There is a lot of science and research, which is now proving that stress can make you ill at a physical level.
First of all, stress makes you stupid. Research has shown that stress hormones shrink the part of the brain that makes conscious decision. It triggers mindless autopilot habits rather than thoughtful action and has been shown to change the brain.
In earlier articles we’ve talked about the three-stage response: alarm, resistance and exhaustion which lowers our immune system. We are automatically at more risk of illness because our defences are down. The immune system is being bathed in cortisol, which is essentially telling it to stop fighting. Raising blood pressure also decreases the immunes system and there is an increased strain on the circulatory system due to increased heart rate.
Cortisol itself, the stress hormone, is closely linked to weight gain. There are two types of fat storage (the energy in fat we don’t use). One is subcutaneous (under the skin), the type of fat we all need to keep us warm. The other is around our organs; visceral fat, the type we don’t want or need. Cortisol can mobilise what’s called triglycerides from storage and relocate them to visceral fat cells. It’s is a complicated process as there’s biochemical and enzyme processes at a cellular level but the fact is, cortisol helps the storage of bad fat. The second way in which cortisol maybe involved in weight gain is because it inhibits insulin production. Consistently high blood glucose levels along with insulin suppression lead to cells that are starved of glucose. Those cells are crying out for energy and one way to regulate is to send hunger signals to the brain. Studies have demonstrated a direct association between cortisol levels and calorie intake in populations of women.
In a study at the university of Toronto, Dr Linda Mah has said “Pathological anxiety and chronic stress are associated with structural degeneration and impaired functioning of the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex, which may account to increased risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders including depression and dementia”.
I’m not a doctor or diagnostician, but all the research points in the same direction. Long term chronic stress will cause illness. In short, stress chemicals produced by the body are harmful in large and constant quantities.
