The Effects of Stress on the Body: Ayurveda Explains

Posted on May 31, 2022
The Effects of Stress on the Body:  Ayurveda Explains

Stress is a natural physical and mental reaction to life experiences which is a familiar and common part of daily life. Everyone expresses stress from time to time. The effects of stress on the body is that our body responds to stress by releasing hormones that increase our heart and breathing rates and ready our muscles to respond. The best remedy that’s being practiced is Ayurveda for stress. 

 

Stress and the Body Function Complications 

 

Stress hormones affect your body functions like respiratory and cardiovascular systems. When you are stressed, you breathe faster to quickly distribute oxygen-rich blood to your veins. Stress can make it even harder to breathe if you already have a breathing problem like asthma or emphysema. Chronic stress is more dangerous than this, because when you are under stress, your heart also pumps faster. You’ll have more strength to take action if stress hormones cause your blood vessels to constrict and divert more oxygen. But this raises your blood pressure. As a result, chronic stress will make your heart work too hard for a long time. Your risks for having a stroke or heart attack increases when your blood pressure rises. Stress relief is an important factor to be considered when you are experiencing chronic stress.  Ayurveda offers natural relief from stress and anxiety which has been practiced and followed for many decades. Shirodhara is one such Ayurvedic natural therapy to relieve stress and the role of shirodhara in managing stress is appreciable . Ayurveda offers a holistic stress and anxiety management program by including usage of herbal ingredients and oils, specific and guided massage techniques, a specific diet that is organic, and Yoga and meditation with controlled breathing exercises. 

What is stress and how does it affect our brains and bodies? 

 

In rare cases, stress can help sharpen the mind and improve the ability to remember details of events. However, stress can have a serious impact on your brain. When you are stressed, the brain goes through a series of reactions, some good and some bad, designed to mobilize and protect itself from potential threats. 

Ø Stress Kills Brain Cells 

A single stress event could kill a number of new neurons in the brain. The regions of the brain heavily associated with memory, emotion, and learning is the hippocampus. This is the area of the brain where neurogenesis, or the formation of new brain cells, occurs throughout life. So stress can kill brain cells.

Ø Stress Shrinks the Brain 

Stress can lead to shrinkage in areas of the brain where the regulation of emotions, metabolism, and memory takes place. Different types of stress affect the brain in different ways. Recent stressful events like job loss or car accidents affect emotional awareness and traumatic events such as death of a loved one or serious illness will have a greater impact on mood centers. The accumulation of such stressful events in life may make it more challenging for these persons to deal with future stress, particularly if the next demanding event requires emotion regulation or integrated social processing to overcome it. 

Ø Stress Hurts Your Memory 

You are probably aware that sometimes stress can make events be difficult to remember if you've ever tried to remember the details of a stressful event. Short-term memory loss is connected to high levels of the stress hormone cortisol. 

 

Short-term effects of stress 

Short term effects of stress on your body are muscle tension or pain, chest pain, fatigue, change in sex drive among others. The short-term effects on your mood are restlessness, lack of motivation or focus, feeling overwhelmed, irritability or anger. The short-term effects on your behavior are angry outbursts, drug or alcohol misuse, tobacco use, social withdrawal etc. 

 

Long-term effects of stress 

Long-term stress causes several problems including mental health issues such as depression or anxiety. Other problems of long-term stress are cardiovascular problems like heart diseases, high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke. Even sexual problems such as premature ejaculation in men and menstrual problems in women are found in people suffering from stress. In some cases, skin and hair problems acne or eczema, gastrointestinal problems such as gastritis or heartburn have been observed. 

 

Stress management with Ayurveda 

Ayurveda for stress management lies in the attainment of peace. Ayurveda doesn’t see the body and the mind as two different entities but as reflections of each other. This is because the sources of physical health problems arise from the mind and the repercussions of mental ailments are reflected in the physical body. Thus the natural relief from stress and anxiety as per Ayurveda lies in treating the nervous system. Ancient ayurvedic techniques are one of the best stress busters known to exist. It helps us deal with questions such as how to overcome anxiety or how to deal with stress. Precaution is better than cure. Ayurveda focuses on delivering a solution to the root cause, instead of trying to fix stress or anxiety symptoms.

The key to effective stress management lies in strengthening the body’s adaptive power to deal with stress and mainly in trying to avoid stress. The best way to avoid stress is by understanding thoroughly about your stress triggers. The second option is increasing the coping capability of the body that can be achieved through lifestyle modifying dietary changes, natural remedies, and lastly, drug treatments.

 

If you want to experience the true benefits of Ayurveda stress management and  visit Dr. Jasna's Ayurvedic Clinic LLC, Dubai