STRESS
It has only been within the last decade that
the medical profession has begun to classify
stress as a serious, health threatening
condition. This is of major importance to men, as they are
statistically proven to be more susceptible to
extreme stress than women.
Stress is the reaction of the body to an external event
that is emotionally disturbing, threatening or otherwise
disquieting. When such an event is experience, we react
with what is termed a "flight or fight" response. Basically
in a hunter predator, such as a human being, a snap
decision is made as to whether we are going to fight, or
run. As part of this decision making process, our bodies
will prepare us for the action that will be the ultimate
result. Adrenaline levels, along with other
neurotransmitter substances such as dopamine and serotonin,
will be boosted, as well as heart rate increased and blood
pressure raised. This is probably left over from our
caveman days, where such a fight or flight response was
much more literal in its end result. In today's society, if
allowed to run wild, this can be very destructive to the
health of a person.
Although directly harmful to our bodies, stress can also
lead us to other things such as drug and alcohol
abuse, compounding the health
problems and leading to even higher stress levels.
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