Stress has sadly become a constant in most of our lives, and if we don’t manage it well, it puts us at risk for serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke. Learn how an integrative approach to treatment can buoy your health.
You’re trying to get out of the grocery store with food for the week, but your toddler isn’t having it and is melting down. You and your spouse are disagreeing about a financial matter. You subsisted on junk food and stayed up all night preparing a work presentation.
Each of these scenarios describes a stressful situation, and if you don’t get a handle on managing your stress, it can have devastating effects on your physical and mental health. No one is immune to stress — the trick is learning to manage it well.
Stress-related illnesses are treated by the compassionate and highly competent team of physicians at Gain Wellness Center, Dr. Mandeep Walia-Bhatia. Her integrative approach to wellness means that she looks to the deeper causes of your health challenge and seek diverse solutions, so your emotional and physical health can return to being in sync once again.
How does stress harm me?
Unfortunately, stress hurts your physical and mental health in countless ways, reducing your quality of life. Stress causes:
- Digestive problems
- Sleep issues
- Skin rashes
- Headaches
- Sexual dysfunction
- Appetite changes
- Depression
- Anxiety and angry feelings
- Fertility challenges
- High blood pressure
- Pain and muscle discomfort
- Undereating and overeating
- Heart irregularities
- High blood sugar
- Hormonal disequilibrium
Additionally, some studies have connected stress to inflammation of the circulatory system, and your response to stress may also impact your cholesterol levels.
This extensive list really amounts to a worrisome portrait of stress’ impact on every part of your body and psyche.
Stress: An ancient reaction
No longer do we have to worry about being chased by a tiger, but our hormonal responses remain the same when we feel threatened or stressed. Our levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, rise and can even cause our bloodstream’s sugar levels to increase, mess with our immune systems, and suppress our growth, reproductive system, and digestive systems.
Another stress-related hormone, adrenaline, causes our heart to race and elevates blood pressure.
These functions, in turn, affect mood and energy level.
When you move toward a state of near-constant stress, this is when your health really suffers. Between the tech devices to which we’re now become slaves, negative interpersonal interactions, and minor and major worries that are unique to our lives, stress can overtake us. Then the risk for serious health catastrophes like heart attack and stroke are real.
What treatments can help me harness my stress and lower my risk for disease?
Whether you’re noticing more signs that you’re stressed lately, or you feel you’re at a breaking point, the caring providers at Gain Wellness Center can help.
To start, we offer an innovative screening, the Complete Wellness Evaluation, that sees us look at a host of health factors to gain a better understanding of the conditions affecting you and helps guide our treatment plans. In addition to your stress, we get a better understanding of your:
- Cellular health
- Hormone levels
- Diet
- Daily physical activity level
Once we gain clarity on these issues, we can create a customized treatment plan for you, which may include nutritional recommendations, counseling about exercise, and advice to engage in mindfulness practices such as meditation. We may also provide you with information on mitigating loneliness by spending time with friends and family or volunteering and allowing yourself to do activities you love, whether it’s running with your dog, baking the perfect pie, or enjoying a hot cup of tea and a good book.
Combining these activities with a nutrient-dense diet and ample rest are sure to reset your stress levels, and it’s important too to remember that we’re here for you as motivators, educators, medical experts, and more — and not just for a week or a month, but for your entire journey to good health and beyond.
Call Gain Wellness Center at 858-524-3821 to schedule your evaluative consultation. Shed your stress, and you’ll reduce your risk for health complications.
