1. Constant Presence
Stress hormones are excreted when a threat or danger crosses your path. Typically, the threat or danger passes and then the stress hormones recede to a normal level. You can continue with your activities without coping with the residual effects of such intense hormones, like rapid breathing, increased vigilance, and other tiring behaviors. If stress is present over a long period of time, those stress hormones get cozy and then other problems start to loom ahead.
2. Daily Stress Effects
A life full of persistent or repetitive causes of stress lead to constant secretion of stress hormones. When blood levels of these hormones, in the brain and elsewhere in the body, are always high, they can lead to unhealthy behaviors, on your body's part and on your own decision-making part. At this point, substance abuse is common, either solo or accompanied by major health problems.
3. Leads to Serious Illness
Individuals dealing with long-term stress may have to endure very serious and life-threatening physical illnesses like cancer and stroke, as well as other painful health problems like irritable bowel syndrome, increased sensitivity to allergies, and heart attacks later in life. Such health issues have been linked definitively to stress.
4. Exacerbates Mood Problems
Mood swings and a vague sense of sadness, anger or anxiety can balloon into something unmanageable if stress is not lowered. Everyone experiences a normal level of moodiness and emotional liability, but long-term stress can morph such normal-seeming feelings into a frightening emotional roller coaster ride. This side effect is particularly challenging to face while stressed out as coping with stress requires a measure of personal strength, typically missing during emotional meltdowns.
5. Long-Term Damage to Metabolism
Long-term stress can lead to lifelong struggles with weight. Earlier, less intense stages of stress already decrease the body's ability to absorb fat; imagine what could happen if the stress increased in duration and impact. Most adult individuals deal with a metabolism that is sometimes reliable, at best; stress simply makes a difficult weight situation extremely difficult to manage.
