Stress and mental health: how they are related

Stress and health are closely related. When a person suffers stress, this situation triggers a series of reactions in the body that affect both physical and mental health, and its consequences can be very serious in some cases.

For this reason, reducing stress is key to improving physical and mental health, improving well-being and preventing problems in the body that could otherwise worsen or increase over time.

Stress and health: how they are related and how to take care of yourself

Robis tells you how stress and health are related and what you can do to take care of yourself.

Stress and cardiovascular health, a very dangerous relationship

One of the major risks of stress is the seriousness of the cardiovascular health problems it can trigger. In fact, stress is considered to be one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes.

Stress raises blood pressure and also accelerates the heart rate by releasing hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. It also increases tissue inflammation which, if sustained over time, favors the accumulation of plaques or atherosclerosis.

Stress and mental health

Stress generates a series of emotions and cognitive problems that negatively affect mental health, causing discomfort and triggering other conditions and behavioral problems.

When a person suffers from stress, emotions such as anger, depression, anxiety or irritability affect both their well-being and their mood and their personal, work and social relationships. Furthermore, living under stress leads to a loss of mental capacities: it hinders the ability to concentrate, negatively affects the memory and results in a lack of energy and mental exhaustion that can become limiting.

The relationship between stress and digestive health

Stress and digestive health are related, since a stressed person usually suffers adverse effects such as acidity or changes in intestinal motility. One of the effects of stress on the body is inflammation of the body and imbalance of the intestinal microbiota , which has consequences on digestive health and can cause discomfort and pain.

Stress and weakened immune system

An important consequence of stress on health is that it causes people who suffer from stress to have a weaker response to infections and diseases. The reason for this is that stress weakens the immune system, which lowers the body’s defenses and makes it more vulnerable to pathogens, increasing the risk of autoimmune diseases. The body reacts weaker and slower to infections and those suffering from chronic diseases see how these are exacerbated or suffer relevant outbreaks.

Chronic stress causes the body to release more cortisol. This in turn leads to a reduction in the release of antibodies, lymphocytes and NK cells and this in turn can lead to the development of autoimmune diseases.

Stress, health and pain

Stress affects physical health and physical health can cause pain that worsens mental health, which in turn generates more stress and causes the body to enter a dangerous vicious cycle. Some physical effects of stress that cause pain are stiff muscles that lead to headaches, neck, jaw and back pain.

Other negative effects of stress on health

The effects of stress on physical and mental health include other common problems such as insomnia, which in turn can generate hormonal problems very relevant to health and well-being, and can lead to changes in weight and exhaustion. Another negative effect of stress manifests itself with skin problems that in turn generate worry and anxiety.

How to take care of yourself to avoid stress and damage to your health

To keep stress and health under control there are a series of measures you can take such as relaxing, calming down, soothing yourself, resting, all of which will help you regain wellness and prevent a wide variety of physical and mental health problems.

Take food supplements for anxietyTaking dietary supplements for anxiety, quality rest, deep relaxation and adopting a calm and healthy lifestyle contribute to reduce stress and prevent health problems.

It is also advisable to follow a balanced and healthy diet , do moderate physical exercise and learn to plan and manage obligations properly.