Stress is a double-edged sword. In the right place, it can be to our benefit. Exercise is a “good” type of stress that forces our body to adapt and build strong, resilient muscle. And it helps us to survive whenever we’re in danger. However, most of the time, no one is ever truly in danger. People are getting caught up in social media, struggling to balance work and life, pay their bills, and stay sane as they hustle. With so many things to juggle, is it any wonder that we’re burning out and co-existing with extreme stress? I’ve covered how to deal with it in many posts (see here and here), but I haven’t made a full list of the side effects of chronic stress. Don’t underestimate the power of stress, everyone! It’s no joke. I’d even argue that it’s a big reason why there are so many health problems affecting our society. So, let’s not waste any more time. Here are the top side effects of chronic stress!

Cortisol

Whenever we’re stressed, our body (specifically the adrenal glands) releases the hormone cortisol. Remember, the word “stress” can refer to different things. High-intensity interval training (HIIT), kickboxing, running, or even watching a scary movie can all be viewed as “stress.” So, stress can come in different forms. Cortisol isn’t necessarily a bad hormone. See, it’s usually known as the “stress hormone” because it comes out during “fight or flight” moments of stress. And during them, our senses would grow sharper, our strength, speed, and endurance would increase, and we’d be able to survive whatever threatens us. Think assault or running from a bear. Today, those threats are usually in the form of overtraining, abusive relationships, multitasking, anxiety, and work.

Now, there’s no avoiding stress. That’s just life. The problem is that many of us don’t know how to deal with it. As a result, our body remains in fight or flight mode, and cortisol remains high. The side effects of chronic, elevated cortisol levels include:

• Extreme (or chronic) fatigue
• Weight gain
• Bloating
• Diabetes or blood sugar imbalances
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Kidney stones
• Osteoporosis or weak bones
• Irregular periods
• Low libido
• Depression and anxiety
• Irritability
• Mood Swings
• Insomnia
• Poor memory and concentration
• Thin skin that bruises easily
• Acne
• Facial flushing
• Purple stretch marks all over the body (thighs, arms, chest, belly)
• Muscle weakness
• Cushing syndrome (hypercortisolism)

[1] [2] [3]

All of these symptoms create a domino-like effect throughout the body. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions, symptoms, and illness that gets wilder the longer you continue to ride it out.

Digestion

Stress literally put the brakes on digestion. Our body is only ever in one of two states. I’ve already mentioned one of them- fight or flight- which is the sympathetic state responsible for our survival. The other state is known as the parasympathetic state of rest and digest, and as you may probably have guessed, its responsible for recovery (or rest) and digestion. Whenever cortisol swings high and our stress along with it, our body switches out of rest and digest and focuses on keeping us alive. Great. Well, not so great when you’re eating or trying to chill out. Blood flow goes away from the digestive tract, enzymes stop being released, and our ability to break down and absorb our food weakens. As a result, you experience things like bloating, acid reflux, cramping, food intolerances, and indigestion (amongst others). When you’re like this all the time, your gut is at risk for dysbiosis (bacterial imbalances), infections, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and intestinal permeability (aka, leaky gut).

Chronic stress also weakens our vagus nerve, which is responsible for keeping us “regular” (aka, free of constipation), managing inflammation, controlling appetite, and absorbing nutrients. Poor vagal tone leads to SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), high blood pressure, heart attacks, stroke, depression, anxiety, and impaired digestion. Chronic stress hits our gut with a double whammy punch of depleting the vagus nerve and slowing down digestion.

Exercise 

Sure, exercise is a good kind of stress, but not if the stress carries over into recovery. The parasympathetic state of rest and digest isn’t only for gut health. It’s also essential for building muscles, losing weight, and recovering from exercise. If you can’t do that, not only will all of that effort you put into working out go to taste, it can backfire. Joint pain, bloating, swelling, and injury are all at risk. Not only that, but it eats away at muscles. During extreme stress, your body is looking for fuel to help it overcome the “danger” or “threat” it senses. Muscle happens to be one of the first things that’s sacrificed for survival. Losing muscle is dangerous for many reasons outside of looks. It can lead to weakness or atrophy, further injury, low metabolism, and disability. Your performance also goes down, progress is next to none, and building and maintaining muscle gets harder and harder. [4] [5]

Inflammation

Another consequence of extreme stress is inflammation. But not just a little bit. Enough to affect your entire body. Chronic stress means chronic inflammation.

And the consequences include: 

• Compromised immune function (also referred to as immunosuppression): the body’s defenses against infections quickly decline (which can be fatal in some cases). Disease risk also reaches an all-time high. At the very least, you’re always first to catch seasonal colds and flu.
• Heart attacks, stroke, and failure
• Asthma
• IBD (irritable bowel disease)
• Type 2 diabetes
• Damage to the cells, DNA, tissues, and organs

[6] [7] [8] [9]

Wrapping It All Up

Can stress alone cause any of these? That’s debatable, depending on the expert you ask. But many can agree that stress plays a huge role in inflammation, chronic cortisol, and poor health. So, it may not always be the culprit, but it’s not something to have around always. If your stress is indeed wreaking your health, then please, don’t wait, and get help. It may just be the trigger behind more severe issues down the line. In the meantime, I have a great post that you can check out here to help you deal with everyday stress. 

 While stress is a part of life, it shouldn’t have to own you. You need to learn how to control it before it controls you.

Sources:

[1] https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-cortisol#1
[2] https://www.healthline.com/health/high-cortisol-symptoms#see-a-doctor
[3] https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/cushing-syndrome#1
[4] https://www.menshealth.com/uk/health/a759406/how-stress-sabotages-muscle-building-and-weight-loss-goals/
[5] https://www.healthline.com/health/muscle-atrophy
[6] https://www.verywellhealth.com/compromised-immune-system-suppressed-immunity-2615155
[7] https://www.rn.com/featured-stories/stress-inflammation-immunity/
[8] https://www.healthline.com/health/chronic-inflammation#effects-on-the-body
[9] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1774724/