Is Stress Killing You?
“A critical shift in medicine has been the recognition that many of the damaging diseases of slow accumulation can either be caused or made far worse by stress,” writes Robert M. Sapolsky, author of the critically acclaimed Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers. “Stress can wreak havoc with your metabolism, raise your blood pressure, burst your white blood cells, make you flatulent, ruin your sex life, and if that’s not enough, possibly damage your brain.” Stress causes the production of interleukin 6, a chemical which creates inflammation in the body. Studies have associated IL-6 with several diseases, including heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, type-2 diabetes and certain cancers.
We’ve been talking about it for years, doctors are acknowledging the impact on our health and still, as a society we commonly accept unhealthy levels of stress. Besides dismissing it (I’m just stressed) like it’s no big deal, we compete with others about who is more stressed.
In the clinic, the large majority of our clients, whether coming in for either physical or emotional issues, will report that they feel stressed. In fact, when Gail treats with Neuromodulation Technique (using muscle testing and response), the body most often tells him that stress is the priority treatment.
In any moment, stress is intangible and non-descript. Unlike a headache or an allergy attack, we can’t directly define the ailment of stress or take a pill for it. Until we end up with resulting symptoms that cripple us, we ignore it. Even as we feel it building, we make excuses (such as not enough time or money), to not treat or even acknowledge it.
The longer we postpone managing or diminishing stress, the more impact it has on the body, which ultimately means the longer you wait to seek help, the harder it becomes to reverse the effects.