What stress affects

What it looks and feels like

What it may contribute to or worsen

What else you need to know

Muscles and joints

• Pain or tightness in muscles and chest
• Soreness in muscles and joints
• Knots or spasms of pain

• Rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia
• Accidental injury such as a muscle sprain or strain

Stress lowers your threshold for pain. Small aches that you ordinarily may not notice feel more painful when you’re highly stressed

Skin and hair

• Hives, itching
• Excessive sweating
• Hair loss (telogen effluvium and alopecia areata)

• Skin conditions such as eczema, rosacea, psoriasis

When you’re under stress, it usually is more difficult to refrain from scratching skin that’s irritated

Stress-induced hair loss may take months to resolve

Tension triangle: shoulders, head and jaw

• Tension headaches
• Severe headaches with nausea and disturbed vision
• Tightness in scalp and jaw, stiff/painful neck
• Knots and spasms of pain in neck and shoulders

• Migraines, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder

Most headaches are not caused by serious disease.

However, report your symptoms to your doctor, who should take a “headache history” that includes information such as how your pain feels, where it’s located, how often you get headaches and what other symptoms are present

Gut

• Abdominal pain, cramping
• Gas, diarrhea or constipation
• Heartburn, indigestion

• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS, nervous stomach, irritable colon or spastic colon), poor digestion, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), peptic ulcers

Though IBS can be frustrating, having it does not increase the chances of other intestinal disorders or cancer

Heart/lungs

• Pain or tightness in chest, lightheadedness, inability to breathe
• Heart palpitations: skipped heartbeats or periodic racing of the heart

• Heart disease and stroke
• High blood pressure
• Asthma
• Arrhythmias

People who are continually stressed secrete a hormone called cortisol, which raises blood pressure and causes the body to retain fluids, placing more stress on the heart

High stress levels are linked to higher levels of inflammation, which
is implicated in heart disease, among other conditions

Immune system

• Frequent colds or other viruses

• Autoimmune disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), type 1 diabetes, lupus

Being ill or having a chronic disease weakens your immune system. Adding prolonged stress is a double whammy

Mood and outlook

• Low motivation, loss of interest and pleasure in activities including sex
• Difficulty sleeping
• Being easily upset or short-tempered
• Nervous tension, low energy
• Feelings of helplessness and being overwhelmed

• Heart disease
• Sleep problems
• Depression and anxiety
• Sexual dysfunction
• Unhealthy lifestyle habits, such as too much alcohol, smoking and overeating

Feeling down and tense because of stress isn’t a personal failing. It happens to most people

Short-term treatment is usually effective, and it’s OK to seek help