We all experience stress in our daily lives, but we have to find ways to deal with it. When you don’t have the right coping methods or the amount of stress that you’re dealing with becomes too much, you can find that stress starts to have an effect on your health.
While you might recognize tense muscles as a sign of stress, there are also other signs of stress that aren’t always as expected. It can affect you in some unusual ways, and you might not even realize that it’s stress causing some of your problems. Here are some of the ways stress could be changing your body.
Oral Health Problems
Taking care of our oral health is something that we build into our daily routines. But oral health problems could be a sign that you’re experiencing a lot of stress. One thing that you might notice is that you get bad breath. When you’re stressed, you can produce less saliva, which leads to bad breath. If you find that even though you’re keeping up with your usual oral hygiene, you’re still experiencing bad breath, it could be because of stress. Sore or bleeding gums can also be a sign of stress. This is because stress weakens your immune system and could mean more bacteria in your mouth.
Digestive Issues
A lot of us will recognize that our digestive systems can be sensitive to how we’re feeling. If you’re anxious or stressed, you might find that you experience an upset stomach or even just feel like you have a knot in your stomach. You might have even asked yourself can stress cause constipation if it’s a problem that you’ve experienced during high-stress periods. And the answer is yes; stress can affect your digestive system in many ways. You could find yourself feeling hungry all the time, or you might experience the opposite and lose your appetite.
Skin and Hair Problems
Your skin and hair can be affected by a variety of things, from your diet to your environment and what products you use on them. Stress can be unkind to your skin and hair too, especially if you already have a related health condition. For example, if you have a dry skin condition such as eczema or psoriasis, you could find that you experience worse symptoms when you’re stressed. Stress could also cause you to feel itchy, break out in spots, sweat more, or even experience hair loss.
More Illness
Stress releases a hormone called cortisol, which can reduce the power of your immune system if you have too much of it. When your immune system isn’t at its best, it could mean that you get ill more easily. You could find that you’re catching a lot of coughs and colds or that you’re just generally feeling under the weather. While taking vitamin C could help, dealing with the stress in your life is better.
When stress is wreaking havoc on your body, you need to address the root of the problem. Deal with the stress and your other issues will follow.