The relationship between stress and illness
Introduction
Although sometimes stress is not the sole factor that leads to disease, the stress factor is a major one in development of various illnesses. Many times individuals link their emotional well being with physical well being. Emotional conditions such as stress are speculated to have an effect on the health outcomes as some people will tell. As such, it is pertinent to explore whether and how stress can cause illnesses i.e. how stress affects a persons health. Stress affects the physical well being of an individual as it has the potential to lead to cardiovascular diseases, headaches, and asthma among other illnesses (Elliot School, nd). The impact of stress on human health may be best illustrated by the many stress-related visits Americans have. It is for instance estimated that stress-related illnesses contribute about 80 percent of all the doctor visits in the U.S. with stress making a contribution of fifty percent of all the illnesses encountered in the U.S (Weber, 2010). This paper presents the link between stress and illnesses by providing several examples of illnesses that are related to stress. Research findings are presented to support all the arguments.
Stress
Stress is an everyday component of life. Despues (1999, para 2), defines stress as a process in which environmental demands strain an organisms adaptive capacity resulting in both psychological as well as biological changes that could place a person at risk for illness. Stress can arise from a variety of stressors among them being natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, daily experiences of life as well as family related issues among others. Despues (1999) argues that, the magnitude of stress usually depends on how important the personal goal that is interfered with by the stressor is. As such, interference with more important goals leads to more stress experience. It is important to note that every person experiences stress despite the magnitude and the frequency of stress. Stress is not always a bad experience since many times stress has been associated with helping individuals adapt to various conditions. It is however harmful to experience chronic stress.
Effects of stress on the body
The biological effect of stress varies with the magnitude of stress. However, the body generally responds to stress via a fight or flight response. The parasympathetic and the sympathetic nervous system are important components of the autonomic nervous system whose interrelationship is significant during stress. The parasympathetic system functions reciprocally to the body state following emotional activation of the sympathetic system.
The parasympathetic system is a calmer of the sympathetic system which controls the fight or flight reaction. Following a stressful trigger, the sympathetic system responds by causing the release of adrenaline and cortisol among other hormones in preparation for the fight or fight response. Heart beat increases to supply blood and glucose to the muscles. In addition, blood pressure rises as the bronchi dilates such that breathing rates goes up to provide sufficient oxygen. In readiness for action, the sympathetic system also ensures that the pupils are dilated such that more light enters the eyes thus ensuring increased acuity. Moreover, the body begins to sweat. Since the above reactions are the most urgent at the stressful time, the sympathetic system lessens some less important functions like digestion to allow for the most important functions to utilize available energy (Caroll, 2001).
The above responses as mediated by the sympathetic system require to be brought back into normalcy after the fight or flight response has taken place. It is at this point that the parasympathetic system comes in to initiate opposite responses. The parasympathetic system causes muscle relaxation, normalized heart rate and blood pressure as well as normal breathing rate. Digestion goes back to normal as the pupils constrict (Caroll, 2001).
When does stress become harmful
It is no doubt from the above fight or flight reaction that stress can be beneficial. Nevertheless, stress becomes harmful if the parasympathetic is unable to restore normalcy to the triggered body systems. This usually happens if an individual is exposed to chronic stress such that the biological stress response system remains alert and the body becomes exhausted. Chronic stress emanates from many episodes of acute stress or prolonged presence of a stressor. Looking at the fight or flight response, it is evident that uncorrected action of the sympathetic system means that some of the vital biological process such as digestion remains halted. In addition, muscles remain tightened as the pupils of the eyes remain dilated. Consequently, an individual is prone to developing tension and pain of the muscles.
Tightening of the muscles of the head may for instance lead to headache while muscles in general become fatigued. Stomach upsets are also common whereas sleeping difficulties may be experienced. Sleeping difficulties arise because stress raises the brainwave activity. Worse about this is that failure to sleep due to stress results to poor stress coping ability. Chronic stress also predisposes an individual to development of infectious illnesses such as cold. This is due to a compromise in the immune functioning since the immune functioning is halted during the fight or flight response. The low immunity means that disease causing organisms can easily gain their way into the body thus causing disease (Weber, 2010).
The above effects of chronic stress occur in the mid-term period. It is however possible to have long-term effects and these are more serious as they are more likely to cause major illnesses, some of which are fatal. The cardiovascular system is among the body systems that are highly affected by chronic stress in the long-term. When a person is under a stressful condition, heart rate and blood pressure increases. Oxygen demand is also raised especially in case of mental stress. Also associated with mental stress is a decrease in the flow of blood to the heart muscle. This is because there is increased vascular resistance whereas the coronary artery constricts. The reduction in blood flow to the heart is a potential factor in leading to blood clotting in the coronary artery. Blood clot in either the vessels supplying the heart or the brain leads to increased blood pressure and eventually a heart attack or stroke. Angina pectoris as well as ischemia are also stress-associated heart conditions (Esch et al, 2002). Macleod et al (2002), found out that prevalence and incidence of angina pectoris increased with increased exposure to stressors among Scottish working men in a prospective study of 21 years of follow up (2.66, 95 CI 1.61 to 4.41P0.001). It is important to note that stress also brings in other factors such as high cholesterol levels and smoking, which exacerbate the likelihood of cardiovascular conditions.
Immune system also suffers a great deal from long-term effects of chronic stress. The bodys defense mechanism is highly suppressed by the production of the fight or flight hormones (epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol). Psychoneuroimmunology has shed much light into role of stress in altering the immune system and subsequent development of disease.
Asthma is associated with stress in that when the immune system is suppressed as a result of catecholamine release, the bronchioles constrict thus exacerbating the asthmatic condition (Razali, 2008). Diabetes mellitus is also likely to develop with stress since the body produces large amounts of insulin leading to excessive release of glucose into the bloodstream. Peptic ulcers are also likely to result due to altered stomach acids during the fight or flight response. Chronic stress is also associated with neuroses in the long-term which may also lead to depression and the schizophrenic condition. It is important to note that even if stress does not cause the psychiatric illnesses, it always exacerbates the psychiatric conditions such as it happens in schizophrenic cases (Better Health Channel, 2008). It has also been identified that stress worsens cancer development since stress-coping mechanism suppresses natural killer cells which have the role of tumor suppression (Reiche, Nunes Morimoto, 2004). Devito (1994), reports that soar throat and flu-like illnesses increase among students as they approach their exams. This is due to the tension and stress associated with exams in some people which results to impaired immune system.
Stress seems to have an effect on the psychological as well as the mental health of an individual. The way a person handle their feelings determines whether they achieve an emotional balance. Being mentally health means that a persons mind can handle the internal and the external environment competently. An individuals personality is therefore recognized as an important determinant into whether stress results into illness. A hardy personality as characterized by being committed to what one is doing, taking control and being ready to be challenged is associated with a stress-buffering effect (Weber, 2010). Among other factors that influence the effect of stress on disease outcome are an individuals genetic predisposition, the coping style of the individual as well as the availability of social support (Razali, 2008).
Conclusion
Stress is an unavoidable experience in life which has both positive and negative effects. While stress may help a person to cope with challenges, sustained stress is a pathway to a number of illnesses including cardiovascular diseases, diseases related to the immune system and worsening of psychiatric illnesses. The way to developing the illnesses begins by exhausting the body due to non-reverses fight or flight response. The many studies that have been carried on the role of stress in various diseases leaves no doubt that stress is a major factor in disease develiopmemt and progression. Despite the role of stress in illness, it is also no doubt that it is not the only factor. Other factors such as personality, coping style and genetic predisposition also determine the role of stress in disease development.
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