Hello Steemains. Welcome. Because, perhaps, due to the nature of today's world, majority of what we do these days — our occupations and general life obligations — involve a great deal of stress, I will want us to look at stress and how it affects the various biochemical processes going on in your body. What is stress? Is stress healthy for man?

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One thing that is undeniable is everyone experiences stress every now and then. Without stress, body cannot be readied for danger. It is a naturally induced physical and mental reaction to life experiences. Life experiences can be anything; may be your living in a city which is about to be invaded by a foreign forces during a wartime.

That is a life experience and the news alone is capable of triggering a great deal of stress. Same as the news of the death of a loved one. The stress responses resulting from these stimuli were naturally designed to protect the body during emergency situations, making you to react quickly in defense of yourself via "fight or flight" response.

Hence, for immediate short term situations, stress helpful or beneficial to health because it enables us to fight off or flee from dangerous situations. This is possible because hypothalamus of the brain signals the sequence of biochemical processes leading to the release of stress hormones, which finally prepares the body to face such emergency. However, when there is no rest period for stress response for a long period, it could be detrimental to health. Symptoms of stress includes: insomnia, anxiety, headaches, depression, irritability, etc.

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Effects of stress on central nervous system & endocrine system

The central nervous system is responsible for "fight or flight" responses of the body to stimuli of any type. When there is an emergency situation, the part of brain called hypothalamus signals adrenal glands to release body's stress hormones adrenalin and cortisol, which then quicken the rate of heartbeat. Under increased heartbeat, blood is rushed to important organs and other areas of the body such as muscles, etc where it is most needed.

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This makes the muscles to contract or extend in defense of the individual against the emergency. When the danger or stimulus is no more, hypothalamus also orders the glands to stop releasing stress hormones, making everything to return to normal. If this is not the case, the situation remains the same and could be potentially dangerous to health. Social withdrawal, drug & alcohol abuse, overreacting to issues and not eating enough are few examples of conditions that can be triggered off by chronic stress.

Effects of stress on respiratory system

Depending on individuals and prevailing situations, stress can affects the way we breathe and can actually be harmful when the individual is asthmatic. Generally, under stress situations, we breathe harder and faster too because our muscles and heart need more oxygen to respond to situations and repair dead cells. This is not much of a problem for healthy individuals. But for individuals having asthma or emphysema, getting the oxygen to sustain metabolic processes under tensed situations can be a daunting task and potentially harmful.

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Some studies have shown that such acute stress as the death of loved one can cause asthmatic attack by causing sudden constriction of airway that connects the nose and the lungs. In people who are open to panic attack, stress can lead to hyperventilation otherwise called rapid breathing which can in turn result to panic attack.

...to be continued in Part II; thanks....

References for further reading

• Stress effects on the body
• The effects of stress on your body
• 3 ways stress affects your body & how to stop it immediately

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