cause and effect essay about stress impact on health

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The Effects of Stress on Human Health

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Words: 661 |

Published: Jan 30, 2024

Words: 661 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, physical effects of stress on human health, psychological effects of stress on human health, behavioral effects of stress on human health.

• Elevated blood pressure and heart rate
• Heart-related complications (heart attacks, strokes)
• Increased vulnerability to infections
• Slower recovery from illnesses
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• Chronic stomachaches and acid reflux
• Excessive worrying and restlessness
• Loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities
• Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep
• Exhaustion and daytime drowsiness
• Memory difficulties
• Reduced ability to concentrate and make decisions
• Alcohol and drug dependency
• Escaping reality and temporary relief
• Emotional eating and weight gain
• Social withdrawal and isolation
• Relationship conflicts
• Road rage incidents
• American Heart Association. (2018, April 4). Stress and Heart Health. American Heart Association. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/stress-and-heart-health
• Bressert, S. (2020, September 7). The Physical Effects of Long-Term Stress. Psych Central. https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-physical-effects-of-long-term-stress/
• Harvard Health Publishing. (2018, April 17). The Gut-Brain Connection. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/the-gut-brain-connection
• National Institute of Mental Health. (2019, February). Anxiety Disorders. National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/anxiety-disorders/index.shtml
• National Sleep Foundation. (n.d.). Stress and Insomnia. National Sleep Foundation. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/insomnia/stress-and-insomnia
• Sinha, R. (2018, October). Chronic Stress, Drug Use, and Vulnerability to Addiction. National Institute on Drug Abuse. https://www.drugabuse.gov/news-events/nida-notes/2018/10/chronic-stress-drug-use-vulnerability-to-addiction
• Stress and Sleep. (n.d.). Sleep Education. https://www.sleepeducation.org/sleep-topics/stress-and-sleep

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Effects of Stress on Human Health

Introduction, stress and health.

Stress has an adverse effect on human health; it leads to numerous health complications if not effectively managed. When stressed, people risk suffering from stress-related complications. According to Ciccarelli & White, 2012, health can broadly be divided as physical health (free of diseases) and psychological health (being able to make sound decisions).

When under stress, an individual’s decision making capacity is hampered making the person psychologically unhealthy (Ciccarelli & White, 2012). This paper discusses the relationship between stress and human health.

There are numerous theories and researches on stress and health, they all agree that stress has an adverse effect on human health; the statement goes “a stressed man is an unhealthy man”. Although human life cannot be free of stress, it becomes unmanaged stress which causes havoc to human body and mind . According to psychologists, human body is “wired’’ to communicate with the state of the mind; the communication is meant to protect threats against predators and other aggressors.

The statements predators and other aggressors used to mean life threatening activities or actions which include meeting deadlines, fighting back, reacting to a certain situation, or making life challenging decisions. The challenge facing human kind is failing to understand the right way to manage stress; in most cases the activities they engage in lead to more stress (Ciccarelli & White, 2012).

When someone is stressed for a long period, he or she exposes his body to uncontrolled brain cortisol and other stress managing hormones, which in turn can result in health complications like eczema, obesity, depression, digestive problems, sleeping challenges, and heart diseases.

Human state of mind determines the kind of life decisions they make; in the event that someone is stressed, his or her mind will be hampered from making sound and reliable decision as their mind, soul, and body are not at peace with each other. Some day-to-day health feelings like fatigue, headaches, and boredom can be attributed to the state of the mind; state of the mind is unhealthy with stress.

Stress affects human body, thoughts and feelings, when the above have been affected, then the behaviors and to some extent the personality of an affected person change. When unchecked, stress results in health complications like high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes (Ciccarelli & White, 2012).

According to Ciccarelli & White, 2012, the human body responds differently to stress; some people are likely to show fast heath deterioration when stressed while others are likely to have slowed health complications. What remain constant is that prolonged stress without proper management will have a negative effect on human health.

Stressed people need to enroll in stress management classes/lessons where they can be trained on basic methods of preventing and managing stress. In the event that an individual is suffering from a certain ailment, and then happens to be stressed, the recovery rate of such an individual is low. There is much connection between the rate of recovery from health complication and stress that the patient has (Ciccarelli & White, 2012).

