Medically, it has been
established that chronic symptoms of anxiety and stress can crumble our body's
immune system. Irrespective of the nature of the causes of stress—real or
perceived—our subconscious mind reacts with the same body response by releasing
stress hormones equal to the degree of our fear, worry or sense of threat. It
brings about changes in the body's biochemical state with extra epinephrine and
other adrenal steroids such as hydrocortisone in the bloodstream. It also
induces increased palpitation and blood pressure in the body with mental
manifestations such as anger, fear, worry or aggression. In short, stress
creates anomalies in our body's homeostasis. When the extra chemicals in our
bloodstream don't get used up or the stress situation persists, it makes our
body prone to mental and physical illnesses.
For example, imagine a secretary
in an office. Her boss comes in, angry and furious. He starts blasting the
secretary for no apparent reasons. Now, her activated adrenaline cycle would
tell her to flee or fight. Her senses become acute, muscles tighten, heartbeats
and blood pressure increase and brain activity speeds up. She would probably
like to walk out or alternatively, turn around and punch him in the face. But
she does neither, for to do so might mean losing her job. So what follows? She
burns up a lot of her body energy without achieving anything. At the end of the
day she would be left mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted—classic
symptoms of anxiety and stress. It can happen to anybody from a high profile
businessman to a student, an executive or a homemaker. All are burning out
their energies to defend themselves from their real or perceived causes of
stress.
New medical research has established
that prenatal stress could significantly influence development of the brain and
organization of behavior in fetus.
Researchers explain that because
stress affects many of the body's systems— nervous, cardiovascular, endocrine
and immune— there is good reason to believe that severe emotional stress could
cause defects in the fetus, especially during the first trimester of pregnancy
when development occurs at the fastest rate.
In women who are exposed to
severe stress and anxiety, this effect is caused by reduced blood flow through
the arteries that feed the uterus. Usually, the cranial nerve crest, a
structure of cells that is thought to contribute to the development of the head
and face in a fetus, gets affected.
According to Dr Vivette Glover,
research head of a study linking obstetrics, pediatrics, psychology and
psychiatry, experiment on animals shows that maternal, fetal, or neonatal
experience can set the stress responses of the developing offspring for life.
If true, in human beings this could predispose children to have behavioral
problems, such as hyperactivity, or cause them to suffer from depression in
later life.
Aging is a natural and gradual
process, except under extreme circumstances such as stress or grief. The
constant stressors or stress conditions result in a loss in neural and hormonal
balance. This loss of balance will cause increased oxidative damage
accelerating aging in our body. That's because, chronic disturbances in body
homeostasis ultimately affect our hormone secreting glands, cell repair and
collagen in our skin and connecting tissues. Immune and neural degenerative
diseases prevent this otherwise inevitable process from following the normal
and healthy course of events.
Recent research results suggest
that long-term exposure to adrenal stress hormones may boost brain aging in
later life.
Scientists at the University of Kentucky Lexington
The level of hormone released
apparently affects the total volume of the brain's hippocampus—a major source
of recall and memory function, in later life. Researchers found those with high
levels of hormone release, had a hippocampus volume 14 per cent less than those
with lower levels.
The study results suggest that,
"chronic stress may accelerate hippocampal deterioration" leading to
accelerated physical and brain aging.
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