What are the long term effects of negative stress?

Negative stress is stress that a person feels they cannot handle. If they have been feeling this stress for a long time their body it can have many serious consequences.

* Obesity: Chronic stress-hormone induced physical changes can also increase people's appetite, causing them to gain weight and potentially, to become obese. Obesity puts individuals at risk for developing other health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, strokes, and arthritis. Chronic stress may also alternatively cause people to lose their appetite and to lose too much weight.

* Digestive: The stress hormones that slow the release of stomach acid and the emptying of the stomach (in preparation for the flight or fight response) also stimulate the colon so as to quickly empty the digestive system. This process can enhance a person's vulnerability to developing Crohn's disease, which is an ongoing inflammation of the membrane lining the colon (the large intestine or bowel).

* Cardiac: Chronic activation of stress hormones can raise your heart rate, cause chest pain and/or heart palpitations (sensations that your heart is pounding or racing), and increase your blood pressure and blood lipid (fat) levels. Sustained high levels of cholesterol and other fatty substances in the blood can lead to atherosclerosis, a disease in which fatty plaques build up on blood vessel walls, restrict blood flow to the heart and sometimes lead to a heart attack.

* Msucular-skeletal: Stress often causes muscles to contract or tighten. Over time, sustained stress can cause aches and pains to occur due to muscle tension. Many people experience muscle spasms in their neck and shoulders as well as their lower back. Stress can also cause (or exacerbate) muscular twitches and uncontrolled movement (tics); headaches due to muscle tension; migraines (headaches due to changes in nerves and blood vessels that can cause severe pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound).

* Skin: Stress worsens many skin conditions - such as psoriasis, eczema, hives and acne. Stress can also contribute to hair loss and some forms of balding; mouth ulcers; asthma attacks; and an increased risk for having strokes (due to decreased heart health).

* Cancer: Lastly scientists are also exploring the role of stress in creating vulnerability to cancer.

[Excerpted from www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.p ...]

The long term effects can be grouped under three outcomes. These outcomes are not mutually exclusive:
- anxiety or depressive disorder
- heart disease and stroke
- weight (gain and loss)

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