Landscape after the battle. When stress leaves us, our health begins to fail

Relief sets in when the long-term insecurity leaves us. Mostly great. We break out to life. But our body often starts to fail right now. Long-term stress bills us. About what we can expect then, says gynecologist Tadeusz Oleszczuk, MD, PhD

Anna Augustyn-Protas: Doctor, for two months of isolation stress I was in a tolerable form. Now life is back to normal and I am starting to feel bad. Why?

Tadeusz Oleszczuk, MD, PhD: Nothing unusual: it has relieved the tension, and with it, the stress hormones have ceased to be released. These are substances that mobilize the body, keep us upright, tight, tight and ready to fight for life. But nothing for free, first of all: prolonged stress exhausts the body. It allows you to survive a crisis situation, but at the expense of other systems. Therefore, after a prolonged nervous situation, we feel worse, we are tired and we need rest, preferably active and in the fresh air. Second, stress reduces our ability to defend ourselves against infection. There are people who, after a period of nervousness, always get an infection, herpes. Thirdly, it happens that this chemical cocktail that is created in us mixes well with the work of the body. And if the stress is severe or prolonged, it can lead to metabolic and hormonal disruptions. What do we realize after some time, when the worries are long gone.

What exactly happens in the body under stress?

– The adrenal glands start producing the hormones cortisol, aldosterone, epinephrine and norepinephrine. They go to the blood and then to all organs. And they change the body’s operating mode, from everyday to emergency, ready to react. Blood pressure rises. Blood moves from non-essential survival sites (skin, gastrointestinal mucosa) to non-survival sites (heart, skeletal muscles) in case an emergency escape is required. Oh, such atavism: thousands of years ago, stress appeared mainly in times of war and hunger. Or at the sight of a wolf or a tiger – who quickly ran away, survived and passed on the genes of efficient response. Stress also increases your heart rate and blood pressure, speeds up your breathing, and raises your blood sugar to give you more strength. These are all great reactions that are important for development. However, what is too much is not healthy. Interestingly, the body itself shifts from “stress” to “chronic stress”. It changes the dosage and type of hormones that are supposed to prepare the body for a longer effort. But then they disappear. Then it’s worth taking a look at yourself, because sometimes after this battle, which we felt in danger, rage, and anxiety for ourselves and our loved ones, it becomes a mess.

Until good?

– Remember that our muscles are additionally weakened by the lack of exercise, the body – dehydrated by frequent drinking of coffee or tea – lowers our blood pressure, and the additional fat tissue (oh, this snacking) intensifies the feeling of weakness.

So what can we expect?

– For example, the severity of the problem of urinary incontinence (NTM).

Interesting.

– Very! When stress occurs, muscles, for example, of the back, weaken. But hardly anyone realizes that as much as 70 percent. our pelvic floor muscles also tighten. When stress is followed by their relaxation, the symptoms of NTM increase. Often reported are pain in the lower abdomen, pressure, dull as before the menstruation. The problem is increased by the lifestyle in isolation: sitting or lying for most of the day, digestive tract disorders, overeating, constipation. Remember that when we do not move, we expel less water by breathing or sweating, everything remains in the bladder. And sometimes we can urinate while coughing, sneezing, or jumping up and down.

Gentlemen may also have a problem with urinary incontinence, are we only talking about women?

– It also applies to you, of course. These symptoms worsen with age or as a result of prolonged inactivity. However, men have the opposite and complain of obstructed urination. They give it back more often with age, but in smaller amounts. High glucose levels exacerbate the problem. And it’s hard to get up well rested when you go to the bathroom six times a night.

Then what? For the head – mindfulness, and for the muscles – mezzanines?

– There are special exercises, for example Cantienica, pelvic floor muscle yoga, there is also the Polish invention of Pelvifly, which allows you to track the tension reactions of the pelvic floor muscles on your smartphone. It is also worth taking time to exercise the whole body during the day. Physical activity affects the circulatory system, warms up, and improves blood and lymph circulation. At the same time, it improves the appearance of the skin, because the skin is less oxygenated due to prolonged stress.

Why is stress said to age?

– As a result of the tension, some of the blood that normally feeds the skin is transferred – as we mentioned – to the muscles. And when the skin is ischemic, it is not properly nourished, it does not get vitamins and nutrients, which makes it dry, dehydrated and prone to irritation. And then scratches become sharper, shadows appear, and wrinkles deepen.

1. How will you know when stress is having a negative effect on your health?

Changing the cream is not enough, most only slows down the drying of the epidermis. Subcutaneous application of moisturizing preparations will give a local effect. How to activate the body to restore the elasticity of the entire skin?

– First, exercise, preferably outdoors. Secondly, proper hydration, and thirdly, a healthy diet, rich in oils and vegetables, preferably with a high content of vitamins C, A, E. Giving them externally will have an effect, but it is more effective – and cheaper – to supply the skin with them from the inside, along with the blood. Interestingly, the dehydration of the skin is influenced by drinking alcohol because it is a diuretic. And eating sweets, including sweet fruit, which many of us like to eat under stress.

And sugar increases skin aging because it is responsible for the process that destroys supporting proteins, collagen and elastin.

– And it dries out the skin.

Are there any strictly gynecological ailments related to long-term stress?

– For example, menstrual disorders. This is because the prolactin release increases. He likes to get up under stress, up to 25 times in about XNUMX percent of women! Prolactin is involved in the regulation of the secretion of thyroid and sex hormones. So all it takes is a little excitement and menstruation may stop. Sometimes not right away, but for example after two months. It is a physiological response produced in the course of evolution. When the stress was the lack of food, fire, drought, it was thanks to this mechanism that ovulation stopped and pregnancy could not occur.

