Stress: The Silent Killer

by Molly M. Ginty

It was the worst year of Phyllis Mass’ life.

Between the summer of 2005 and the summer of 2006, when Mass was mourning her sister’s recent death from lung cancer, she lost her mother to heart failure. Her husband ruptured a disk in his back, and both their children had major surgery. And then Mass’ kitchen flooded, requiring extensive renovations. On top of that, Mass herself developed Sciatica — likely brought on by stress.

"When I look back on the events between the summer of 2005 and the summer of 2006, it’s a miracle I survived them," says Mass, 65, a writer in Philadelphia. "Luckily, I knew how to cope with my stress."

To treat her back pain and ease anxiety, Mass spent an hour every day of that year doing yoga and meditation. She says these practices helped keep her healthy and able to support family members through their annus horribilis.

Studies show that stress can wreak havoc with your health, raising your heart rate, fogging your memory, and boosting your risk of obesity, diabetes, and depression. Due to stress, 77 percent of  Americans suffer physical problems and 73 percent suffer psychological ones, reports the Washington-based American Psychological Association.

"The good news is that you can successfully combat stress," says Diane Riebel, director of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program at Philadelphia’s Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Mass’ meditation teacher. "Meditation, which eases stress, can decrease anxiety by 45 percent and depression 35 by percent."

If stress hurts our health, why do we need it in the first place? Because this "fight-or-flight" response is key to our survival. When you encounter a threat, the hypothalamus in your brain prompts the adrenal glands above your kidneys to unleash the hormones adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones speed the heart rate and breathing and slow digestion and the immune response, helping your mind and body spring to immediate action.

How the fight-or-flight response affects you depends on your genes, lifestyle, and upbringing, as those raised in stressful environments are more prone to stress as adults. How often you’re under fire also plays a role. "Health problems start when the fight-or-flight response never shuts off, and cortisol and adrenaline flood our systems," says Robert Sapolsky, professor of neurobiology at Stanford University in Stanford, California.

Studies show that cortisol is more dangerous for women than for men, as women get a more prolonged burst of it during the fight-or-flight response. A poll by the American Academy of Physicians shows that women are 25 percent more likely than men to have stress management problems. But research also shows that women are more likely to seek help — to "tend and befriend" by reaching out to family and friends during trying times.

In a recent survey by the American Psychological Association (APA), nearly half of Americans said that their stress level has increased over the past five years and one third of them said that they were under extreme stress. "Stress in America continues to escalate and is affecting every aspect of people’s lives," says Russ Newman, the APA’s executive director of professional practice. "And these high stress levels can have long-term consequences."

Research shows that stress can compromise work performance and strain our relationships with friends and family — especially if we react to it with anger or tears.

Just as alarming, stress can affect our physical health. It can aggravate arthritis, heart disease, hypertension, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and osteoporosis. It can cause acne, eczema, dry mouth, hair loss, hives, indigestion, insomnia, and weight gain (especially around the abdomen). Because it affects blood flow, it can make your hands and feet cold. Because it affects breathing, it can cause hyperventilation. Because it compromises immunity, it can make you more susceptible to colds and infections. And because it wreaks havoc with your hormones, it can shut down your menstrual cycle and even lead to early menopause.

To counteract these health hazards, nutritionists recommend eating fiber-rich whole grains that boost serotonin (a brain chemical that induces a sense of calm) and spinach, lean meat, and fish (rich in vitamin B, which helps transform food into energy and which high stress levels can deplete).

Health advocates also recommend a variety of stress-management strategies: aerobic exercise, biofeedback, hypnosis, massage, tai chi, prayer, visualization, and professional counseling.

"Simple techniques can help counteract everyday stress," says Riebel. "Remember to pause, if only for a minute. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth and release a gentle sigh a few times. Check in with your body, and when you feel that your muscles are clenching, be consciously aware of it and release them."

Just rolling your shoulders when they’re tense — and getting up every 30 minutes to stretch — can help ward off chronic stress. So can maintaining a positive attitude.

"If you view a stressful situation as a challenge — instead of taking the approach of learned helplessness — you’re much more likely to deal with it effectively," says Beverly Thorn, professor of psychology at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Between your squalling kids, your nagging boss, and tax season looming this month, stress can get the better of you. But if you’re confident you can conquer it — and if you make stress management part of your daily routine like brushing your teeth or popping a multivitamin — you can maintain calm in the face of the worst storm.

Molly M. Ginty lives in New York. Her work has appeared in Ms., Marie Claire, Redbook, and Women’s eNews.

For more information: American Psychological Association "Stress in America Survey 2007" www.apa.org/releases/stressproblem.html

Article published in Lutheran Woman Today, April 2008