I am in a psychology class this semester, and recently we discussed the physical and psychological consequences of stress. Coincidentally I have been having a lot of stress lately, and I can really relate to these consequences.
Stress can affect us physically. My professor (and our book) says stress increases your susceptibility to illness. Stress decreases your body’s immune system by decreasing the number of lymphocytes (white blood cells that attack viruses and bacteria). Therefore, when we get stressed we are more likely to get sick during midterms, finals, and other stressful situations. Who knew? I can relate because as I mentioned in my last post I have not felt well lately –headaches, a lightheaded feeling, etc which is likely a result of the stress I have been under.
Psychological problems can arise from stress such as feeling anxious, out of control, emotionally drained, sad, and depressed. Our psych book gives three ways for coping with stress: 1) practice relaxation techniques such as meditation 2) finding “social support systems” basically caring and helpful friends 3) changing the way you interpret the situation or “stressor.” From my stress these past few weeks I have certainly felt anxious, emotionally drained, and a little down. I said in my last post that I was feeling better because interaction with my friends and family improved my mood. I think these coping methods are very applicable.
Our professor also talked about how having regular exercise and activity really impacts your physical and psychological health. I definitely believe this. When I don’t get to exercise for a few days because I am so busy and stressed my mood is not good. (After awhile I even crave physical activity.) But when I finally do get time to run, swim, or anything active my mood improves so much. It’s almost like this weight has been lifted off my shoulder. This shift in mood has been proven to be true. As my professor puts it when you exercise all the “good stuff” (mood-inducing neurotransmitters) gets released making us feel better. Plus your eating habit also impacts your physical and psychological health. It is important to eat right since our health and diet are linked. I know this to be true. When I am stressed I crave junk food --> I eat junk -->I feel gross --> I don’t have time to exercise -->I feel bad physically because I just ate “bad” food and didn’t exercise --> my mood is not good.
Stress causes a vicious cycle that I tend to get caught up in. It helps to see the cause of my downer moods and sickness. That way I can pay attention to what I eat when I am stressed and I can try extra hard to schedule time for exercise which will hopefully stop the harmful consequences of stress before they start.
3 comments:
I can relate too. I ended up in the hospital on Monday and found out that my heart rate is so high because of my stress level. I've gotten a viral infection, my potassium level is extremely low, and my anemia is acting up again. I recently wrote a post about being sick in college. You might want to read it. I suggest you go to PUSH if you're feeling pretty sick like you said you have been lately. They'll give you a doctors note, and excuse you from class if you just can't make it there. Also, if you could search online for stress relievers and see if those help you. Don't forget to get plenty of sleep and eat well. Those are major factors in feeling sick too. Your health is extremely important during this time.
I can def. relate to what you went through because I can get stressed out very easily! Both my sister and my mom have the same problem also and we are all really bad at dealing with stress! It was interesting when you related stress and getting sick together. Now that I think about it, I do get sick, especially when I am stressed. So that was a great little insight. Thanks!
I completely agree with everything you said. During the time of the 2nd midterm, I was extremely stressed out because of chemistry. The night after I was done with my test, I had a huge headache so I went to sleep. For that day on, I had 4 days of continuous headache and started having fever. I ended up having strep throat for a week. From that week, I've learn to keep up with my studies until the exam week. It was a horrible experience!
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