Stress is a common occurrence in human beings; well-managed stress is of benefit to human beings as it assists when making decisions. However when stress is not managed effectively, it has an adverse effect on human health. Some complications related with ineffective stress management include depression, heart diseases, and diabetes.

Ciccarelli, S. K., & White, J. N. (2012). Psychology. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

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IvyPanda. (2018, October 17). Effects of Stress on Human Health. https://ivypanda.com/essays/stress-and-health/

"Effects of Stress on Human Health." IvyPanda , 17 Oct. 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/stress-and-health/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'Effects of Stress on Human Health'. 17 October.

IvyPanda . 2018. "Effects of Stress on Human Health." October 17, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/stress-and-health/.

1. IvyPanda . "Effects of Stress on Human Health." October 17, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/stress-and-health/.

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Effects of Stress on Health, Essay Example

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The editors of the Harvard Health letter maintain that there is evidence that individuals who are chronically stressed possess an increased risk of cancer and heart disease.  Although concrete evidence may not be available to substantiate this claim, other researchers and medical professionals continue to argue that the negative effects of stress are quite harmful on the human body.  “Stress is known to significantly alter one’s health, affecting such areas as immune function, heart disease, and susceptibility to cancer” (“Effects of Stress”, 2009, p. 9).  It is clear that stress can dangerously lower the immune system and force the body to be ill equipped to defend itself against harmful disease-causing agents.  Furthermore, research also shows that “stress decreases uterine receptivity by a pathway that is independent of the ovary in infertile women, state researchers in Japan” (“Effects of Stress”, 2009, p. 9).  In other words, it has been proven that stress can make women infertile or at least make the process of conceiving a child much more difficult than in ideal circumstances.  These negative health effects caused directly or indirectly by stress are clear examples that stress does harm the health of human beings each and every day.

However, a study by Coventry et al. (2009) showed marked results that the addition of stress had no negative or positive impact in males or females upon contracting cases of depression (p. 487).  This could be a case to support the claims of author Christopher Caldwell who argues that no one including doctors, can come to an agreement on what stress is, so stress can not be blamed as the cause of disease.  On the other hand, this is a separate case study designed only to examine the impact that stress has on contracting, maintaining and advancing cases of depression.  The case does not support that stress is not a causal agent for other health defects including those mentioned above such as chronic heart disease, immune deficiency and cancer.

I believe that stress is a definite causal factor for health problems in everyday life.  We live a hectic lifestyle that forces many people to get little sleep and have heightened stressful experiences.  I have had a case on Mono and brief period of back spasms that the doctors always told me were caused directly by stress.  When stress increases, I get tired and sometimes even exhausted.  Exhaustion reduces the immune system and can allow for harmful bacteria and viruses to enter the body and cause great damage.  Sometimes people with healthier immune systems are more likely to not experience these effects rather than people with unhealthier lifestyles that reduce the immune system.  Nobody can tell for sure when someone will become ill due to stress; however, it is clear that under the right circumstances stress can cause much damage to the human body.

To avoid stress, I do whatever I can to try to have a healthy outlet for any stress that I experience in everyday life.  For instance, I try to work out at least three times a week.  I know that we are supposed to work out more than that, but with a busy lifestyle it is difficult to fit exercise in each day.  Nevertheless, exercise is a great productive outlet for stress that reduces the stress levels significantly and keeps the body healthy, which also keeps the immune system strong.  I also make it a point to resolve any issues that I experience in my life as much as possible.  When people have stressful issues in their lives that go unresolved, it can continue to increase the stress levels and be very unhealthy.  If I have arguments with friends or feel disrespected, I try to have a constructive conversation to resolve any problems and keep my stress levels low.  This is great when I do not have to constantly worry about situations and problems in my life.  We have enough to worry about; I would much rather not become a victim of stress because of a hectic lifestyle and increased stress levels due to my own inaction.

(2009). Effects of Stress. Fertility Weekly , 9. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

(2009). Stress Adds to Overweight Worries. Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter , 27 (8), 8. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

Coventry, W., Medland, S., Wray, N., Thorsteinsson, E., Heath, A., & Byrne, B. (2009). Phenotypic and Discordant-Monozygotic Analyses of Stress and Perceived Social Support as Antecedents to or Sequelae of Risk for Depression. Twin Research & Human Genetics , 12 (5), 469-488. doi:10.1375/twin.12.5.469.

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