epends on the types and levels of stress they experience. Another person may have inherited a problem with glucose metabolism; however, it is factors such as the level of stress, or a sedentary life style or a combination of the two that result in development of type 2 diabetes. We may be born with certain vulnerabilities; it is stress that tips us into active illness.
Impact of stress on illnesses
Certain ailments have been recognized for some time as being influenced by stress. The most common example is intestinal distress such as indigestion and colitis. Other disorders like migraine, tension headaches, high blood pressure, arthritis and certain skin disorders may also be influenced by stress. In some instances, stress emotions seem to make an ailment worse, while in others stress may be a factor in bringing on illness. Research increasingly supports the hypothesis that stress may have at least some impact on many diseases.
There are several reasons for believing that stress contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease. First, stress emotions increase the level of low-density blood cholesterol and this leads to clogging of the arteries of the heart. Second, stress emotions result in maladaptive coping behaviors such as smoking, drinking and overeating, which can damage the heart and surrounding vessels. Finally, stress emotions result in the release of powerful hormones which result in increases in heart rate and blood pressure. One of these stress emotions is anger, and anger expressed in the form of hostility is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Several hypotheses are being explored in the role of emotions in cancer. Again stress emotions may play an indirect role leading the person to smoke or drink excessively. More direct influence is attributed to a tendency to suppress or deny emotions. There is some evidence that those who suppress emotions are more susceptible to cancer. Again the mediating factor is hormonal activity.
At the 2002 meeting of the American Psychological Association a group-based stress management study was presented that indicated that group stress management training could lower blood glucose levels in Type 2 diabetes. Patients that received instruction regarding the health consequences of stress and instruction in the use of cognitive and behavioral skills such as deep breathing and recognition of major life stresses as well as instruction in progressive muscle relaxation lowered their glucose levels more than patients that did not have stress management training. Thirty-two percent of the patients receiving stress management lowered their A1C glucose levels by one percent or more as compared to 12% of the patients who did not receive this training. This modest change is larger than the half percent change that has been associated with significant reduction in microvasclar complications that can accompany out of control diabetes. While this change might move someone with tightly controlled diabetes to near normal levels; even those diabetics with poorer control would benefit from the reduction in glucose levels with fewer diabetic complications.
In summary, if you are a type 2 diabetic, learning to manage stress should have special health consequences for you. Although this was a group program, if none is available in your area, individual stress reduction strategies should be beneficial, especially if you have a friend or family member trying to learn stress management with you.
Stress and the immune system
The immune system has been called our liquid nervous system. With our growing knowledge of the human body has come an increasing conviction that stress may be a factor in susceptibility to colds, flu, mononucleosis and other infectious illnesses. It appears that some of the hormones secreted in the presence of stress emotions impair or weaken the immune process by reducing the number of disease-fighting components such as lymphocytes (white cells) thus leaving us more vulnerable to infection. This may be one of the reasons why so many people die within a y