STRESS KILLS??

I believe stress is a major factor in our health if we aren't calm and in sync then our bodies aren't either. I have never been sick because of stress that I know of, I don't know if I would have realized the connection though. Sometimes you just think you're run down and get sick but maybe it is a stress thing.

All studies point out to the fact that Stress is the cause of majority of illnesses. It has been established mental stress has direct relation to your bowels. Mental stress can cause your bowels to function erratically. I suffered intestinal disorders when I was passing through a difficult period in my life. And when it was all over, my bowels became normal. Stress can cause palpitation, skin diseases etc. That is why all the physician nowadays advice us to de-stress. When a string is stretched and stressed more and more it will eventually break. That would happen to humans also. Stress related to ones career, employment, finance and a lot of other things can be detrimental.

I am currently on stress leave from my job. And yes, I had physical symptoms such as severe headaches, stomach upset to the point I couldn't eat, and anxiety attacks where I thought I was having a heart attack. My doctor did many tests and ruled all of it as stress induced. Aside from the stess I was apparently perfectly healthy. He told me to quit my job before it killed me. Good question!

All of us have a natural response to stress... it's called the "Fight or Flight Mechanisms"... effectively, when you're feeling stress, your body pumps more blood, oxygen, and even adrenaline into your system to get ready to flee or fight whatever is bothering you. Problem is, in today's world, it's unlikely you'll be running from or trying to clobber a ravenous Tyranosaurus Rex anytime soon... in fact, it's more likely you will NOT act by either fighting or fleeing... so it's wasted... and stored... This causes a couple of problems... the heart is pumping harder, but the oxygenated blood is being used, so the heart muscle increases in size... the lungs also overwork... and the muscles can "cramp" as they are ready to "spring" and yet, do nothing... Overall, this leads to headaches, muscle aches and spasms... and if the adrenaline is NOT used ever, welcome to the wonderful world of the panic attack... which FEELS like a heart attack... trouble breating, heart palpatating, sweating... basically, a sudden (and often inconvenient and no, you won't know when it's coming) nasty feeling... that yes, sends many to the hospital THINKING they're having a heart attack. ...of course, all this DOES increase heart rate and therefore blood pressure... and yes, it CAN and WILL have lasting affects. Extreme stress will produce headaches, muscle cramps and spasms, hyper tension (high blood pressure) and some really not-fun digestive issues. Can you "die" from stress... not really... but you CAN die from stress related ailments. Does this help?