Stress is a very familiar concept. Walking through life is like walking through countless stress traps. Caring Nurses Services’ home care agency in Edgewood MD talks more about stress and what it can do to your health.
What is stress? It is all of the day-to-day, week-to-week problems and difficulties we have to face. It is the angry boss, the aggressive driver, the rude salesperson, the pressing deadline, the stupid helpdesk and the line that never moves in the supermarket. It is the endless list of things we have to do.
We all have this in our lives, so why is it that some people let themselves get really stressed and frustrated and angry – and make themselves really ill – while others seem to take it all in their stride: They’re cool, they’re relaxed, they just handle it. Nothing seems to stress them.
Stress is the combination of events that challenge us psychologically and physiologically. And because we sometimes respond well, coping and even thriving under the pressure, while at other times our response is to get ‘stressed out,’ it is clearly not the stress that does the damage; it’s our response to it.
We humans have evolved our stress responses to deal with very real threats from things like large predators. Whenever your brain detects stress, it responds in just the same way as your ancestors. Somewhere between 20 and 30 different stress hormones are released into your bloodstream, and together they have a massive impact on you. Your natural response to stress comes from the effect of these hormones.
Your senses become more acute, your breathing becomes faster and shallower, your pulse rate shoots up and your muscles get tense, ready to spring into action. You sweat, you become anxious…you want to run away!
And at the same time as this part of your nervous system – called your sympathetic nervous system – jumps into overload, your body shuts down the other part, the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the part responsible for immunity, repair, digestion, sleep regulation and sexual function.
So, as if it isn’t bad enough that when we are stressed, we tense up, we sweat and our hearts race, we also lose our appetite, can’t sleep, and lose our sex drive – and we break out in blemishes!
Sounds familiar, huh? Stress is not itself a bad thing; what is bad for you is to carry over this response from one day to the next.
We consider it a privilege to assist you in caring for your loved one at home. Caring Nurses Services’ has a commitment to providing quality healthcare to those who need it. We offer comprehensive services at reasonable and competitive prices from our home care agency in Edgewood MD.
Do you agree with us? How stressed are you today? For more information on our services, please call Caring Nurses Services’ home care agency in Edgewood MD at 410-676-2222.
