Nowadays ‘stress’ is a very common used term. A lot of people are saying that they feel stressed and this stress is sickening them. But what is stress actually? And is stress related to diseases? To understand your body and what stress means to your body, it’s important to first take a look at the nature of stress. Stress can be distinguished in factors causing stress. Exogenous stressors are external factors like a high level of workload, traffic jam or peer pressure. These factors can give rise to negative feelings or can cause exhaustion, which are belonging to endogenous stressors. As you can see, external and internal stressors have a strong relation and often appear together.

The mentioned stressors can lead to a reaction of stress on three levels, the body level, the vegetative level and the cognitive level. Additionally, the dimension of the stress reaction depends on the actual physical and mental mood of the affected person and the experience with similar already lived through situations. In case, a situation is rated as “stressful” by the affected person a series of reactions starts. Through a release of hormones in the brain a lot of processes start in the body, which lead to a higher blood pressure and heart rate, higher blood circulation, you may feel warmer and maybe also sweat more and you feel more awake.

In general, physiological stress protects you, it makes you more attentive and ready for action. If the stress reaction doesn’t stop or if you don’t have time for recovery phase, it comes to permanent stress, which can negatively influence your health. At first you will start to react more sensitive to stressors, what will weaken your immune system in long-term effect. Moreover, chronical stress can cause anorexia, slowing of your cognitive functions, high blood pressure, headache and also irritable colon or burn-out.

But don’t be afraid now, you are not alone. And reading this text is already the first step to manage your stress level. Try to be aware of what stresses you and take a break if you need one. Our relaxation and meditation exercises can help you. Click here to start right now.