money stress

How Stress is Affecting Your Health in 2020

January 22, 2020 By Susan Paige Leave a Comment

The National Institute of Mental Health has stated that there are 40 million adults in the US alone that are plagued with anxiety and depression. These mental health-related disorders are often attributed to one factor: stress. The feeling of stress has become too common in most people’s lives that they start to dismiss its potential effects on the health. But if the occurrence of mental disorders and debilitating health conditions were any indicator, stress should be taken seriously.

Stress in the Modern World

Why is there is so much stress and anxiety these days? Is the modern society to blame for it? What has changed that triggered this explosion of stress-related health and mental disorders?

Evolutionary psychologists have studied closely these cases to determine where the root of the problem is. They came up with these possible factors that can impact one’s stress level in the modern world.

Social media and other forms of media are to blame. In today’s society, people are constantly exposed to images of beauty, youth, and wealth that it is impossible not to compare. Once comparison sets in, most people tend to set unrealistic standards for themselves. Since these standards are unrealistic to begin with, it can lead to personal disappointment and stress.
Everything moves at a fast pace. Since innovation and technology is constantly changing, there is immense pressure on humans to adapt, too. This results in a tremendous amount of pressure and stress on working individuals to keep up and perform to the highest level on a consistent basis.
There is a tendency for modern people to multi-task. Technology and being connected has made it possible for modern people to juggle work, family, and social life. But when you try to do too much, it can take its toll on your physical and mental health.

How Stress Affects Your Health

To better understand how stress can have a direct impact on the human body, it is important to look closely at its physiological effects.

Central Nervous System

The central nervous system is responsible for how you respond during “fight or flight” situations. The hypothalamus sends a signal to your adrenal glands to release stress hormones that will impact how you respond to any given situation. Upon the release of these hormones, it can affect your heart beat and the amount of blood pressure that goes to your body and major organ systems. This explains why stress can have an impact on your heart, muscles and other organs.

When the perceived threat is gone, your hypothalamus will send another signal that all of your systems should return to normal. But there are cases wherein the response will continue long after the stressor is gone. This results in a condition known as chronic stress, which can debilitate your eating and sleeping habits, as well as your social interactions.

Digestive System

Another part of the human body that is commonly affected by stress is the digestive system. The link might be odd to some people but there is a scientific evidence to support that. When you are under stress, the liver produces higher amount of glucose to provide an extra boost of energy. But if your body is constantly stressed (such as in the case of chronic stress), the body will continue to produce excessive amounts of sugar. This explains why stress often results in the development of type 2 diabetes.

Aside from the excessive production of glucose, an increased heart rate and rapid breathing are other signs of stress that can upset your digestive system. People who are chronically stressed suffer from heartburn or acid reflux. This is due to the overproduction of acid in the stomach. Contrary to popular belief, stress does not cause ulcers but it can certainly increase your risk for developing it.

Other digestive problems that had been scientifically proven to be a result of stress are nausea, diarrhea, constipation, and frequent stomach aches.

Sleep

Chronic facial pain such as jaw pain or TMJ is a common occurrence in the US, which affects millions of adults every year. There are several known causes for TMJ such as injury, arthritis, or misaligned bite. But recent studies have shown that stress can also be a factor causing TMJ. If you want to ease TMJ symptoms or any feeling of discomfort associated with it, it is important to understand how stress results to teeth clenching while you sleep.

The relationship between stress and TMJ might be more complicated, though. Depending on the type or level of stress, the manifestations of TMJ can be tightness on the left or right side of the jaw. In some cases, pain is felt on both sides of the jaw. Since the TMJ is linked to the movement of the muscles and joints surrounding your jaw and mouth, it is no surprise that it can be affected by stress.

Too much stress and anxiety can lead to muscle tension. You might not notice it but it is a common tendency for most people to clench their teeth while under immense levels of stress. When this happens, the muscles begin to tighten. When you clench your teeth during sleep – a common symptom of TMJ disorder – this can also damage your teeth.

If you are exhibiting symptoms of TMJ and are experiencing a great deal of pain from it, it might be time to see a TMJ specialist. Letting the pain progress will only worsen the situation, especially if you experience a great deal of stress as part of your daily routine. You can seek the advice of a TMJ expert on how to remedy your teeth clenching problem and what is the next step to take after diagnosis.

Cardiovascular System

The release of stress hormones can also have an impact on the cardiovascular system. When you are feeling stressed, your heart is pumping blood faster. As a result, your blood vessels become constricted and the oxygen is pushed towards your muscles so your body is ready to take on a fight response, if needed. The major downside to this is that your blood pressure rises in this situation.

If you are under chronic stress, your heart is working harder and your blood pressure is constantly on the rise. An excessive amount of stress can eventually put you at risk for having a stroke or suffering from a heart attack.

Conclusion

Stress can have its beneficial effects when present at healthy doses. But when there is an overwhelming amount of stress in your life, or you suffer from it chronically, it is time to evaluate how it is affecting you physically. Your health can suffer from stress and it will only get worse when left untreated. Make sure you know how to manage stress in your daily life so your long-term health won’t end up suffering, too.

For more of our great articles on heath, read:

Healthy Grocery Shopping Tips

Mindfulness At Work Helps Your Bank Account

Health Care Costs Can Add Up

Image Source, Sari Montag via Flickr.

