How Does Stress Affect Health?
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Learn about the high cortisol symptoms, adrenal fatigue and why you can't lose. |
As you’ve already seen, high cortisol symptoms are caused by the so-called adrenal fatigue, one of the most dangerous effects of stress on health and on your body weight. So if you're asking, how does stress affect health, you should know that being overweight and unable to lose weight is one of the most visible effects.
If you think that losing weight is exclusively about cutting calories and exercising more, think again.
Have you experienced the frustration of eating well and exercising regularly without losing a pound?
Yes, I know.
I’ve been there.
It took me years to figure out what was going on and to understand that my weight gain and the resistance to losing it were, in fact, high cortisol symptoms caused by high stress levels accumulated over a long time.
But what is cortisol?
A useful hormone that’s produced by the adrenal glands, cortisol helps regulate your blood sugar levels and your body's use of protein, carbohydrates and fat.
It also aids in energy production, controls inflammation, the functioning of your immune system and healing in general.
So although cortisol is a naturally occurring hormone, its levels become dangerously high under prolonged stress. Elevated cortisol stimulates the production of glucose in excess, which is then converted into fat and stored as such - ouch!
One of the nastiest high cortisol symptoms you’ll ever experience, especially if you’re a woman, is weight gain, particularly in the abdominal area. And there’s more. Adrenal fatigue and high cortisol levels not only make it very easy to put on weight - losing it becomes almost impossible.
Whenever you're wondering, how does stress affect health, remember this.
You will not feel an elevated cortisol level immediately; rather, you start experiencing its negative impact on your health, as its effects accumulate over time, in months or years.
Adrenal Fatigue and High Cortisol Symptoms to Watch for...
...when you have high cortisol levels are:
- frequent colds and infections due to the low immune function
- high blood pressure
- insulin resistance
- elevated blood sugar
- increased abdominal circumference
- food cravings
- mood swings
- high anxiety
- disturbed sleep
- brain fog
- irritability
- depression
- stomach ulcer
- premature aging
- muscle and bone loss
- skin conditions, like eczema, acne
- hair loss
Medical research also lists among the high cortisol symptoms a condition called Cushing's Syndrome.
While in men it manifests as a loss of libido and low fertility level, in women the symptoms can vary from growth of hair on the face to upsetting PMS symptoms and an irregular menstrual cycle.
In fact, under intense and prolonged stress, women may even experience premature menopause.
The bottom line is this. Both men and women experience weight gain, irritability, and extreme fatigue.
Avoiding these High Cortisol Symptoms...
...is not easy if you don’t have some reliable stress relaxation techniques to release stresses of all sorts that accumulate over time.
Whether you experience physical stress (trauma, overwork, lack of sleep) or psychological stress (a demanding job, worry over relationships or money issues, anxiety, unresolved emotional distress), your body reacts to it by releasing increasingly more cortisol in your blood stream to help cope with it.
So, what can you do?
Sure, the obvious choice would be to reduce the stressors in your life--good luck with that! However, what you can do is find practical ways to release stress regularly so it does not accumulate.
For example, use some anxiety and stress management techniques that work for you... listening to relaxing music, a brisk walk, gardening, petting your cat (or dog), yoga, meditation, tai-chi, breathing exercises, therapeutic massage, a hobby, journaling, or any other enjoyable activity that kicks your endorphins and makes you release stress - except eating, of course ;)
Here are two (almost instant) stress relaxation techniques for reducing cortisol levels >>
^TOP^ List of High Cortisol Symptoms
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