An Analysis of the Impact of Stress on Physical and Mental Health

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of the multifaceted impact of stress on human health. It begins by defining stress and highlighting its prevalence in modern life, then delves into the various adverse effects, including headaches, depression, high or low blood pressure, a weakened immune system, fertility problems, insomnia, erectile dysfunction, and appetite changes. The essay also explores the positive impacts of stress, such as motivation, cognitive enhancement, increased short-term immunity, and improved creativity. The analysis covers both the psychological and physiological consequences of stress, providing a balanced perspective on its effects. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of managing stress effectively and seeking professional help when necessary, reinforcing the idea that while stress is unavoidable, its negative impacts can be mitigated through proper coping mechanisms. References are provided to support the claims made throughout the essay.

Impact of Stress on health

Stress 1
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
Ill effects of stress on health............................................................................................................1
Headache......................................................................................................................................1
Depression....................................................................................................................................1
Blood Pressure.............................................................................................................................1
Weakened immune system...........................................................................................................2
Fertility problems.........................................................................................................................2
Insomnia.......................................................................................................................................2
Erectile dysfunction.....................................................................................................................2
Impacts appetite...........................................................................................................................2
Tense muscles..............................................................................................................................3
Positive effect of stress....................................................................................................................3
Motivation....................................................................................................................................3
Cognitive enhancer......................................................................................................................3
Increases short term immunity.....................................................................................................4
Improved creativity......................................................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................4
References........................................................................................................................................5

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Introduction
Stress is the condition that is characterized by a feeling of strain or pressure. In the highly
competitive world that we live in, stress is a very common phenomenon. Every person faces
stress at some point in their lives. There might be various causes for stress. Often a person may
be stressed due to pressure at work, health issue or a personal problem that an individual might
be facing. Feeling stressful at times is a normal thing. However, excessive stress can lead to
major health issues and has various adverse impacts on the person’s life. Various effects of stress
are as given below:
Ill effects of stress on health
Headache
The first symptom of stress faced by individuals is a headache. Every time a person feels
stressed, it is also natural for him or her to have a headache. Stress directly puts too much
pressure on a person’s brain. Stress caused by overthinking or excessive worry can cause a
strong headache. In the initial stages, the headache can be cured with a cup of coffee, a sound
sleep or a small medication. However, if the cause of the stress persists, it can lead to more
problems.
Depression
Stress can also cause depression. Depression is a state of feeling low on energy. It is often
characterized by prolonged episodes of a bad mood and lack of interests in everyday activities. It
is a mental illness and excessive stress can lead to a person feeling depressed (Rahouma & Port).
If this depression continues for long, a person may need help of psychiatrist.
Blood Pressure
Stress can also impact a person’s blood pressure. Whether the blood pressure will become
excessively high or low depends on the person’ body type. This blood pressure issue can further
lead to other health problems. High blood pressure makes the person restless and uneasy. On the
other hand, low blood pressure makes the person feel weak and tired. Excessive stress can easily
impact blood pressure.

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Weakened immune system
Long episodes or frequent episodes of stress can lead to a weakened immune system. A weak
immune system means that the person becomes more prone to diseases. Once the person with a
low immune system falls ill, he or she takes a much longer time to recover. A weak immune
system can lead to various problems. Stress must be avoided at all costs before it reaches the
extent to affect the immune system of an individual.
Fertility problems
Stress also adversely impacts ladies and their fertility system. To begin with, excessive stress
may disturb a woman’s menstrual cycle. This in turn may lead to PCOD (polycystic ovarian
disorder). If stressful conditions prolong for a much longer time, then it may affect women to the
extent of being infertile for life. Pregnant women are strongly advised against being stressed
because it also impacts the health of the fetus within them.
Insomnia
Insomnia is characterized by a lack of sleep. It is regarded as habitual sleeplessness or a person’s
inability to sleep. Long durations of stress can adversely impact an individual’s sleeping
schedule and makes him or her sleepless. If this continues for long then the person find it
difficult to sleep even when she or she is not stressed (Jarrin, 2014). A lack of sleep impacts all
their bodily functions as well as their behavior.
Erectile dysfunction
Men often face the problem of erectile dysfunction when they are stressed. This erectile
dysfunction is also known as impotence and is characterized by an inability to develop or
maintain an erection during a sexual activity (Rew & Heidelbaugh, 2016). This can in turn
adversely impact their family life and their relationships with their partners.
Impacts appetite
Being stressful can adversely impact a person’s appetite. It depends on person to person whether
there is a considerable increase in the appetite or a sever loss of appetite. Most people who are

