The stress response evolved to be short lived, acutely activated for only a few hours or days. Yet during an extreme crisis, you and your patients can activate the stress response for weeks and months at a time. When an acute stress response morphs into a chronic one, digestion is inhibited so you become susceptible to gastrointestinal disorders; blood pressure increases so your patients become prone to hypertension; fatty acids and glucose circulate in your blood but are not used, because you are stuck at home, so your risks increase for cardiovascular disease. Finally, by inhibiting parts of the immune system, stress impairs your ability to recover from diseases such as cancer.
We discuss the differences between stress, worry and anxiety, the dangers of an elevated stress response, and East-West treatments. Andrew Gaeddert, RH, founder of Health Concerns, is the author of several books and a contributing editor to the scholarly work: Panic: Origins, Insight and Treatment, published by North Atlantic Press.