STRESS & YOUR HEALTH

Short-term stress such as an employment interview can motivate us to perform at our best. On the other hand, long-term stress such as caring for an elderly relative or marital conflict can increase your risk for illness. Good coping skills can reduce your risk for depression, anxiety, and chronic illness, and increase your emotional wellbeing. 

Stress has been linked to a variety of health problems including anxiety, arthritis, depression, diabetes, headaches, heart problems, infertility, irritable bowel syndrome, pain, premenstrual symptoms, and sleep problems. Follow the links to specific subjects for more information about aspects of health that may be affected by stress.

COMMON WARNING SIGNS OF STRESS

Stress causes a variety of symptoms. Among the possible physical symptoms of stress are muscle pain and tension, gastrointestinal upset, heart palpitations, and fatigue. 

Cognitive symptoms include worry, indecision, poor concentration, and lack of interest and enjoyment in activities that are usually pleasurable. 

Behaviours that may be induced by stress include withdrawing from your family and friends, increasing the use of substances such as alcohol or prescription drugs, increasing your consumption of high fat foods and carbohydrates, and finding that you have difficulty in finishing routine tasks.

COPING ABILITY

How you cope with stress is determined by several things including your genetic makeup, how you learned to cope during your development, and your existing resources for coping. The good news is that if you presently have difficulty in coping with particular sources of stress, you can learn new coping skills that will help you build resilience to stress in the future.