Distress is any stress that is long term and associated with a perception of helplessness, hopelessness, and a sense of defeat. It affects every part of your body including your brain. Stress creates cortisol and adrenaline. Adrenaline changes shut down the function of organs that are essential in all but the short term escape need, when someone is ready to attack you.
DISTRESS:
- Makes it difficult to go to sleep or stay asleep, or sleeping too much
- Feeling tired all the time.
- Upsets your gut bacteria balance
- Unbalances hormones and is the main cause of inflammation in the body and brain
- Believes you are in an emergency all day long
- Accumulates micro stressors that affect the brain over the years when multitasking
- Encourages Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes and other diseases
- Increases your blood sugar which leads to diabetes
- Affects your brain and how it works.
- Harms your pituitary gland in all areas.
- Gives headaches
- Gives overall aches and pains
- Digestive problems
- Lack of interest in sex
STRESS HORMONES
- Makes cortisol and creates a fight and flight negative reaction that makes you confused. Notice how when you are stressed out, you can’t think, your mind goes blank?
- Make cortisol go up and when that happens, oxygen goes down. Have you noticed that when you are stressed, you tend to hyperventilate and yawn? Yawning is your brain saying it needs more oxygen.
- It also affects how fat you are. Stress makes you eat more - especially more sweets - because it increases cortisol. Fat created by cortisol is the "deep-belly, the kind which increases health risks and makes it harder to lose weight.
EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS OF DISTRESS
YOU ARE:
- Irritable and distrusting of others
- Angry. You don’t want to wear a mask, but they are required for you to live a somewhat normal life
- Confused about what is going on. Not knowing what is real and what is fake
- Mentally and physically exhaustion
- Feeling isolated and alone
- Wanting to escape
- In pain and you are afraid you will get worse
- Afraid of others, the future, making the wrong choices
- Striving for perfection and never succeeding
- Tired and depressed, not feeling well. You want to stay in bed and hide from the situation.
- Not interested in things you used to enjoy or not being able to do the things you enjoy
- Feeling either slowed down or restless and unable to sit still
- Feeling guilt and worthlessness.
- Thinking of death and suicide
- Hopeless and worry all the time
- Not able to perform effectively
- Concerned about your finances, the future or that you have no control over the situation
- Upset and a little angry because nobody appreciates you for all you do and you want someone to consider your needs for a change
Now you have a better idea of what stress looks and feels like. It’s time to start thinking about how to get healthy again and reduce the stress. Look at: HANDLE STRESS and MORE ABOUT STRESS for more information.
