Chapter 1
The Harmful Effects of Stress
Stress affects your emotional as well as physical health. There is a
strong mind - body connection. The Mind controls the function of each
and every cell in the body. A stressed out mind leads to a stressed
out body.
Stress, in this way, plays an important role in the causation of most
medical illnesses. Of course, stress is not the only culprit. There are
other factors such as genetics, nutrition, lifestyle, pollution and
micro-organisms that take part in the development of medical illnesses.
But stress is a major player.
Here are some examples how
stress adversely affects your health:
Stress Causes High Blood Pressure
Stress is a well known risk factor for high blood pressure. In my
office, if your blood pressure is found to be elevated, I’ll give you my
brief talk (a glimpse of what is in this book) and check your blood
pressure again in about 30 minutes. It often comes down by 10-20 points.
Patients are amazed.
Some patients say, “But I’m in your office, doc. That’s why my blood
pressure is high.” Well, it is true that just being in a physician’s
office can be stressful and stress does raise your blood pressure
through the mind-body connection.
Now imagine how frequently you deal with stress in daily life: someone
cuts you off in traffic; your boss cancels your vacation; your child
misbehaves in front of the school principal; your spouse doesn’t listen
to what you say; your son calls you for more money.
You got the picture?
The fact is that life is full of annoyances and of course, you don’t
keep checking blood pressure all the time. In many people, these
stresses of daily life trigger a rise in blood pressure. Initially, your
blood pressure goes up and then comes down. That’s called labile
hypertension. After a few years of these spikes, your blood pressure
remains elevated all the time. Then, you’re diagnosed with “hypertension”
and your physician typically prescribes medications, all without paying
any attention to the root cause: stress. In time, you’ll need
more and more medications to control your hypertension, as the root
cause remains untreated.
When patients consult me, they’re usually already on medications to
treat their hypertension. Instead of adding another pill to control
their blood pressure, I teach them what you are about to learn in this
book and this strategy works extremely well. In medical literature,
there’s abundant evidence to show that techniques which utilize the
mind-body connection can successfully lower blood pressure.
Stress Causes Heart Attacks
Acute stress can lead to an actual heart attack. I’m not talking about
just a sensation of chest tightness while you’re under stress (which
often turns out not to
be an actual heart attack). I’m referring to an actual heart attack
verified by ECG and blood testing.
This association between stress and heart attack is very well
documented in medical literature and my extensive medical experience
testifies to it.
I vividly remember one particular case. I was watching the final
basketball championship game between the
Stress Causes Infections
We are constantly exposed to viruses and bacteria, but we don’t develop
infections all the time. The reason? Our immune system, which is there
to recognize the offending agent, mounts an attack and kills it.
When your immune system is healthy, it gets rid of the offending virus
or bacteria so fast that you don’t even develop any symptoms. On the
other hand, if your immune system is weak, the offending virus or
bacteria can thrive and results into frequent and prolonged illnesses
that can even kill a person.
Stress is a major reason for weakening of your immune system.
Consequently, it increases your risk for all sorts of infections, such
as common colds, flu, bronchitis, pneumonia, tuberculosis and other
infections.
Stress Causes Autoimmune Diseases
In an autoimmune disease, your immune system goes haywire. It starts to
attack and kill your own cells as if they are alien and therefore, must
be destroyed. But why does
the immune system go crazy?
While there are many reasons for the dysfunction of the immune system,
stress reeks havoc on the immune system and therefore, plays a
major role in the development of auto-immune diseases.
Some examples of autoimmune diseases:
·
Asthma
·
Eczema
·
Ulcerative colitis
·
Crohns’ disease
·
Irritable bowel syndrome
·
Peptic ulcer disease
·
Vitamin B12 deficiency
·
Pernicious anemia
·
Type 1 diabetes
·
Multiple sclerosis (M.S.)
·
Chronic rheumatologic conditions (such as rheumatoid arthritis,
fibromyalgia, systemic lupus erythematosis, commonly known as lupus, and
ankylosing spondylitis).
·
Autoimmune thyroid disease, which can either cause you to have a low
level of thyroid hormone (Hashimoto’s thyroiditis) or a high
level of thyroid hormone (Graves’ disease).
As an endocrinologist, I see a lot of patients with autoimmune Type 1
diabetes and autoimmune thyroid diseases such as Over-active thyroid
(Graves’ disease) and Under-active thyroid (Hashimoto’s thyroiditis).
These patients often also have other autoimmune diseases listed above.
In these patients, I consistently find a high level of stress, usually a
Type A personality (overachiever) and a lot of anxiety. In addition,
these patients are also low in Vitamin D.
I vividly remember one particular case: A young female came to
see me for an over-active thyroid condition (Graves’ disease). She was
accompanied by her husband. During my first encounter, I found that her
husband answered all of my questions. I didn’t make much of it and
thought that she was probably a shy person. I started her on a drug to
treat Graves’ disease.
A month later, on the second appointment, she was accompanied not only
by her husband, but her five children. Her husband introduced each
child, one by one. When he uttered their name, each child would stand
up, step forward, say their name and sit down (only after being told to
do so). Somehow, it
reminded me of the movie, “The Sound of Music” when the Von Trapp
children introduce themselves with an almost military precision.
