STRESS AND ILLNESS

Stress can be said to be any physical, mental or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension (Whiteman, 2018). Stress is experienced in our everyday life and it is the body’s own way of adjusting to sudden changes in its demand.

Stress could be from a stimulus in the environment, like meeting deadlines, expectations after a job done or may be internal such as from an illness or due to a medical procedure. Whichever way, the body’s reactions remain the same irrespective of the stimulus. These reactions originate so as to alert the person of a possible danger and to mobilize the body’s response to the threat. Chronic exposure to the stress and subsequent reactions produced as a result become unhealthy for the individual.

During stressful situations, the hypothalamus in the brain causes the pituitary to release adrenocorticotropic hormone. This hormone causes the release of cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine from the adrenal glands. Cortisol causes less release of glucose from the liver but stimulates glucose production from triacylglycerol and amino acids as energy source for the body (Karriem-Norwood, 2017). Cortisol continually produced suppresses immune reaction thereby reducing the general function of the immune system to fight against infections. In a diabetic patient, chronic stimulation of this substance can lead to increased blood sugar further complicating their symptoms. Fat deposition in the abdomen and vascular linings also increases the risk of obesity when there is increased cortisol production.

Epinephrine and norepinephrine on the other hand act on the sympathetic nervous system to increase blood pressure under stressful conditions. Sustained or irregular changes in heart rate cause abnormal changes in blood flow and blood pressure. These changes cause increase in circulating serum cholesterol and triacylglycerol, predisposing individuals to cardiovascular diseases like stroke and hypertension and also to renal diseases such as acute kidney injuries.

Stressful situations increases the risk of having certain diseases as cited above when sustained over a long period although stress in and of itself is not a disease condition. Stressful situations although inevitable, must be managed so as to prevent further disease complications and also improve the health and recovery rate in ill individuals.

Author: Emmanuel Aidoo

REFERENCES

Karriem-Norwood, V.,(2017), WebMD Medical reference, http://webmd.com.

Mayo Clinic Staff, (2019), Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress-free living, http://mayoclinic.org.

Whiteman, H., (2018), Anxiety and Stress, http://medicalnewstoday.com.

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