emotional, behavioural, and physical changes can all contribute to developing health problems.

Long-term consequences of chronic stress

If stress continues unresolved, it can lead to a whole host of health consequences. In fact, stress is a risk factor for between 75-90% of diseases. But to understand the impact of chronic stress, we need to go back to how stress impacts the body.

As we discussed earlier, stress leads to the release of the hormone adrenaline which can increase someone’s heart rate and blood pressure. Stress also affects the immune system, leading to an imbalance between inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses. If stress continues over weeks, months, or years, this can put excess strain on the heart and damage the blood vessels, which can lead to cardiovascular disease.

This pro-inflammatory stress response is linked to the increased risk of various different inflammatory diseases like:

• High blood pressure

• Atherosclerosis (narrowing of the arteries)

• Insulin resistance/diabetes

• Depression

• Various cancers

People who experience chronic stress may also age more quickly due to the impact on the cells in their body and the way DNA is stored within their cells.

Long-term stress can also lead to mental health issues. As well as worsening pre-existing mental health problems, chronic stress can lead people to develop conditions like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance misuse.

Together, these factors can have a significant impact on people’s relationships, hobbies, and work life.

Although we know chronic stress can impact your health and wellbeing, the good news is there are many different strategies you can use to avoid things getting to this point.

Effective stress management strategies

How we prepare for a stressful event, deal with pressure, and recover afterwards all impact our ability to deal with stress.

Before you’re stressed

Before a stressful time, it’s a good idea to think about what can trigger stress for you. This can help you to avoid things that you know trigger you or to come up with a management strategy if you can’t avoid these things.

When you’re experiencing stress

Organising how you spend your time may help you to feel more in control. Try to think about when you work best, keeping things varied, and being realistic when you’re making a plan. Remember to take breaks and try not to do everything at once.

Think about the situation or issues you’re facing and whether there’s anything you can do to change things. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Unfortunately, many parts of life are things you can’t change. It’s important to do your best to accept these things and find a way to use your time productively.

Supporting your wellbeing

Looking after your wellbeing can make it easier for you to manage stress. Although everyone is different, most people need time to relax. Find something that works for you – if you’re not sure where to start, Mind has some helpful tips.

Getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, and exercising regularly are all important ways to look after your body and mind. If things feel overwhelming, just start with small changes like getting the recommended 5 fruits and vegetables a day or going for a walk.

Spending time in nature has been shown in several studies to reduce stress levels, so it’s a good idea to try and get outside every day, even if it’s just for a short time. Even better if you have a hobby you can do outside.

Talking to friends and family can be really helpful when you’re struggling, and they may be able to offer some useful advice on how to deal with the cause of your stress. But sometimes you need to talk to a professional.

If your stress has been going on for a long time or is significantly affecting your health, it may be time to book an appointment with your GP to talk things through. They’ll be able to advise you on any local services they think may be useful for you and discuss any relevant medications.

Conclusion

Although stress is an unavoidable part of life, having strategies to manage stress and support your wellbeing can help you to deal with life’s challenges in a healthy way. There’s always someone to help, whether that’s friends, family, or a healthcare professional – you just need to ask for support if you need it.