New Tool Helps Diagnose the Financial Pain of Cancer

June 20, 2014 By Jeffrey Strain 4 Comments

Simply getting a diagnosis of cancer would send the stress level of most people through the roof. It’s not news that anybody visiting a doctor wants to hear. The stress of the disease, however, is not the only stress which comes with a positive diagnosis. Another huge stress factor which comes with the disease is financial in nature.

To better help those diagnosed with cancer and their families, a group of University of Chicago cancer specialists have come up with a new tool which can help determine how much “financial toxicity” a cancer patient is able to tolerate. The new tool is called COST (COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity) and was published in the July issue of the journal Cancer.

Healthcare is expensive, but those dealing with cancer are hit even harder by the cost. Cancer care costs are rising at a faster clip than healthcare overall, and the cost of new cancer drugs is increasing even more quickly than the overall cost of cancer care. In other words, when it comes to getting a sickness, cancer ends up being an expensive disease to treat, and that cost is rising more quickly than other healthcare costs.

Financial hardships aren’t limited to those who have cancer. Even those who recover fully to become cancer-free continue to have to deal with financial issues of the disease. As many as 30% of those who survive cancer and become cancer-free, still aren’t able to work, or can only work in a decreased capacity after they recover, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Then there are the extra annual medical expenses survivors incur. Men who have had cancer will end up paying approximately $4,000 more a year in annual medical expenses than those who haven’t had the disease. It’s not much better for women, who can expect to pay an additional $3,300 a year as a cancer survivor.

The COST tool was developed to help doctors better discuss with their patients the financial burdens which come with being diagnosed with cancer, something few doctors do these days. By providing a tool which helps predict how a patient will react to the financial burdens that come with cancer, it’ll give doctors an initial step to allow them to begin the discussion. For example, knowing how patients are feeling about the financial aspects of the disease, doctors may be able to offer less expensive alternatives which still meet their treatment needs.

The tool consists of 11 statements to help elicit the information the doctors need to determine the financial risk the patient has. Those who score high for financial toxicity can be referred to support and counseling to better address the stress and their needs.

The initial study consisted of 155 patients. The researchers expected to find a correlation between income and financial hardship, but they didn’t. Instead, they found one between less education and financial stress. Since the first study was small, bigger studies need to be done to confirm these findings.

(Photo courtesy of 401k)

Why Create Unnecessary Stress?

October 26, 2010 By Jennifer Derrick 3 Comments

We all have stress in our lives. Much of it comes from things we can’t control. We have trouble at work, someone we love gets sick or dies, our kid has problems in school, or we have too many things to do and not enough time. With all the stressful events in our lives, why would we intentionally cause ourselves more stress? Yet this is exactly what we do when we live above our means.

It always amazes me when I see someone in the throes of planning a vacation, planning a wedding, buying a home, or some other expensive activity who is completely stressed out because of the money. These things can be stressful from a logistical standpoint, for sure. However, you compound the stress when the vacation or home is something you really can’t afford. Not only are you trying to plan this stressful event, you’re also trying to figure out how to pay for it. It’s stressful to try to cut the rest of your budget to accommodate the thing you can’t afford. It’s stressful to take a second job to make more money. It’s stressful to worry about whether or not the credit card can take another charge. It’s stressful when you pay for a vacation and the roof starts to leak the next day, but now all your money has gone to the travel agent. The stress of the event is nothing compared to the stress that results when you can’t really pay for it. Why add on to the stress of travel or wedding plans by making plans you can’t afford?

We stress ourselves on smaller scales every day, too. We decide to buy that $300 purse instead of putting the money in our much neglected emergency fund. Then when the car breaks down and needs a $300 repair, we stress out because we don’t have the money. We spend $150 eating dinner out five nights a week and then stress out when it’s time to pay the $150 electric bill. On and on we go, causing ourselves unnecessary stress by spending money we don’t really have. Then when we need that money, we stress because it isn’t there; it’s been frittered away on other things.

Money is stressful enough without living above your means. It’s stressful to earn money. It can be stressful to figure out how to invest it and to create a budget. It can be stressful when you and your partner have different ideas about how money should be spent. Money can be stressful when an emergency strikes and you are un- or under-prepared. There’s no need to make money stress worse by planning everyday activities and buying things that you cannot afford.

We all complain that we have too much stress in our lives. We all want to lower our stress levels and have smoother sailing. There are a lot of stressful things we cannot control. However, we can control some of our money stress simply by getting smarter about how we spend our money. When you don’t have the money to pay for a lavish vacation or wedding, plan something smaller or go without. You’re just as married if you’re married at the courthouse versus a $100,000 princess wedding. A camping vacation near home can be just as relaxing as the Caribbean cruise. And it may be less stressful overall to just stay home. If you have to have the lavish affair, save for it. Once you have the money, the planning and the event are far less stressful.

Don’t spend all your money on things you don’t need. Save some of it for things you do need. Then you won’t stress when the roof leaks or the car breaks down. Think about what life would be like if you didn’t freak out when your kid has to get a $100 prescription or you could handle a $300 car repair with ease. The underlying conditions (sick kid, broken car) would still be stressful, but your stress would not be compounded by worrying about where the money is coming from since you spent your last $300 on a new cell phone you didn’t need but really wanted. The world is stressful enough without our adding to it with our stupidity. Don’t bring more stress upon yourself by constantly spending more than you can afford.