It still happens: there is stress, there is no child.

– Nature assumes that pregnancy in emergency situations would have little chance of success. Quite a few couples know this problem. And the more they want to, the harder it is to ovulate. Sometimes someone gives up, adopts a child, and then, bam !, two lines. The stress disappears and the hormone levels return to normal.

We mainly associate prolactin with lactation, and this is the gray eminence of the female organism. What else spoils our high level?

– It can lead to a number of disorders: lowering blood pressure, feeling cold hands and feet, but also the formation of cysts in the breasts and ovaries. It all depends on the frequency of stressful situations and their duration. Breast cysts can last longer, and your breasts hurt a few days before your period or all the time. Sometimes there is a leak from them. I often see such functional cysts of the breast and ovaries (i.e. resulting from excessive prolactin secretion) in young, ambitious girls. They set themselves exorbitant goals and want to achieve them at all costs. They get stressed and the body doesn’t like it.

Is treatment necessary then?

– Most often, but sometimes small cysts are not found in subsequent examinations. The organism cared, as long as we helped it improve its lifestyle. But each change should be consulted with a doctor to rule out the risk of cancer cells appearing in the cyst walls.

THE ARTICLE COMES FROM NEWSWEEK ZDROWIE 2/2020 MAGAZINE

Long-term stress is also one of the factors in the formation of polycystic ovaries, right?

Partly yes, polycystic ovaries (PCOS) is an example of a combination of metabolic and hormonal disorders. As a result of prolonged tension, overly numerous ovarian cysts begin to appear, ovulation disorders occur and it is difficult to get pregnant. It takes treatment, sometimes long.

But exposure to stress and frustration can have other unpleasant effects, not necessarily related to hormones. For example, weight gain by sitting and snacking. Also swelling – it is said that they are caused by lack of exercise or excess salt in the diet, but sugar is also added to them. By the way, it is the cause of most mycoses, because it multiplies the fungal flora in the intestines. And as stress lowers our immunity, recurring intimate infections may appear.

How to heal them? Besides eliminating sugar?

– Not only sugar, also sweet fruit. These today’s varieties are just a yogurt, you can see that they sell better. Let’s eat a sour apple, but not a bowl of mandarins every day, let’s not drink a whole carton of orange juice! They have as much sugar as a meringue cake.

We will certainly not cure mycosis with antibiotics that destroy the bacterial flora. Only probiotics. And a diet rich in vegetables from BIO crops, silage, onions, garlic and horseradish. They are allies in the fight against pathogens. Spices such as cinnamon, turmeric, cardamom, ginger and cloves are also good.

You mentioned that our immunity decreases as a result of stress. It’s a key phrase, but what does it mean? We already know that it has to do with the gut, our immune center. But what exactly is going on there?

– Under the influence of stress, the population of gut bacteria, our guardians of health, decreases, so the body’s ability to respond to infection weakens. Sometimes the period of nervousness is over, and we just catch an infection, we develop a disease that would normally be nipped by the body. While diseases are most often initiated by a bad diet, the gates are opened wide by stress.

We often feel the influence of emotions on our stomach right away. The impulse from the brain goes to the intestines and the small vessels of the gastrointestinal mucosa tighten.

And the lower abdomen hurts. Nothing tastes good then, our intestines don’t want to digest. Everyone probably remembers breakfast on the graduation day, it tasted like rubble. The organism focused on overcoming the crisis does not pay attention to food, it does not send blood to the stomach. Unfortunately, its ischemia increases the risk of ulcers and inflammations. As a last resort, even stomach cancer if helicobacter pylori is present. The risk increases the longer the tension lasts. Needless to say, alcohol and cigarette smoking aggravate ischemia and increase the risk of these diseases. And it happens that under stress, the muscles of the intestines and stomach contract, depending on the person: weaker and slower or faster and more intensively. It causes digestive disorders, faster or slower movement of food. And constipation, diarrhea or flatulence appear.

How can we help the intestines?

– Eat lightly, products that do not hurt us from the inside, do not cause inflammation. Remember that under stress nothing will extinguish them. Let’s eat silage, but also raw organic vegetables, beets and olives. Good groats, oils, and if meat, also from proven sources. And not much, just one gram of protein per kilogram of body weight per day is enough. We are over-bleached, we eat too much meat.

What else, apart from a natural diet and physical activity, do you advise your patients?

It relaxes the skeletal muscles and the pelvic floor, calms down, makes it easier to fall asleep and confirms closeness. Skin-to-skin contact releases oxytocin, the hormone of happiness and attachment. It de-stresses the most in the world, the tension disappears, the person feels safe. That is why, after giving birth, the baby is placed on the mother’s body to soothe both of them, and then we recommend kangarooing. Oxytocin is also an analgesic, you don’t remember giving birth. And it evokes love for this newborn, which we hold in our hands for the first time and would already give our lives for him.

It will help? And after what time will it be okay?

– It all depends on the intensity of stress and its duration, but also on the way of life. Activity style, sleep quality, diet and the sense of acceptance of loved ones. From optimism. And life shows that it can renew itself beautifully.

***

Tadeusz Oleszczuk, MD, PhD – gynecologist-obstetrician with 30 years of experience, holist. The author of the book (with Anna Augustyn-Protas) “What the gynecologist won’t tell you”

Find out more:

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2. Coronavirus and Isolation. What does remote work do with the body and mind?
3. Germany: Fewer Suicides During Coronavirus Outbreak