How stress affects your body

If you're stressed out, it will show, especially if you are a Type A Personality. Our body is like a radar for stress; if you're losing it, you're losing your body. 

Hair - You will lose or it will turn grey. Everyone falls victim to hair loss, even great leaders. The irony is that when you see your hair fall or see it turning grey, you stress out even further. So relax, the next person may have it worse than you.

Brain - This is when you think of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Stress is a trigger for headaches, insomnia, nightmares, depression, anxiety, mood swing, compulsive behaviour, to name a few. You will also feel light in the head, dizzy, experience difficulty in concentrating as well as have frequent racing or incoherent thoughts.

Mouth - Sometimes ulcers may not be linked to what you eat but, instead, be linked to the stress you feel. The other symptoms include jaw clenching, teeth grinding, stammering, dry mouth and problem swallowing. While it's easier said than done, try and be conscious of your mouth's movements when you're thinking hard or involved in a stressful situation.

Skin - This is a lesser known fact, but stress may also result in skin-related ailments like eczema and psoriasis. Besides this, sweating, rash, itchiness and infections are also linked to increased levels of anxiety. The more you share your nervousness and tension with others, the lesser you'll be stressed. Besides all other stress outcomes like poor digestion, weak lungs, hormonal imbalances, etc, will manifest themselves as skin problems as well. For instance, most cases of acne that persist through to adulthood are related to these internal problems.


Muscle - Body aches and muscle aches are a common complain, especially among office goers. Spasmodic pains in which your muscles twitch, are extremely debilitating to say the least. Triggered by stress on muscle groups or joints, these aches need rest and nourishment for proper rehabilitation - something that our stressful lives do not allow. Further, a weak muscle or imbalanced muscle group are easy prey for poor posture and stress-related injuries. Maintaining a good exercise routine and complementing it with adequate nourishment is the best way to fight such aches and pains.

Heart and Lungs - Stress is linked to cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. Chest pains and palpitations are not just related to cholesterol but also to stress. A heavy heart or an overwhelmed feeling adds more stress to your heart in more ways than one. Asthmatics can associate with this point. Stress makes it difficult to breathe and this results in constant sighing. Practise deep breathing exercises to fight the effects of stress on your heart and lungs.

Digestive tract - Your stomach is not a silent observer. Irritable bowls, irritable colon, ulcers - these are all manifestations of and reactions to stress. Certain digestive ill-health concerns like constipation and diarrhea are also fairly common.

Reproductive organs - Women are prone to menstrual disorder and recurrent vaginal infection, while impotence and premature ejaculation is a common problem among men. All these issues are stress-related. While problems like PCO and other hormonal imbalance related disorders are just as affected by poor lifestyle choices, sometimes these can also be triggered by poor stress management. In the long run, such issues can impact your chances of conceiving.