Anyway, I thought this family was a bit odd, but didn’t think
much beyond that. I refilled the patient’s medicine and advised her to
see me again in two months with a repeat blood test. I did stress that
the drug she was taking can cause serious side-effects, so close
monitoring was important.
Unfortunately, she did not show up for her next appointment. I got
concerned and tried to contact her by telephone and letters, but to no
avail. I kept thinking that without the medicine, she would develop
severe symptoms of overactive thyroid and end up in the emergency
department of a hospital.
Finally, one day she showed up in my office after about a year all by
herself. During this visit, she couldn’t stop talking. She was fluent in
English and not shy at all.
She started by saying that her husband had passed away. “How do you
feel?” I asked. “Oh! I’m feeling just fine. I haven’t taken the medicine
you prescribed for nine months, but I feel no symptoms of over-active
thyroid.” Then she also explained that her husband was extremely
suspicious of her, kept her inside the house and was a control freak.
She had been very afraid of him. She said her life was a “living hell on
earth.”
I went ahead and ordered a blood test to check her thyroid hormone level
which, to my utter astonishment, turned out to be perfectly normal. To
put things in perspective, Graves’ disease usually requires treatment
with drugs for about two years with a success rate of about 50%. The
alternative treatment is an ablation with radioactive iodine. It does
not subside by itself in a matter of months. It is unheard of. And yet, that is what happened when the stress in her life disappeared.
This case clearly illustrates the power of stress in causing Graves’
disease, an autoimmune disorder.
Stress Causes Diabetes
While there are several factors that contribute to the development of
diabetes, stress is an important one.
This is how:
Type 2 Diabetes:
About 95% of diabetics suffer from Type 2 diabetes, which occurs due to
a process in the body called insulin resistance.
Stress is a major cause for insulin resistance. Obesity is
another important culprit for insulin resistance. Stress through
Stress Eating plays the main underlying cause for obesity. In this
way, stress significantly contributes to a person’s obesity and risk for
developing diabetes.
Insulin resistance is a process in the body which causes insulin, a
chemical in your body, to be less effective in keeping your blood sugar
normal. Consequently, your body produces more insulin in order to keep
your blood sugar normal. This compensatory increase in the amount of
insulin may control your blood sugar for a while, but it’s harmful for
the rest of the body. Large amounts of insulin can raise your blood
pressure and increase your risk for cancer. Insulin
resistance also increases your risk for heart attacks and
strokes.
After many years of escalating insulin resistance, eventually your
insulin producing cells in the pancreas get exhausted and cannot churn
out the huge amounts of insulin needed to keep your blood sugar normal.
At this point, your blood sugar starts to rise and you end up being
diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.
Type 1 Diabetes:
Type I diabetes is the other type of diabetes. It is much less common,
accounting for about 5% of diabetics. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune
disease in which your dysfunctional immune system starts to
attack and kill your own insulin producing cells. Eventually your
pancreas is unable to produce any insulin and you become diabetic. As I
mentioned earlier, stress is a major reason for the dysfunction of your
immune system. To learn more about diabetes, please refer to my book, “Take
Charge of Your Diabetes.”
Stress Worsens Diabetes.
Many diabetics know that their blood glucose gets elevated when they are
under stress, even though their eating habits didn’t change at all.
They also know that with the release of stress, their elevated
blood glucose comes down.
Over the years, I have seen many such examples. I vividly remember one
particular case.
The gentleman was a highly successful businessman who was struggling to
keep his blood glucose levels down. Then he went on a vacation to his
native homeland in a rural setting. When he came back from vacation, he
came to see me. “Doc, you’ve been telling me about the effects of stress
on diabetes. You are absolutely right. During my vacation, my blood
glucose readings were perfect for the first time. Now that I’m back at
work, my blood glucose levels are going up again.” He was genuinely
excited to see for himself the strong relationship between stress and
high blood glucose levels.
Even subtle stress can elevate your blood glucose levels. For example,
some diabetics get so preoccupied by their blood glucose readings that
they stress themselves out. As a result, their blood glucose reading
starts to escalate. Then they get more stressed out and a vicious cycle
sets in.
I remember one lady who was always preoccupied with her blood glucose
readings. During one visit, I told her to stop checking her blood
glucose. Two months later, her diabetes was under better control, as
evidenced by her blood test report from the laboratory. She was
completely amazed.
These examples clearly demonstrate the negative impact of stress on
diabetes.
Stress Causes Chronic Diarrhea and Constipation
Millions of people suffer from chronic diarrhea and/or constipation.
Often these symptoms are accompanied by abdominal cramps, excessive gas
and tiredness. In medical terms, we call it Irritable Bowel Syndrome
(IBS).
Stress is a well known major factor for IBS. Most people who suffer from
IBS can clearly relate their bout of diarrhea or constipation to an
acute stress.
In a more severe form, people also develop blood and mucus in their
loose stools. This condition is medically known as Inflammatory Bowel
Disease (IBD). Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease are two forms of
IBD. Stress is a very well known risk factor for IBD.
