Effects of Stress on the Body

Effects of Stress on the Body

Stress is one of the most devastating psychological disorders that significantly affects the

well-being of an individual. Mainly, stress symptoms encompass the feeling of nervousness,

fatigue, headache, dizziness, muscle tension, moodiness, irritability, and heightened anger.

According to Sharon Horesh Bergquist, stress is a feeling everyone experiences when challenged

or overwhelmed by a difficult situation (TED-Ed, 2015). Sharon Horesh Bergquist further argues

that stress is a hard-wired physical response deeply connected through the body. When acted

upon in a short time and not in extreme ends, stress is advantageous as it helps someone avoid

unpleasant scenarios. However, if acted upon too often or too long, the body’s adrenaline

hormone of fight or flight responses changes the brain's functioning and damages other body

organs. Concisely, whereas stress is a vital body response that helps the body adapt to

challenging encounters, it poses health issues to individuals when excessively acted upon.

Extreme and uncontrolled stresses impact human bodies by disrupting psychological

functions, thereby contributing to the development of severe and devastating health issues. In the

video, Sharon Horesh Bergquist indicates that when an individual faces an unpleasant situation,

their body releases stress hormones that increase their heartbeat, leading to a rise in blood

pressure (TED-Ed, 2015). Such heightened blood pressure causes the body to stop functioning

normally as it should. While working at Salesforce company, I witnessed my colleague, Mark

Williams, struggle with heightened work-based stress that later resulted in his admission to the

hospital. The case began with Mark raising complaints of being subjected to overworking,

assault, and failure to be recognized. At first, I presumed that Mark’s stress in the workplace was

normal, and hopefully, Mark would have adapted to the new normal. However, his case became

extreme, and after getting hospitalized, medical clinicians diagnosed him with hypertension. In

the long run, clinicians associated Mark’s rise in blood sugar with heightened mental distress.

In summary, the body’s responses to stressful situations have significant implications for

one’s health. Failure to address stress at the initial stages pushes individuals into psychological

turmoil that directly makes the body vulnerable to other illnesses. Notably, dealing with stress

necessitates constant physical exercises, engaging in social activities, and avoiding unpleasant

activities that cause mental distress.

References

TED-Ed (Director). (2015, October 22). How stress affects your body—Sharon Horesh

Bergquist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-t1Z5-oPtU

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