The Affects Stress has on the Body:

The single most important valuable asset you have in your life is your health.

Studies have shown that between 70 – 80 % of visits to the doctor are caused by stress & 80% of all illnesses have a stress component. So as you can see it is a vicious circle.

Your sub-conscious mind reacts to your thoughts & cannot differentiate between real & imagination. Producing a body response to the degree of your worry, fear & sense of threat.

In a situation at work when you become very stressed, for instance an argument with your boss, the body’s adrenaline is activated for fight or flight. But because of social circumstances, & fear of losing your job it is not possible to take action. All this adrenaline is left in the body with no release.

The muscles tighten, metabolism, blood pressure & heart rate has increased, the senses become more acute & brain activity is speeded up.  So enormous amounts of energy are being burnt up, but nothing is actually being achieved.

This like being in you car with your foot flat on the accelerator and with the handbrake on.

You will go home from work feeling physically, mentally & emotionally exhausted.

If you are switched into this adrenaline cycle for too long your health will suffer greatly, and can lead to fatigue, malnutrition, nervousness & eventually a nervous breakdown.

This is what happens to our body when adrenaline is activated for fight or flight:-

• Adrenaline hormones are released into to the bloodstream
• Blood is redirected away from the stomach & large intestines & the immune system and sent to large muscle groups.
• The conversion of glycogen & glucose is increased which provides energy to muscles
• Adrenalin increases the strength and rate of the heartbeat and raises the blood pressure.
• The heart and breathing rate increase to cope with the demands.

Effects of long-term stress on our body, mind & emotions

• Constant muscle tension & elevated heart rate quickly burns up personal energy and nutritional resources. You start to suffer from chronic fatigue.
• During the periods of fatigue a person may typically lack the energy to perform most of their desired daily activities.
• The stress response shuts down the digestive system, immune system & peripheral circulation you can suffer from malnutrition be more prone to illness & suffer premature ageing.
• Because the blood supply is directed away from the stomach & intestines, even if you are eating well you are not actually absorbing your food properly. The body concentrates on sugars & carbohydrates as these are absorbed the easiest with minimum amount of digestion. This is why you crave sweet things more when you are stressed. If you are really stressedyou may lose your appetite altogether.

• The immune system is weakened and the person is more prone to illness. In times of deep stress the immune system may even attack healthy cells & parts of the body.
• Trigger points can be activated this is certain places in the body where people concentrate their tension. For instance the back & neck. This causes strain & fatigue on those muscles & makes them weaker with time. In today’s lifestyle this is more often than not unavoidable, but unless it is treated regularly this place becomes an area of weakness, pain and aggravation.
• People under stress are more likely to age more quickly as the blood is drawn away from the skin & other body organs, so this deprives them of nutrients to repair & regenerate
• Because your senses are kept on high alert they will become fatigued and you may experience strange sensations of sights, sounds, smell & touch.
• Adrenaline produces more toxins & impurities but as we are not usually taking action then these stay stagnant in the body, that is why exercise is important to help remove these toxins.
• Your sex drive will also be affected

• Your mind becomes fatigued from being in a constantly alert state. Plus with the added affects of malnutrition & sleep deprivation you will find it hard to concentrate. You can be absent-minded & make mistakes.
• You constantly worry because the mind concentrates on your fears.
• The more you try to concentrate, the more confused you feel, along with malnutrition, exhaustion, you become more anxious so pumping more adrenaline to the body. 
• Your sleep is restless & you will also suffer from sleep deprivation

• Adrenaline is strongly mood altering. When the adrenaline cycle is switched on you express the negative emotions of fight or flight. This is an unhappy state of mind, of feeling fearful & threatened.
• Your emotions will be in a mess as you are suffering from exhaustion. You will be unable to express loving emotions as your mind is riddled with fear, anger, aggression, hostility and nervousness. This makes it very difficult for other people around you.
• You can feel detached from reality as if you were observing & not participating in life. Lack feeling & attachment from family & friends.
• Many people often resort to addictions to escape or relieve their unhappiness.

The way to deal with is to accept the feelings that the adrenaline creates. Understand that it is your natural reaction. If you have fear & anxiety your mind will naturally focus on it.

This is a natural response to protect you, so that you don’t forget about the threat or danger until it is dealt with & you feel safe. Because of a lack of understanding on how the mind works, people get trapped here – focusing continually on anxiety they pump adrenaline into their system & create a vicious circle. In certain situations this can lead to phobias.

The body doesn’t get a chance to rest – learning to relax deeply on a regular basis is the answer to this.

The affect our thoughts have on us

Our brain controls everything in our lives, it is a like a computer. The brain sends messages through the nervous system, via the spine to every muscle in our body.

We cannot move, hold up our hand, breathe, digest food & so many voluntary & involuntary movements that we don’t even think about on daily basis, and they are all controlled from the mind.

As previously mentioned the subconscious cannot differentiate between what are real & imaginary thoughts.

All thoughts are transferred to every cell of your body so any self-negative thinking is extremely detrimental to our health & happiness. We CAN choose our thoughts, though it will take a conscious effort to start with as we are undoing something that we may have unknowingly done for years!

I cannot express enough how important positive Self-talk is. What you say to yourself & others shapes your life. The way you talk to yourself switches on or off your personal energy. It has a huge bearing on how happy & successful your life is.

 There is a famous saying if you say you can or if you say you cant – you are usually right.

If you say ‘I can’t’  – the body shuts down and takes that as an instruction.

If you say ‘I can, I will try’   – the body gears itself up to putting all of its energy into trying its best to succeed.

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