Stress Causes Low Back Pain
Millions of people suffer from chronic low back pain which is often
debilitating and interferes with their lifestyle. They visit their
doctor who often prescribes pain killers and orders a CT or MRI scan
which often shows some degenerative abnormalities in the spine. Then
physicians and patients conveniently blame these structural
abnormalities for their symptoms. But here are some interesting medical
facts.
Many people, while having some chronic degenerative changes in their
spine, do not suffer from chronic back pain while others do. Several
studies have clearly shown that the psychological make-up of a person is
the principal determinant whether a person will suffer from chronic back
pain or not.
I have often seen patients who develop severe back pain when under
severe psychological stress. And when the acute stress is gone, so is
their back pain.
I am not discounting cases of severe back pain which are due to
structural changes, such as fracture of a vertebra or acute prolapse of
a disc. However, these pains actually subside after a few weeks. Chronic
back pain that goes on for months and years is at least, in part, due to
stress. Furthermore, chronic debilitating back pain itself creates more
stress, which further worsens back pain and in this way, a vicious cycle
sets in.
Stress causes spasms of muscles in the back and contributes to ongoing
back pain months after a vertebra or a prolapsed disc has healed.
Vitamin D deficiency is another common cause of chronic back pain, which
unfortunately remains undiagnosed and untreated in most people.
Stress Causes Cancer
While there are many factors that can cause cancer, stress is one of
them.
A normal immune system is
important for killing abnormal cells in the body, including cancer
cells. This function is carried out by specialized cells, called Natural
Killer cells. That’s why a normal functioning immune system is your
safety net against cancer.
Stress impairs your immune system and thus may increase your risk for
cancer. And if you get diagnosed with cancer, you are completely
devastated. The amount of stress is unbelievable, which further impairs
the ability of your own immune system to kill cancer cells.
Stress Can Halt Your Menses
In women, stress is well known to cause a cessation of menses.
Acute emotional trauma, such as a divorce, preparing for a performance
or an examination, or a young girl leaving home for the first time to go
to college, can stop menses for a while.
Severe emotional stress affects the hypothalamus, a vital structure in
the brain, which then affects the ovaries in such a way that menses come
to a halt. It is body's way to stop reproduction at the time of stress.
Stress Causes Impotence, Decreased Libido and Infertility
Stress is a major reason for impotence, lack of sexual drive and
decreased fertility due to a decrease in sex hormones. Again, it is the
body's way to stop reproduction at a time of stress.
Ironically, when people develop these symptoms, they get more stressed
out, which leads to worsening of the symptoms and a vicious cycle sets
in.
Stress Causes Chronic Headaches
Chronic headaches are often the result of underlying chronic stress. Due
to stress, the muscles around the skull get tense and give rise to a
headache. In medical terms, we refer to them as
tension headaches.
Ironically, we treat them with medicines without paying any attention to
the underlying cause – stress. Amazing!
Stress Causes Memory Loss
Stress is a major cause for memory loss. Find out for yourself. Next
time you’re upset, you’ll notice that your memory is not very sharp. In
fact, people who stay upset and angry often end up with memory loss as
they grow older, as compared to people who are the happy go lucky type.
Because physicians cannot find a treatable medical reason for their
memory loss, they label this condition as Alzheimer's
disease. The news of this diagnosis creates huge anxiety for
patients as well as caregivers. Many people these days worry that they
will develop Alzheimer's disease in their old age. In this way, they
hasten their own memory loss, while worrying about how to prevent memory
loss. How ironic!
Stress Causes Psychological Illnesses
Stress is the major reason for insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks,
depression, bipolar affective disorder, attention deficit disorder,
post-traumatic stress disorder, phobias, addictions and even psychosis.
I discuss these disorders in detail later in the book.
Stress Causes Tiredness
Tiredness is perhaps the most common symptom people experience.
Often, it’s caused by a mixture of psychological and physical effects of
stress. A stressed out mind leads to a stressed out body.
The following effects of stress can contribute to tiredness in a person.
For many people, more than one condition is a causative factor of
tiredness.
·
Continuous psychological pressure wears you down. It could be pressure
to achieve, succeed or accomplish. The pressure could arise out of
performing, seeking approval or meeting certain tight schedules or
deadlines.
·
Insomnia, which causes daytime somnolence and tiredness.
·
Depression leads to low energy state.
·
Autoimmune thyroid disease (underactive or overactive thyroid) causes
tiredness.
·
Diabetes, if uncontrolled, leads to tiredness.
·
Vitamin B12 deficiency, which is an autoimmune disorder, causes
tiredness.
·
Chronic rheumatologic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus
are due to autoimmune dysfunction and give rise to a lot of tiredness.
·
Adrenal Insufficiency: A rare condition in which your immune system
attacks and kills your adrenal glands. You end up with profound fatigue
and low blood pressure.
In summary, stress working through the mind-body connection plays a
pivotal role in causing most illnesses. Obviously, it’s important to
understand the mind-body connection. In the next chapter, let's take a
close look at it.
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