Stress: your body under attack

by Anita Harris

Having trouble sleeping? Popping more antacids than usual? Or maybe youve had more colds this winter. Maybe these symptoms are related to stress.

Just about everyone has experienced a pounding heart, tense muscles and sweaty palms

When you experience stress, Sloan explains, your blood clots more readily so you bleed less, and blood flows to your muscles so you can fight back with strength. This would be very helpful if you were being attacked by a lion, he says, "but its not useful when your boss yells at you." There is considerable evidence to suggest that prolonged or frequent exposure to stressful events can increase our vulnerability to illnesses like depression, heart attacks, and the common cold.

Scientists are only just beginning to understand how this works, according to Firdaus Dhabhar, Ph.D., an assistant professor and neuroimmunologist at Ohio State University.

As he explains it, when our sensory organs encounter a potential threat, they transmit signals to the brain which, in turn, releases chemicals that stimulate nerves and glands throughout the body. In the adrenal glands

Under conditions of ongoing or repeated stress

Repeated or constant exposure to stressors may also impair the brains ability to evaluate whether a stress response is warranted and make it less able to regulate the response, according to a 1998 article in the New England Journal of Medicine by Bruce McEwen, Ph.D., of the Rockefeller Institute. This could be problematic at several levels

To begin with, its important to recognize the presence of stress-induced symptoms. The signs may include:

• Excess anxiety
• Stomachaches
• Headaches
• Diarrhea
• Temper outbursts
• Unexplained anger or crying spells
• Nightmares or insomnia
• Personality changes
• Impatience

Change your situation

Do what you can to change stressful conditions, Benson advises. If they involve a relationship or workplace situation, he says, "more often than not, this is difficult to do."

Learn to relax

Benson advocates invoking what he calls "the relaxation response." This well-known technique, based on the principles of transcendental meditation, involves repeating a word, sound, prayer or phrase or performing a repetitive muscular activity. "When other thoughts come into your mind, let them go passively, and come back to repetition." According to Benson, who is the founder of the Mind/Body Medical Institute, these activities have been shown to quiet the brain and to decrease blood pressure, heart rate, and the rate of breathing.

Change your outlook

Sloan suggests learning relaxation techniques such as biofeedback, and what he terms "cognitive restructuring," a method that involves questioning whether the physiologic reaction you are experiencing is rationally justified. "You may learn that your office is being moved and think thats the worst news Ive had in years," he explains. By "reforming" the issue, you may decide its not so bad