Introduction
Stress is a sense of emotional or physical tension.
Stress can come from any event, assumption, or thoughts that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous. Stress is your body’s reaction to a challenge or demand.
Stress is not a rare thing, it is a common emotion among people around the world.
Did you know nearly 44 percent of the respondents in India stated that they were struggling financially, compared with the global average of 29 percent?
You’ll also be surprised to know that in India, 36 percent are suffering from declining mental health, 32 percent are lacking career motivation and 31 percent are feeling disconnected from their own lives.
So be it work pressure, life’s struggles, relationships, financial stress or too much to handle on a daily basis, a majority of Indians are suffering from stress pangs, depression, anxiety and related ailments.
And it’s becoming a primary reason for increased cases of cardiac arrests, blood pressure issues and increased risk of other diseases amongst the younger populations.
What is Stress?
Stress is the body’s response to dangerous circumstances, whether they are actual or only perceived as such. When you feel threatened, your body experiences a hormonal change that enables you to respond to stop harm from happening.
The stress response is sometimes known as ‘fight-or-flight’. Your heart rate, respiration, muscles, and blood pressure elevate as a result of the stress reaction. You’re prepared to take action. It is a kind of self-defence mechanism.
Various individuals associate different things with stress. What stresses one individual out might not bother another at all. Stress management skills vary from person to person.
Stress isn’t always bad, either. Stress may, in moderation, help you achieve things and keep you safe.
What are Cortisol-stress hormones?
Many people refer to cortisol as the ‘stress hormone.’ In addition to controlling your body’s stress response, it also has several other significant effects and functions throughout your body.
Cortisol increases heart rate and blood pressure. The body’s cortisol level and the signs of high-stress functioning should be understood since excessive levels of stress can act as an obstacle to doing basic life things.
7 warning signs of high Cortisol-stress levels
Low appetite
A person under stress tends to do stress fasting.
Contrary to popular perception, it’s not always a good thing if you don’t feel like eating, especially in the morning.
In actuality, this immediately implicates an overabundance of stress hormones in the body. To put it another way, stress hormones tell your body to go into ‘fight-or-flight mode,’ which reduces your appetite.
Poor sleep cycle
An imbalance in stress hormones is frequently indicated by waking up in the middle of the night.
Your body can’t enter the REM sleep stages (Rapid eye movement) when the stress hormone levels are high, which disrupts sleep. In turn, a lack of sleep may cause a rise in stress hormones. It’s a never-ending vicious cycle.
Weight fluctuations
Do you struggle to keep your weight in a healthy range? Your stress hormones may play a significant role in stubborn weight gain or surprising weight loss.
Excess stress hormones not only have a direct effect on your weight but can also diminish satiety and increase food cravings, which encourage you to eat more calories and mostly junk.
Digestive problems
Your liver creates more blood sugar (glucose) while you are under stress to give you an energy boost. What triggers cortisol in one person may not be in another since stress is a personal thing. Tune in to your body to figure out what your stress triggers are, then work diligently to tamp them down.
Every aspect of your life, including your emotions, actions, capacity for thought, and physical health, can be impacted by stress. The body as a whole has no immunity. But since everyone reacts to stress differently, different signs of stress may be present. Symptoms may be hazy and similar to those brought on by illnesses. It is crucial to talk about them with your doctor.
Your body might be unable to cope with this extra glucose spike if you’re under constant stress.
Your risk of type 2 diabetes may rise if you experience chronic stress.
Your digestive system may also get affected by the surge of hormones, fast breathing, and elevated heart rate.
A rise in stomach acid makes heartburn or acid reflux more likely to occur.
Stress can also alter how food passes through your body, causing constipation or diarrhoea. Additionally, you could feel queasy, throw up, or have stomach pain.
Irregular or delayed periods
Your body senses danger when stress chemicals are constantly released.
Your body produces the hormone cortisol when you are under stress.
Period irregularities can be caused by it wreaking havoc on the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary connection.
Your body creates cortisol when you are under high stress.
Cortisol may cause delayed or light periods, or even no periods at all (amenorrhea), depending on how well your body handles stress. In severe stressful situations, you can go for a long time without a period.
Pressure of perfectionism
Do you feel the urge to be doing something all the time? Although having a productivity addiction may seem like a good thing, it’s also a symptom that your body is dependent on stress to survive.
Final thoughts
What triggers cortisol in one person may not be in another since stress is a personal thing. Tune in to your body to figure out what your stress triggers are, then work diligently to tamp them down.
Every aspect of your life, including your emotions, actions, capacity for thought, and physical health, can be impacted by stress.
The body as a whole has no immunity. But since everyone reacts to stress differently, different signs of stress may be present.
Signs of high-stress hormones can be hazy and similar to those brought on by illnesses. It is crucial to talk about them with your doctor.
Furthermore, you should also undergo preventive health checkups. These health checkups give a complete report about your health, allowing you to take necessary precautionary measures to improve your well-being and keep a host of ailments at bay.
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