A shocking statistic you may not know is that 55 percent of Americans experience stress during the day. That’s about one in two people!
It’s a statistic that should get one concerned, considering what stress can do to our bodies.
If you feel overwhelmed by stress in your day-to-day life, you should consider a stress lab test. A lab test can check various biomarkers that can help establish whether or not your well-being is taking a hit from your level of stress.
Let’s start by learning more about stress.
What is Stress?
Stress is the body’s reaction upon being put under pressure by internal or external stimuli. Whenever your body responds to stressful stimuli, you may have a physical, emotional, or mental response.
It is normal for every person to deal with stress at a point in their life. It may have come about due to the loss of a loved one, dismissal from your job, or any other occurrence that made your body trigger a stress response.
Then again, stress shouldn’t always be considered a negative thing. You could have experienced stress because you landed a new job, had your first child, or due to any other positive occurrence. Such stressors open up your mind, making you more conscious about your surroundings.
Despite that, stress significantly affects our bodies. Whenever we’re subjected to positive or negative stressors, stress can shift the normal levels of our bodily hormones.
Risk Factors for Stress
We’ve already mentioned that stress is a normal part of life. As such, everyone is bound to experience it at one point in life.
Keeping that in mind, researchers and scientists have been studying the main stressors in the patients’ lives. Below, we’ve listed the most prevalent stressors that may trigger the development of stress-related conditions:
- Loss of a partner
- Divorce
- Separation in marriage
- Incarceration
- Loss of a close relative
- Injury or sickness
- Marriage
- Dismissal from your job
- Marriage reunion
- Retirement
If any of these has recently occurred or you’re currently going through any of these scenarios, you have to be mindful of the stress levels that are piling up. If you’re experiencing an abnormal level of stress, this could adversely affect your health.
Ensure that you keep a keen eye on the common indicators of high stress levels. We’ll get to the details of that later on.
Causes of Stress
There are differences in how everyone experiences stress. When subjected to a stressor, some people may develop long-term illnesses. Some people may not experience any change even when subjected to several stressors.
Typically, the stress you’re feeling is usually due to a significant occurrence in your life. However, what causes stress is how your body responds to such an occurrence.
Our bodies convey a signal when subjected to stress. The signal travels throughout the body, alerting every cell of the occurrence that you’re experiencing or already went through.
As a result, all the body systems react to the signal: your circulatory system, hormonal system, nervous system, respiratory system, and others. The response your body gives can be likened to what is experienced with the ‘flight-or-fight response.’
Whenever you experience stress, there’s a chain of chemical reactions that occurs. Again, how you respond to the various changes in your life is nothing out of the ordinary.
Your body’s reaction is an adjustment to the stressor(s), and what you’re experiencing is the outcome of the changes.
It’s possible to experience more severe symptoms and even develop sicknesses if your body doesn’t move on from this state.
What are the signs and symptoms of Stress?
We’ve already mentioned that stress affects all of the body’s systems. As such, numerous signs may show up whenever you’re stressed:
- Mood swings
- Feeling of being overburdened
- Struggling to relax
- Feeling lonely and/or low
- Keeping off family and friends
- Fatigue
- Nausea
- Headaches
- Chest pain
- Sleeping disorders
- Constant anxiety
- Recurrent sickness
- Low libido
- Dry mouth
- Constricted jaw
- Constant uneasiness
- Lapse of memory
- Inability to concentrate
- Negativity
- Appetite loss or gain
- Misjudgment
- Procrastination
- Excessive use of alcohol or drugs
Every system in the body contributes to the symptoms of stress. This list is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how people feel due to stress. It is not uncommon for stress to culminate in strokes and heart attacks in some people.
To avoid compromising your immune system or triggering other health problems, you need to suppress your stress levels.
Diagnosing Stress
You should see a medical professional if you’re experiencing a heightened level of stress. With their help, you can avoid being overwhelmed by stress.
A common way to diagnose excessive stress is by evaluating your present social life. They’ll want to know if there have been recent changes or tough spells in your life.
Another way is by running lab tests to identify any strong stress response by your body.
Lab Tests to Observe the Effect of Stress on an Individual’s Health
Cortisol is the most common test ordered when checking for chronic stress. Cortisol is also called the stress hormone. Your body releases cortisol when subjected to more stressors than it can handle.
A health professional may also want to measure your testosterone and DHEA sulfate levels. Both males and females produce these sex hormones, and their levels can significantly go up when the body experiences too much stress. Such an increase can, in turn, result in other problems in the body.
Get a Stress Lab Test with Ulta Labs Today!
If you want to know your body’s stress level, consider a stress test from Ulta Lab Tests. We look for various biomarkers that are common indicators of stress and its effects on your health. Here’s why you should try Ulta Lab Test:
- Precise and dependable results that are out in 1 or 2 days for most tests
- Secure and confidential results
- No need for a doctor’s referral or insurance
- Affordable prices for all tests
- 100% guaranteed satisfaction
Keep in mind that if the body experiences stress for too long, your well-being will likely suffer. Your body could be immunodeficient, and you could suffer acute and long-term diseases.
Ulta Lab Tests helps you take the wheel when it comes to your health. Let us provide you with the answers you need so you can keep off stress.
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