5 Surprising Side Effects of Stress You Should Know About

Updated on August 1, 2022

When a job becomes too demanding, when you’re getting ready for a significant shift in your life, or even just when you’re stopped in traffic, everyone goes through it from time to time. When you begin to experience an increase in mental strain, your adrenal glands will begin to secrete stress chemicals, namely cortisol. These things set off a response in the neurological system known as the “fight-or-flight” reflex, which was initially developed to defend you against a real and present physical threat. It may be helpful in the short term while you’re in the middle of a stressful event. But, if it’s activated in your day-to-day life, it may have serious health effects for your physical health. The only answer may be consulting the Orange County rehab.

Hair loss

Have you ever confided in a friend or family member that you were so anxious that you were tearing your hair out? That is a true ailment that affects certain people. It’s called trichotillomania, and it can happen when a person’s stress levels are so high that the only way to find relief is by pulling out his or her own hair from the scalp, face, or body. It can happen when a person’s stress levels are so high that the only way to find relief is by pulling out his or her own hair from the scalp, face, or body. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease in which the hair follicles are attacked by the immune system, which may be triggered by extreme emotional or physical stress. Alopecia areata is an involuntary kind of hair loss.

Magnesium Deficiency

As stress hormones gradually deplete your body’s reserves of magnesium over time, magnesium deficiency may be one of the less well-known impacts that stress has on the body. A lack of magnesium may result in a number of unpleasant symptoms, including cramping in the muscles, constipation, lack of sleep, and even mental illness. Magnesium is a very important element for our systems. Magnesium is found in a wide variety of foods, and there are also over-the-counter tablets that may assist in restoring depleted levels. Reducing the stress in your day-to-day life is only one advantage of consuming magnesium-rich meals.

Seizure-like episodes

Johns Hopkins medical researchers have made a striking revelation in relation to the many sources of stress in one’s life: More than one third of patients who were sent to the hospital with seizures or epileptic sorts of episodes were in fact reacting to very high levels of stress, and they did not respond to the standard medicine that was given. These symptoms, which tend to strike people whose living circumstances produce an enormous amount of stress, have been given the name psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES), which are also known as pseudo seizures.

Reduced capacity to attract

When you’re under a lot of pressure, the last thing that’s going to be on your mind is probably attempting to impress someone. A study conducted at Binghamton University found that female rats could sense the emotional state of male rats and were much less attracted to the ones who exhibited high levels of stress. This is probably a good thing because the study found that female rats were much less attracted to male rats who exhibited high levels of stress. Despite the fact that this research has not been conducted on people, it is likely preferable to concentrate on oneself while experiencing high levels of stress.

Additional problems with your reproductive system may be brought on by stress. Low libido is a common side effect of experiencing high amounts of stress. It’s even possible for males to have erectile dysfunction as a result of it. For women, stress may contribute to reproductive issues such as irregular menstrual periods or trouble conceiving a child. For males, stress can lead to difficulty falling asleep.

Loss of memory

It is natural to feel as if you can’t recall things when you are under stress; yet, the majority of the time, you attribute this sensation to the fact that there is so much going on in your life, which is often what causes the stress in the first place. Researchers from the University of California, Irvine have discovered that stress hormones might really have an effect on the synapses in our brains that are important for learning new information and remembering it. Surprisingly, when the patients of the study were relieved of their stresses, they were able to make greater use of their dendritic spines, which are the locations where synapses are found.