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stressed are prone to skipping meals as they don’t realize if they are hungry or not (Furukawa,
2017). Similarly, people often overeat in order to address the stress that they are facing and when
this becomes a habit, their appetite get impacted in the longer run.
Tense muscles
Stress may often lead to tense muscles characterized by sever body ache. This is because stress
in general has a tendency of taking away energy from our body. Hence, long periods of
remaining stressful can lead to body ache and weakening of muscles. Ideally muscles become
tense when a person is stressed in order to protect themselves from injury (Ortega & Ortega,
2017). These muscles automatically get relaxed once the person is not stressed. However, longer
durations of stress do not provide body muscles with a chance to relax and hence leads to
headache, body ache, back ache and shoulder ache.
Positive effect of stress
There is no denying that stress adversely impacts a human health. However there are a few
positive impacts of stress as well. Short durations of stress if channelized properly can result in
positive outcomes. The positive impact of stress includes the following:
Motivation
Stress motivates people to perform better and deliver better results. There are many people to
perform best under stress and excessive pressure (Health Guidance, 2018). Stress provides
people with a much required adrenaline rush and helps them perform better than a relaxed
situation. This is specifically beneficial for athletes who are often stressed before an important
event and hence perform better on the day of the event.
Cognitive enhancer
There is a reason that people are able to learn better one day before the exam than a week before.
Stress often activates and improves aspects of a person’s intelligence (Greenberg, 2017). Stress
helps people to focus better and even react to situations in a better manner. Stressed people can
drive better because their cognitive centers are performing better.

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Increases short term immunity
In the long run, stress adversely impacts a person’s immunity. However, in the short run, stress is
highly beneficial for a person. Once the body feels stressed, the body automatically tends to
prepare itself for an upcoming problem that the body might face. This improve immunity is only
temporary and is created by the body by producing extra interleukins which is a chemical that
helps regulating the immunity system.
Improved creativity
Stress often makes people creative. A lot of creative ideas reach the mind when the person is
stressed. This can be seen in the case of movie directors, actors, writer and painters shortly
before a deadline. The piece of work that is delivered in a stressful condition is often a very good
piece of art.
Conclusion
Stress is the condition of feeling under a lot of pressure or being strained. Stress has become a
part and parcel of the lives that we lead today. It is often due to immense competition that we
face in the world. There are various adverse impacts of stress that we see today. Long durations
of stress can impact a person’s immunity, blood pressure and can even cause depression,
insomnia, infertility and erectile dysfunction.
People must work towards channeling that stress into something positive as stress creates a sense
of motivation and creativity in an individual (Seaward, 2017). If an individual in unable to
channelize this stress, then longer durations of stress are extremely harmful and the person must
seek professional help to resolve the same.

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References
Furukawa, 2017. Increased oxidative stress in obesity and its impact on metabolic
syndrome. The Journal of clinical investigation, 114(12), pp.1752-1761.
Greenberg, J.S., 2017. Comprehensive stress management. McGraw-Hill Education.
Health Guidance. 2018. ‘The positive effects of stress’.
http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15537/1/The-Positive-Effects-of-Stress.html. Retrieved on
23 February, 2018.
Jarrin, D.C., 2014. The role of vulnerability in stress‐related insomnia, social support and coping
styles on incidence and persistence of insomnia. Journal of sleep research, 23(6), pp.681-688.
Ortega, T. and Ortega, F.F.U.T., 2017. Stress Management Series: Progressive Muscle
Relaxation. Stress.
Rahouma, M. and Port, J.L., 2017. Mental Health and Emotional Stress; Impact of Cancer
Diagnosis on Suicide. J Biol Med Res, 1(1), p.2.
Rew, K.T. and Heidelbaugh, J.J., 2016. Erectile dysfunction. Am FAM Physician, 94(10),
pp.820-7.
Seaward, B.L., 2017. Managing stress. Jones & Bartlett Learning.