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There's good types of anxiety and bad types. Acute stress is a good type. We all go through anxiety at some time in our lives. Acute stress is a short lived "fight or flight" response in which the body goes through extreme hormonal changes in response to a perceived menace. When the perceived threat has passed, the anxiety dissipates and the body's systems and hormonal levels return to normal. This process is a millions years old survival mechanism that all mammals have.
Chronic stress, however,is a different matter entirely. Chronic stress is uninterrupted anxiety in which the body's systems do not return to normal after a traumatic or stressful event. Instead, the adrenaline levels rest high leaving the person is in a continuous state of anxiety.
There are a lot of things that can trigger anxiety. Losing a job, having relationship problems, a near death experience - all can cause anxiety. A severe form of prolonged stress is known as post-traumatic stress disorder which commonly occurs after somebody goes through an overwhelming traumatic event. Occupations particularly susceptible to post-traumatic stress disorder are firemen, policeman, and combat soldiers.
The human body was not designed to function with such sustained levels of anxiety. As a result, chronic anxiety can have devastating and long lasting effects on both the body and the mind. Chronic stress does not have any one set of definitive symptoms. It affects people differently. In various circumstances, chronic stress has been shown to increase the risk of a person developing high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, depression, digestive disorders, sleep disorders, back pain, and many other symptoms.
These physical symptoms of anxiety are a direct response to the pressure that the stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline are putting on the body's organs. Adrenaline will cause your heart to race and your blood pressure to become elevated. Cortisol will increase your blood sugar levels. Sustained high levels of either of these hormones is detrimental to the body. In addition to these hormone, the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which governs heart rate and blood pressure, is also released into the body.
Chronic anxiety is the body's physical response to a person's thoughts, not to actual ongoing events. Eventually, the person's body develops a "pattern of stress" where the original event causing the stress is not important and, in many cases, no longer even remembered. It no longer matters because the body now has developed the habit of being stressed, regardless of the circumstances. In cases like this it can take years to retrain the body to feel normal without such anxiety.
Over the years, researchers and physicians have had the opportunity to develop much practical experience in dealing with patients experiencing chronic stress. As a result, many stress management methodologies have developed such as - pharmaceutical prescription medicines, relaxation therapies, visualization, biofeedback, breathing exercises and more.
For the sake of your well-being, you can't afford to allow chronic stress to wear you down. If you've been in a state of constant stress for a while, no matter the reason, you should seek out help. Talk to your health care professional and, together, make a combined effort to discover the causes of your stress and prepare a plan to tackle them. The treatments for chronic stress are available, You have only to take advantage of them.
Ellen Huston is writer and researcher for www.superstressmanagement.com . Please visit her site for information on herbs to reduce stress as well as articles on other stress related topics.
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