Stress: Mental tension's physical toll

Stress may seem like it's all in your head, but the mind can make the body sick, too -- translating the pangs of anxiety into jitters, headaches, stomach problems and more.

The crux of the problem, it seems, is the human "fight or flight" response to anxiety. When threatened, people become alert and focused as they figure out whether to stay and fight or run.

The body essentially revs up, said Arthur A. Stone, vice chairman of the department of psychiatry and behavioral science at Stony Brook University. The heart races, blood pressure goes up and the digestive system slows so the body can focus on other things. "But if we don't fight or remove ourselves from situations, the body is all revved up with nothing to do," Stone said. "This has deleterious effects."

To further complicate things, he said, stress boosts the production of certain hormones, such as cortisol, and disrupts the workings of the immune system. "This can actually have an impact on how well people heal from wounds," Stone said. "When people are stressed, they heal less well than when they're not."

Research has also shown that stressed-out people are more likely to get sick when they're exposed to cold germs, he said.

Stress can hurt physical health in other ways, as well. When people are anxious, they may lose sleep, fail to exercise and either eat less or too much, Stone said.

Medications such as tranquilizers and antidepressants are often used to help people with stress, and talk therapy with a psychologist, psychiatrist or counselor can help people work through their feelings.

MODELING WELLNESS

But the treatment of stress is changing as more mental health professionals offer a "wellness model," said Celeste Gertsen, a clinical psychologist in Port Jefferson. The idea, she said, is to "incorporate treatment for the physical body."

This might include diet changes such as less sugar and caffeine, exercise, massage, acupuncture and mindfulness meditation. Herbal or traditional medications, or both, may still be used, she said, along with counseling that gives people skills that help them deal with relationship problems.

TAKING CONTROL

One thing hasn't changed: the importance of learning how to react in an even way to the slings and arrows of life.

"Stress and change in life is inevitable," Stone said. "People die, bad things happen. You can control some of your levels of stress by making decisions -- about the kinds of jobs you take, the types of activities you engage in. Then there is the stress that has nothing to do with what you do."

When unhappy events happen, "how you think about them, how you interpret them, how you cope with them can have a big impact on the effect of those bad things," he said. "The goal is to get to the point where you're thinking about things in a healthy way."

Getting to that point, he acknowledged, is anything but easy.