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Physical Effects of Stress

Physical Effects of Stress

Summary: We are in the 21st century where technology is the driver of world economy, and the world is swiftly becoming a global village with divisions along ethnic and national lines blurring to better accommodate the changes in the way we conduct businesses, meet friends, pay our bills or even plan our holidays.

With this change in the dynamics of the world through trade, sales, exchange programs, some stable jobs of the 20th century have faded into oblivion and new jobs are springing up. For example, the typist has been replaced by the administrative assistant and Social content analyst, which didn’t exist 20 years ago, is pretty much a normalcy in this day and age.

With all these changes comes the drive to achieve more; earn more, make more friends, connect via social media, travel the world either physically or through the eyes of a writer on the internet. While there are undeniably a host of positive changes, the risks to our health have also dramatically increased. One major downside of the blurring of national lines is Stress

Stress is our brain’s response to changes; positive or negative. It is pertinent to note that not all stress is negative but we will be paying a little bit more attention to negative stress.

When we subject our bodies to undue pressure, the brain reacts by sending messages to our bodies on how best to handle them. Responses could include: digestive problems, colds and flu, headaches, depression, sleeplessness etc.

Stress can be broadly divided into 3 types:

Routine Stress: This type is the one we all most likely face. They are brought about by everyday pressures at work, family, situations and other daily responsibilities. Establishing a pattern would make this type of stress become almost “normal”.

Negative-Change Stress: This is brought about when a sudden, negative occurrence happens. Examples are; death of a loved one, loss of job, divorce, extremely unexpected poor grades at school etc

Traumatic Stress: This happens when an extreme event happens. These events include but are not limited to: accidents, violent attacks in robberies, assault, rapes etc., natural disasters which could result in serious injuries to the person or even death to the loved one.

It is pertinent to note that people under stress from any of the categories react in similar fashion.

Also, health-induced stress is the hardest to notice at the beginning since it is ongoing and it becomes a part of our day-to-day lives. If not properly checked, it could in the long run result to: hypertension, diabetes, depression etc.

In the next article, we will consider how to cope with and manage stress.

Author Info

Dr Nagi Safa

Dr Nagi Safa is a Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeon (Weight-Loss Surgeon) at the Advanced BMI in Lebanon and at the Sacred Heart Hospital of Montreal, and holds an academic appointment at the University of Montreal. Furthermore, he is involved in the training of residents and surgical fellows on how to perform advanced laparoscopic obesity surgery. In 2010, he launched the Advanced Bariatric and Metabolic Institute (Advanced BMI) in Lebanon, and has been helping hundreds of patients from all over the Middle-East through his expertise in obesity surgery. Education: Dr Safa completed his residency training at the University of Montreal General Surgery Program. He then performed a fellowship in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, and Minimal Invasive Surgery (Laparoscopic and Robotic Surgery), at the Sacred Heart Hospital of Montreal, which is the largest Weight Loss Surgery center in the Montreal area, and one of the busiest in Canada. Experience: During his training, and throughout his practice, Dr Safa performed more than one thousand laparoscopic procedures, including Roux en Y gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, gastric banding, gastric plication and many other abdominal surgery procedures. He has a particular interest in LaparoscopicRevisional Surgery including banding, bypass and sleeve. With a keen interest in the advancement of obesity surgery and newer minimally invasive surgical techniques, Dr Safa gained experience in the single incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS), and offers Single Incision gastric banding and Sleeve Gastrectomy Surgery. Research: His current research interests include clinical outcomes from various bariatric surgery procedures and investigations on the impact of bariatric surgery on Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome X. Memberships: Dr Safa holds professional memberships with the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons, Canadian Association of General Surgeons, Canadian Medical Association, Canadian Association for Surgical Oncology, Quebec Medical Association, Trauma Association of Canada, Association Quebecoise de Chirurgie, International College of Surgeon, and the College des Medecins du Quebec.
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