Your life is full of stress! Any arguments? Didn't think so. Your life is full of pressure, frustration, and stress. Worrying about job security, being overworked, driving in rush hour traffic, arguing with your spouse, even dealing with medical bills - all of these create stress in your life.

According to the American Psychology Association, more than half of all Americans report being concerned about the level of stress in their lives. Most people are feeling overscheduled, overextended, and overworked. By far, the most commonly reported source of stress is the workplace.

Studies suggest that stress is a contributing factor in the development of chronic and degenerative conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. High stress levels at work can lead to job burnout, reduction in productivity, ill health, job dissatisfaction, and absenteeism. As these problems add up over time, you worry more about keeping your job while your boss becomes more dissatisfied, leading to more stress and an ever-growing vicious cycle.

When you experience stress, glands within your body respond by releasing a hormone called adrenocorticotropic hormone - we'll call it ACTH for short. When your glands send out a burst of ACTH it is like an alarm system going off within your body. ACTH tells other glands to flood your body with the hormones cortisol and adrenaline. These two hormones cause your heart rate and blood pressure to increase. They shut down your digestive system and even alter your immune system. When you remove yourself from the stressful situation, the levels of cortisol and adrenaline decrease. As cortisol and adrenaline decrease in your system, your heart rate, blood pressure, digestive system and immune system return to normal.

As you pile one stressful situation on top of another, your body has no time to recover. If you are in a constant state of stress, or experience many stressful situations, your body's stress response system can disrupt nearly all of your body's processes. Some of the effects can lead to chronic illness and disease.

Stress affects the digestive system so much that stomachaches and diarrhea become common. The hormones related to stress slow down the release of stomach acid and the process of emptying the stomach. The same hormones stimulate your colon which speeds the passage of its contents - a.k.a diarrhea.

Chronic stress dampens your immune system making you more susceptible to colds and other infections.

Stress affects your nervous system and has been linked to depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and dementia. Over time, chronic release of cortisol can even cause damage to several structures in the brain.

Stress affects your cardiovascular system by causing an increase in heart rate and blood pressure and increasing the risk of heart attacks and stroke.

Unlike most other diseases that affect Americans, there really isn't any routine medical treatment for stress. Some doctors prescribe antidepressants. But drugs have a limited ability to alleviate stress.

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