The Top 4 Physical Illnesses Related To Stress

Remember the time when you are working on a project and racing to finish it on time and felt that your stomach started to cramp? Or what about the time when you have to run after the last bus to get to work on time and felt your heart racing, pulse quickens, muscle becoming tense and difficulty in breathing? Or have you find yourself brooding over a failed relationship and ended up indulging in food and looking into the mirror saying: "Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who is the fattest of them all"? Without you realizing it, you are actually experiencing what we call "stress induced illnesses."

Top on the list is cardiovascular disease. The relationship between stress and cardiovascular health isn’t that clear cut but most experts do agree on the following points:

- Stress does contribute to heart disease in certain individuals.

- Stress also contributes to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other cardiac risk factors (e.g. smoking, overweight, etc.) in many individuals.

Thus, if you've recently had a heart attack, stroke, or other cardiovascular condition, it is reasonable to assume that stress may have played a role in causing your illness to occur.

Bowel disorders like irritable bowel sydrome or IBS in short is another common complaint among people who are under constant pressure or strain. Though it’s something that not many people would like to talk about, there are several theories about the connection between IBS and stress. Although psychological problems such as anxiety do not cause IBS, people with IBS tend to be more sensitive to emotional troubles, the so called mind and body connection to stress and this may make the mind more aware of spasms in the colon. The effect of stress on the immune system may also trigger off an attack of IBS in some individuals.

Following closely is one of the most commonly reported problem and also what most people will be very concern about: "Stress Weight Gain" or "Stress Weight Loss". Under the influence of stress, there may either be a weight loss or weight gain depending on the individual affected. Some people under pressure tend to indulge in comfort eating and end up putting on extra pounds while others simply may lost interest in food totally resulting in weight loss.

Gastric ulcers is another stress related illness. The gastric excretion tend to increase when a person is under pressure and this in turn causes erosion of the stomach lining leading to painful gastric ulcers.

Though a direct relationship between stress and physical illnesses is difficult to established, research findings done so far have logically reasoned that as the amount of stressful life events increases, an individual's susceptibility to these health problems also would correspondingly increase.

Wondering if there are more to the list? Then head over to the section on "How Ill Can You Feel With Stress" and see if you could identify any of it that closely relate to yours

With everyday pressure from both home and at work, Lynette makes sure that she does not succumb to the negative effects of stress and letting her health suffers as a consequence. Determine to remain healthy and stress free, she has found some fabulous "Stress Management Techniques" to share with you. Make sure you check it out.