By R.J. Ignelzi, Contributor

Stress isn't just tight neck muscles, tension headaches and irritability. Stress can give you acne, indigestion and insomnia.

When Cathy Perry's blood pressure and cholesterol began climbing and her waist expanded by a few inches, she blamed middle age. When her memory became fuzzy and she frequently forgot familiar names and phone numbers, she attributed it to impending menopause. And when she seemed to catch every cold and virus that went around, she pointed to her two kids.

Her doctor, however, said just one culprit could be responsible for many of her symptoms: stress.

Perry's life, like so many modern lives, is hectic and non-stop. From being a wife and mother of two teenagers, to working full-time as a property manager, to coping with the day-to-day tensions of bills, traffic and household chores, she often feels overwhelmed.

"Sure, my life is stressful, but whose isn't?" said Perry, 48. "Stress is just part of life. I didn't think it could really hurt me."

But, it can. And often in ways that aren't immediately obvious.

Stress isn't just tight neck muscles, tension headaches and irritability. Stress can give you acne, indigestion and insomnia. Stress can make you fat, cause your hair to fall out and turn your memory to mush. It can give you high blood pressure and trigger a heart attack, stroke or diabetes.

And, it isn't just major traumatic life events, such as death, divorce and job loss, that trigger these responses from your body.

Tipping the stress scales

"When you have chronic stress, and everyday you go to a job you don't like or you're not happy at home or you're angry, your cortisol and adrenaline (stress hormones) levels are up; it's just a matter of time before you'll tip the (stress) scales," says Dr. Mimi Guarneri, cardiologist and medical director for Scripps Centre for Integrative Medicine in San Diego. "When patients come to me with chronic medical problems that are frequently caused by stress - high blood pressure, arrhythmias, high cholesterol - these are not because of a sudden event. It's from the stress they live with all the time."

The body's natural mechanisms used to save our life have evolved over time. The stress hormones that our body releases to save us when we are attacked, hurt or facing major trauma are no longer reserved for these life-or-death situations.

As we impatiently sit in a traffic jam or have an argument with our spouse, cortisol and adrenaline flood the body, speeding the heart rate, slowing digestion and diverting blood flow to major muscle groups. When the perceived threat or crisis is gone, body systems are designed to return to their normal function. However, with chronic unrelenting stress, that doesn't always happen. And, too often, that's when our health pays the price.

Up to 90 per cent of all doctor visits in the United States (U.S.) are due to stress-related illness, the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says. And chronic stress, defined as ongoing worries that continue over several months or longer, may shorten life expectancy by 15 to 20 years, according to the National Institutes of Health.

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