Chronic Stress May Result In Physical and Psychological Overload

Chronic stress can result in such overload that something has to give.

It is known, for example, that certain diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, peptic ulcer disease and cardiac disease can worsen with chronic stress.

While it is not clear that stress causes these diseases, it is clear that these and probably many other illnesses are influenced by stress.

Many people suffer the negative effects of stress, not realizing that people who admit to having problems with stress are not weak, helpless, or suffering from a hopeless disease.

There are fallacies and myths surrounding stress. Let’s examine a few of these of these.

Myth No. 1 — Stress only affects weak people, unsuccessful people, or people who just don’t have control of their lives.

Stress management practitioners find just the opposite to be true.

Hard-driving, competitive, over-achieving people who have accumulated many material possessions and honors are frequently suffering from a great deal of stress-related problems.

Driven people may be suffering from issues related to their high need for control, and they want every situation under their thumb. Unplanned change and uncertainty can cause them difficulty.

They frequently do, in fact, achieve a great deal of control in their lives, but their obsessive need for more control leads to problems with stress.

Myth No. 2 — The effects of stress generally appear immediately.

Contrary to this myth, findings indicate that people experience a delayed reaction. Many migraine headache sufferers say headaches occur primarily on weekends and seem to disappear during work days.

They are often not aware that their mind and body are simply pushing through the stressful situation, only to let down after it is all over.

Myth No. 3 — Changing our circumstances, such as living conditions, job or marital status, will make stress go away.

Part of this fallacy lies in the fact that it is our perception of the negative consequences of a situation that causes stress, not the event itself. Improvement can come through reinterpreting our assumptions and attitudes about our lives so we experience less stress in the same circumstances.

Understanding more about stress and its debilitating effects can be helpful to a healthy lifestyle.

During the years, I have written a lot about this topic. These essays can be viewed on my website at www.haplecrone.com.