Laura Ng

Why over-stress is dangerous?

Stress, if left unchecked, slowly weakens our immune system, leaving us vulnerable to infection. Don't underestimate it for it may just kills without warning.

As the world globalised and more interaction between countries take place, so is the level of stress.  This can be supported by a 2005 survey done on over 1,000 managers from Asia, US and Austrialia, which highlighted the fact that more than 50% of the managers are exposed to information overload stress.

They were not optimistic that the circumstance will improve in a short time. And this is not only happening to executives, in fact all humans at any age, will face stress, the only difference is in the level of stress which can be very individualistic.

Technology is not helping as it should. Remember those days when handphones/internet are not so common. Getting out of your workplace and away from telephones and faxes mean we can "escape" from dealing company matters awhile since we are unable to communicate.

Now with handphones, internet and so on, we remain contactable and unless we make it a point not to touch those gadgets, it becomes an invisible pressure to continue responding to those information/people, while we are away.

When we are under stress, the HYPOTHALAMUS which is part of the brain that controls body temperature, hunger and thirst, gets triggered. The next thing HYPOTHALAMUS will do is to instruct the PITUITARY GLANDS to release a hormone chemical ACTH (adrenocorticotrophic hormone) into the bloodstream. This further stimulates the ADRENAL GLAND to secrete more chemicals (eg CORTISOL) that affect various part of our body.

The net results : our bodies become charged on full alert for a fight or flight response ; tense and highly strung. We will feel cold, hot or thirsty suddenly and have a queasy feeling in our stomach.

If our stress is prolonged without control, it can weaken our immune system, causing us to be vulnerable to infection.

This is partly due to the CORTISOL released during stress which kills the good killer cells, MACROPHAGES in our body. MACROPHAGES "eats" invading bacteria, keeping us healthy. It also badly affects the functionality of THYMUS GLAND which plays a key role in the body's immune system. THYMUS GLAND pumps out millions of LYMPHOCYTES each day which also kills invading bacteria.

It affects you physically and mentally. Too much stress leads to burnout, which is characterised by emotional and physical exhaustion. What follows would be all kinds of illness, emotional and physical as well.

In more serious cases, some choose to end their lives…it's sad and frightening, isn't it?

Who are under more stress ? Men or Women ?

Studies have shown that sex hormones somehow modulate the stress response, causing stresssed females to secrete more of the trigger chemicals than do males. Men may protest but more often, women have so much more to cope with than men - parents, children, other family members, their jobs and their health.

The stress associated with the interpersonal relationships for women tend to be ongoing for long periods of time. As a result, women are more likely to be seen exhausted faster.

A healthy individual knows when to cut off, and what to prioritise. Going for relaxation, meditation, exercise and prayer do help.

Learn to Be good to yourself, starting TODAY.

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