Stressed Out By Stress

"Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." (Isa 12:2 NIV)

In a Harris Poll taken for the American Psychiatric Association (Stress in America Survey 1/2012), it was discovered that 81% of women say they manage stress extremely or somewhat well. Yet, in actuality, 82% of the women polled experience physical symptoms of stress! Various sources have estimated that up to 75% of all visits to physician's offices are stress-related.

Most people experience physical or emotional stress on a daily basis from the normal pressures of meeting deadlines, driving to work, being a parent, or just making ends meet. When there is an immediate dangerous or lingering threat, like a global pandemic, to the body, it will react with the "fight or flight" or "acute stress" response for protection that can last anywhere from minutes to hours.

However, there are those events that can overwhelm even the strongest of people. Sub-acute stress lasts less than a month. Long-term pressures of "chronic stress" that last months to years can result in physical and emotional strain or tension that can take a toll on the body, triggering the premature aging of immune system cells.

Medical science has determined that chronic stress is most likely the primary cause of sickness and disease, which includes everything from the common cold to serious and debilitating illness. Psychology has shown that negative emotions can also hinder and even stop the immune system from working.

Stress is the building block for worry, anxiety, and depression. It can be an external stimulus that signals danger, often by causing pain both emotionally and physically. The stress of unresolved negative emotions such as anger, bitterness, hatred, and unforgiveness has been credited for up to 75% of all hospital stays.

When a person doesn't forgive those who have caused them hurt or suffering for any reason, or even if they have experienced a painful tragedy, they will have great difficulty dealing with any stressful situation throughout their life.

Worry

Worry is an emotional response that triggers a physiological reaction. It is a feeling that lingers long after the stress has lifted, and the threat has passed. It can be a useful tool for focusing the mind when there is a deadline looming, but it becomes a problem when it persists too long beyond the immediate threat.

Anxiety

Excessive worry leads to anxiety. Anxiety Disorder is the most common mental illness in the U.S., according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Anxiety disorders affect more than 50 million people in the U.S. It is second only to alcohol and drug abuse.

When a person experiences anxiety, they often can't specify what it is they're anxious about. The focus of anxiety is more internal than external. It seems to be a response to a vague, distant, or even unrecognized danger. They might be anxious about "losing control" of their self or some situation. Or, they might feel vague anxiety about "'something bad happening."

Anxiety affects a person's entire being. It is a physiological, behavioral, and psychological reaction all at once. On a physiological level, anxiety may include bodily reactions such as rapid heartbeat, muscle tension, queasiness, dry mouth, or sweating. On a behavioral level, it can sabotage the ability to act, express one's self, or deal with certain everyday situations.

Psychologically, anxiety is a subjective state of apprehension and uneasiness. In its most extreme form, it can cause a person to feel detached from self and even fearful of dying or going crazy.

Depression

Constant worry and anxiety can lead to depression, which is the state of feeling sad, dejected, and hopeless. It is most often a result of not getting what one wants - the way they want it - and when they want it. It can show up as irritability, anger, and discouragement, and can even lead to thoughts of suicide. It can also be very difficult to recognize and is often masked behind problems such as alcohol and drug abuse, domestic violence, troubled relationships, excessive work hours, poor grades at school, difficulty in thinking and concentration. Researchers know that adults who suffer from depression were often very anxious as children.

Medical science has created anti-depressant drugs known as serotonin reuptake inhibitors to deal with the problems associated with worry, anxiety, and depression, but not the actual root issue. These drugs are prescribed by the tens of millions, and a majority of them contain chlorine, and at one time in the past, mercury before it was banned, as their primary ingredients. Mercury is connected to Alzheimer's.

Exercising three times a day is eight times more effective, and a sugar pill is 20 times more effective than these anti-depressants. Research has confirmed that one of these drugs shows a 700% increase in breast cancer. In addition, some of these drugs are highly addictive, and the more often a person takes them, the more often they need them to get the same effect. They can even cause an increase in the very problems they are designed to help.