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Chronic stress can wreak havoc on your mind and body. Take steps to control your stress. By Mayo Clinic StaffYour body is hard-wired to react to stress in ways meant to protect you against threats from predators and other aggressors. Such threats are rare today, but that doesn't mean that life is free of stress. On the contrary, you likely face many demands each day, such as taking on a huge workload, paying the bills and taking care of your family. Your body treats these so-called minor hassles as threats. As a result, you may feel as if you're constantly under attack. But you can fight back. You don't have to let stress control your life. Understanding the natural stress responseWhen you encounter a perceived threat — such as a large dog barking at you during your morning walk — your hypothalamus, a tiny region at your brain's base, sets off an alarm system in your body. Through a combination of nerve and hormonal signals, this system prompts your adrenal glands, located atop your kidneys, to release a surge of hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. Adrenaline increases your heart rate, elevates your blood pressure and boosts energy supplies. Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, increases sugars (glucose) in the bloodstream, enhances your brain's use of glucose and increases the availability of substances that repair tissues. Cortisol also curbs functions that would be nonessential or harmful in a fight-or-flight situation. It alters immune system responses and suppresses the digestive system, the reproductive system and growth processes. This complex natural alarm system also communicates with the brain regions that control mood, motivation and fear. When the natural stress response goes wildThe body's stress response system is usually self-limiting. Once a perceived threat has passed, hormone levels return to normal. As adrenaline and cortisol levels drop, your heart rate and blood pressure return to baseline levels, and other systems resume their regular activities. But when stressors are always present and you constantly feel under attack, that fight-or-flight reaction stays turned on. The long-term activation of the stress response system and the overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones that follows can disrupt almost all your body's processes. This puts you at increased risk of many health problems, including:
That's why it's so important to learn healthy ways to cope with your life stressors. Why you react to life stressors the way you doYour reaction to a potentially stressful event is different from anyone else's. How you react to your life stressors is affected by such factors as:
You may have some friends who seem relaxed about almost everything and others who react strongly to the slightest stress. Most people react to life stressors somewhere between those extremes. Learning to react to stress in a healthy wayStressful events are facts of life. And you may not be able to change your current situation. But you can take steps to manage the impact these events have on you. You can learn to identify what causes you stress and how to take care of yourself physically and emotionally in the face of stressful situations. Stress management strategies include:
Avoid unhealthy ways of managing your stress, such as using alcohol, tobacco, drugs or excess food. If you're concerned that your use of these products has increased or changed due to stress, talk to your doctor. The rewards for learning to manage stress can include peace of mind, less stress and anxiety, a better quality of life, improvement in conditions such as high blood pressure, better self-control and focus, and better relationships. And it might even lead to a longer, healthier life. Sign up for free, and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID-19, plus expertise on managing health. To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have
about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail. July 08, 2021
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. What factor is most important in understanding your reactions to the stressors in your life?Self-assessment is an important step in determining what factors cause you unnecessary stress.
Which dimension of health related to the morals and values that guide you and that give meaning direction and purpose to your life?2. Spiritual. Spiritual wellness is related to your values and beliefs that help you find meaning and purpose in your life. Spiritual wellness may come from activities such as volunteering, self-reflection, meditation, prayer, or spending time in nature.
Which of the following is the single purpose for the stress response in humans?The stress response, or “fight or flight” response is the emergency reaction system of the body. It is there to keep you safe in emergencies.
Which stress assessment tool incorporates physical intellectual emotional spiritual and social aspects of health for a balanced assessment?The Ardell Wellness Stress Test incorporates physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social aspects of health for a balanced assessment.
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Which factor is most important in understanding your reactions to the stressors in your life?
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