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Aug 10, 2023 · Stress symptoms can affect your body, your thoughts and feelings, and your behavior. Knowing common stress symptoms can help you manage them. Stress that's not dealt with can lead to many health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, obesity and diabetes.
- Ann Pietrangelo
- Central nervous and endocrine systems. Your central nervous system (CNS) is in charge of your “fight or flight” response. In your brain, the hypothalamus gets the ball rolling, telling your adrenal glands to release the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol.
- Respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Stress hormones affect your respiratory and cardiovascular systems. During the stress response, you breathe faster in an effort to quickly distribute oxygen-rich blood to your body.
- Digestive system. Under stress, your liver produces extra blood sugar (glucose) to give you a boost of energy. If you’re under chronic stress, your body may not be able to keep up with this extra glucose surge.
- Muscular system. Your muscles tense up to protect themselves from injury when you’re stressed. They tend to release again once you relax, but if you’re constantly under stress, your muscles may not get the chance to relax.
- Muscles and joints. Stress can cause pain, tightness or soreness in your muscles, as well as spasms of pain. It can lead to flare-ups of symptoms of arthritis, fibromyalgia and other conditions because stress lowers your threshold for pain.
- Heart and lungs. Believe it or not, stress can affect your heart. A situation like trying to meet a deadline at work, for example, can make your heart rate increase.
- Skin and hair. Even your skin and hair aren’t immune to the effects of stress. If you have a skin condition like eczema, rosacea or psoriasis, stress can make it worse.
- Gut. Have you ever had a stomachache from being so stressed out? Stress can have a real impact on your digestive system — from simpler symptoms such as pain, gas, diarrhea and constipation to more complex conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome and acid reflux (GERD).
Nov 1, 2018 · It can affect how quickly food moves through the body, which can cause either diarrhea or constipation. Furthermore, stress can induce muscle spasms in the bowel, which can be painful. Stress can affect digestion and what nutrients the intestines absorb. Gas production related to nutrient absorption may increase.
Jan 1, 2013 · The longer the stress lasts, the worse it is for both your mind and body. You might feel fatigued, unable to concentrate, or irritable for no good reason, for example. But chronic stress causes wear and tear on your body, too. The long-term activation of the stress response system and the overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones that ...
Aug 1, 2023 · The long-term activation of the stress response system and too much exposure to cortisol and other stress hormones can disrupt almost all the body's processes. This puts you at higher risk of many health problems, including: Anxiety. Depression.
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Jun 19, 2024 · Symptoms of stress that you might feel in your body include: Headaches. Dizziness. Clenching your jaw and grinding your teeth. Shoulder, neck, or back pain; general body aches, pains, and tense ...
