Page 26 - Florida Sentinel 5-28-21

Health
Did you know that worrying is unhealthy for your body?
Some worry may come and go, but more people are suffering from excessive or chronic worry- ing.
With excessive worrying, your mind and body go into overdrive as you constantly focus on “what might happen.” Many chronic worriers share feelings of impending doom or unrealistic fears that only in- crease their worries. They be- come ultra-sensitive to their environment and to the criticism of others.
Chronic worrying can affect your daily life so much that it may interfere with your appetite,
lifestyle habits, relationships, sleep, and job performance.
Beware of Health Problems
But chronic worry and emo- tional stress can trigger a host of health problems. It not only af- fects your nerves, but also pro- duces real changes to your body and brain.
An automatic physiological reaction to worry and stress is called the “fight or flight” re- sponse that brings on a surge of adrenaline and sets your body on red alert. The fight or flight response causes the body’s sym- pathetic nervous system to re- lease stress hormones such as
cortisol. These hormones can boost blood sugar levels and triglycerides (blood fats) that can be used by the body for fuel. The hormones also cause physi- cal reactions.
Worrying Can Lead To Body Infections
You may also become more prone to infections. It is widely accepted that stress and anxiety can lower your immune system, making you more susceptible to picking up colds or more serious illnesses. With excessive worry, our immune systems have little time to recover so we become even more tired and lethargic.
Worrying Is Not Good
For Your Sexual Health
Loss of libido is another symptom of worrying. To have a fulfilling sex life you need to feel healthy and relaxed in body and mind. When you are worn down by worry, you are neither. Wor- rying can cause prolonged erec- tile dysfunction in men as well as
the lowering of libido and arousal in women.
Weight Loss Can Occur
Worry can also cause you to store fat. Stress causes an in- crease in the body’s level of cor- tisol. Cortisol is a hormone that can cause your body to store fat in the abdominal area. Excess fat in the belly has been shown to increase a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer.
Worrying Can Lead To Depression
Excessive worry could even lead to depression. If you start to worry about everyone and every- thing day and night, feel that life is unfair and justice does not exist or become paranoid that people will betray you, these could be the first warning signs of depression. Talk to your doc- tor or a trained counselor if you are starting to feel like this.
Learn To Relax Your Body
Relaxation techniques can
trigger the relaxation response — a physiological state charac- terized by a feeling of warmth and quiet mental alertness.
Practiced regularly, relax- ation techniques can counteract the debilitating effects of stress. Common relaxation techniques include deep abdominal breath- ing, meditation, listening to calming music, and activities like yoga and tai chi.
Build/Change Your Network
Sometimes it’s your social network that can cause your chronic worrying.
Take a stock of your friend- ships and relationships to see if any of them may be toxic or pulling you in the wrong direc- tion. Chronic feelings of loneli- ness or social isolation make it harder to effectively manage stress. People who are happily married and/or have large net- works of friends not only have greater life expectancies com- pared with those people who do not, but they also have fewer in- cidences of just about all types of disease.
MAY IS MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH
FRIDAY, MAY 28, 2021 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 9-B