15 Facts about Stress & Anxiety!

1. Stress has been called “the silent killer” and can lead to heart disease, high blood pressure, chest pain, and an irregular heartbeat.
2. Laughing lowers stress hormones (like cortisol, epinephrine, and adrenaline) and strengthens the immune system by releasing health-enhancing hormones.
3. Stress is linked to the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, liver cirrhosis, and suicide.
4. The term “stress” derives from the Latin stringere (to draw tight).
5. Stress causes capillaries to close, which restricts bleeding if a flesh wound should occur.
6. Chronic stress floods the brain with powerful hormones that are meant for short-term emergency situations. Chronic exposure can damage, shrink, and kill brain cells.
7. Stress can alter blood sugar levels, which can cause mood swings, fatigue, hyperglycemia, and metabolic syndrome, a major risk factor for heart attack and diabetes.
8. Chronic stress worsens irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a condition that irritates the large intestine and causes constipation, cramping, and bloating.
9. Chinese stress balls (Baoding balls) were created during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) in Baoding, China. Originally made of iron, the balls are thought to relieve stress because they touch pressure or acupuncture points on the hand.
10. Stress can result in more headaches as a result of the body rerouting blood flow to other parts of the body.
11. The hyper-arousal of the body’s stress response system can lead to chronic insomnia.
12. An early record of post-traumatic stress syndrome dates from the eighth century B.C. in Homer’s Iliad when Achilles suffers severe battle stress in the Trojan War. Achilles complains of feeling emotionally “numb” or “dead” and expresses suicidal thoughts and rage.
13. In Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Lady Percy’s description of her battle-worn husband, Harry Hotspur, is surprisingly similar to the symptoms of actual post-traumatic syndrome, such as feeling estranged from others, difficulty sleeping, exhibiting an exaggerated startle, dysphoria, and strong anxiety.
14. When cells shrink due to exposure to stress hormones, they disconnect from each other, which contributes to depression.
15. Stress can kill.

Drron :-)