|
Chronic stress is, simply put, stress that lingers for longer than necessary. It is stress that persists. That definition is important because 'normal' stress is supposed to be very transient. Stress is not supposed to linger for too long. Neither is stress supposed to become permanent. It is worth pointing out, contrary to what many of us imagine, that stress (ordinary, transient stress) is not an illness. It is a normal part of being human. If you don't experience any stress in situations that would ordinarily be expected to cause stress, then you would be abnormal in some way. You would probably be a zombie. So the experience of ordinary stress is not bad. It is when stress become permanent, persistent (or more precisely, chronic) that it qualifies to be seen as a problem, calling for intervention. Now in order to understand how such chronic stress (which we have seen to be a problem calling for intervention) manifests, it would be important for us to appreciate the fact that when our bodies are subjected to stress, they react by effecting several physical and mental changes. To get to this point, we would have to appreciate the fact that the things which stress us are things that we perceive as threats to our wellbeing. It could be our physical wellbeing that is being threatened by the stressors. Or it could be our emotional well being that is being threatened by the stressors. In either case, we have been naturally conditioned, quite sensibly, to either flee or fight the said threats which cause us stress. To that end, the moment our bodies or minds become stressed (that is, whenever they perceive a threat), they release a series of hormones - like adrenaline and cortisol, which are supposed to prime us to flee or fight the threat in question. The said hormones in turn cause several physical and psychological changes in our bodies. Our blood pressure, our blood sugar levels, our ventilation rates and so on change, as our bodies prepare to fight or flee from the threat. Psychologically, we see our concentration changing (as we change the focus of the mind from anything else that is irrelevant to the 'flight or fight' before us, and devote our minds wholly on the same). The parts of our minds that connect us to memory are shut off, as all focus comes to the moment, so that we can fight or flee from the threat before us whole-mindedly. But as mentioned earlier these things are supposed to be transient. In chronic stress sufferers, however, the said changes end up becoming permanent. The blood pressure is perpetually elevated. The blood sugar levels are perpetually elevated (to give us the energy to flee or fight the ever-present 'threats'). The heartbeat and ventilation are perpetually geared up. Our concentration and memory suffers. We experience concentration and memory lapses, as we bring our minds to the moment to fight the ever-present threats. The end result is where serious illnesses related to all the above manifestations are witnessed. Due to persistently heightened blood pressure, we start experiencing things like throbbing headaches. We could eventually end up suffering from hypertension, and related complications such as strokes. Due to persistently heightened blood sugar levels, our bodies mechanism for blood sugar control could end up being impaired (since our bodies are very adaptive), leading to what are, for all purposes and intents, diabetic symptoms. Due to persistent concentration and memory disruptions, we could end up with chronic concentration and memory problems which now become our 'norm.' Clearly then, chronic stress can lead to some very serious conditions and could very possibly shorten our lives. That means that chronic stress is not to be taken lightly. The stressors causing it should be identified, and wherever possible, eliminated from our lives. Where they can't be eliminated, coaching aimed at making them to be perceived as less threatening should be initiated, so that whenever we encounter them (the said stressors), we don't react through the fight or flight mechanism which is what brings about the said adverse manifestations of chronic stress.
Know more about chronic stress at http://www.squidoo.com/chronic-stress-guide
|
