Janice
11-16-2007, 04:45 PM
http://www.regardingme.com/effects-stress-a-19.html (http://www.regardingme.com/effects-stress-a-19.html)
The Effects of Stress
Stress has far-reaching consequences to the breakdown of the human body. It goes beyond simply depleting your C and B vitamins; stress breaks down your glands and knocks out your immune system.
Dr. Alfred Coodley of the University of Southern California Medical School says that stress “is the most widespread medical problem in America today. It’s a major contributing factor in 100 percent of diseases.”
Stress can knock out your immune system. Stress can make you sick by wreaking havoc on your immune system, allowing disease to strike much more easily. “Stress causes the white blood cells of the immune system to be greatly altered, and this allows sickness to set in,” says Dr. Robert S. Brown, clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at the University of Virginia.
Dr. Hans Selye won the Nobel Prize for his research on what stress does to the human body (Selye, H., The Stress of Life (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0070562121/regardingme-20), McGraw-Hill, New York, N.Y. / Selye, H., Canadian Med. Assn. J. 61, 553).
Dr. Selye did extensive experimental work with rats that had been subjected to stress. The rats were subjected to many kinds of stress that we, as humans, face every day: too much heat, cold, frustration, hunger, fatigue, and unpleasant situations. In each instance, there was a control group not subjected to these stresses. When both groups were autopsied, the comparisons were startling.
Glandular Breakdown
The adrenals and thymus glands, which help control the body, as well as the stomach linings of the rats exposed to undue stress, were almost unrecognizable. These organs were gorged with blood, misshapen, enlarged, and diseased. In the control group (those not exposed to undue stress), the same organs were smooth and healthy. The changes in the rats exposed to stress had not been caused by bacteria, virus, poison, or disease, but by emotions that had produced similar ravaging effects.
The thymus and adrenal glands are two very important parts of the human immune system. Most people are being confronted with an incredible number of stresses that were unknown a hundred and fifty years ago.
When a breakdown of the immune system occurs, it can lead to a range of illnesses that stretches from a common cold to cancer.
Disease
Dr. Selye believes that stress is the most common cause of disease. This is understandable, as we begin to examine the variety of daily stresses to which we are exposed. If the alarm goes off late, if we miss a bus, if the mortgage comes due, if we have an argument with someone, if we overwork and become overtired, if we hear bad news, if we cut our finger, if the car battery goes dead, if a woman gets a run in her stocking? All of these situations are ones that produce stress.
When organs are disturbed in their functions by stress, they cannot keep the body running smoothly. Dr. Selye says that stress can upset the glandular system and lead to arthritis, blood pressure, diabetes, coronaries, ulcers, allergies, kidney trouble, and a host of other conditions. Yet, the owner rarely suspects the cause. At first, the body can bounce back. However, if pressured too far, and too long, irreparable damage may occur. Dr. Selye believes that the degenerative or “aging” disease may also result from the cumulative effects of stress.
The Effects of Stress
Stress has far-reaching consequences to the breakdown of the human body. It goes beyond simply depleting your C and B vitamins; stress breaks down your glands and knocks out your immune system.
Dr. Alfred Coodley of the University of Southern California Medical School says that stress “is the most widespread medical problem in America today. It’s a major contributing factor in 100 percent of diseases.”
Stress can knock out your immune system. Stress can make you sick by wreaking havoc on your immune system, allowing disease to strike much more easily. “Stress causes the white blood cells of the immune system to be greatly altered, and this allows sickness to set in,” says Dr. Robert S. Brown, clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral medicine at the University of Virginia.
Dr. Hans Selye won the Nobel Prize for his research on what stress does to the human body (Selye, H., The Stress of Life (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0070562121/regardingme-20), McGraw-Hill, New York, N.Y. / Selye, H., Canadian Med. Assn. J. 61, 553).
Dr. Selye did extensive experimental work with rats that had been subjected to stress. The rats were subjected to many kinds of stress that we, as humans, face every day: too much heat, cold, frustration, hunger, fatigue, and unpleasant situations. In each instance, there was a control group not subjected to these stresses. When both groups were autopsied, the comparisons were startling.
Glandular Breakdown
The adrenals and thymus glands, which help control the body, as well as the stomach linings of the rats exposed to undue stress, were almost unrecognizable. These organs were gorged with blood, misshapen, enlarged, and diseased. In the control group (those not exposed to undue stress), the same organs were smooth and healthy. The changes in the rats exposed to stress had not been caused by bacteria, virus, poison, or disease, but by emotions that had produced similar ravaging effects.
The thymus and adrenal glands are two very important parts of the human immune system. Most people are being confronted with an incredible number of stresses that were unknown a hundred and fifty years ago.
When a breakdown of the immune system occurs, it can lead to a range of illnesses that stretches from a common cold to cancer.
Disease
Dr. Selye believes that stress is the most common cause of disease. This is understandable, as we begin to examine the variety of daily stresses to which we are exposed. If the alarm goes off late, if we miss a bus, if the mortgage comes due, if we have an argument with someone, if we overwork and become overtired, if we hear bad news, if we cut our finger, if the car battery goes dead, if a woman gets a run in her stocking? All of these situations are ones that produce stress.
When organs are disturbed in their functions by stress, they cannot keep the body running smoothly. Dr. Selye says that stress can upset the glandular system and lead to arthritis, blood pressure, diabetes, coronaries, ulcers, allergies, kidney trouble, and a host of other conditions. Yet, the owner rarely suspects the cause. At first, the body can bounce back. However, if pressured too far, and too long, irreparable damage may occur. Dr. Selye believes that the degenerative or “aging” disease may also result from the cumulative effects of stress.