this post was submitted on 31 Jul 2023
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Does stress itself cause poor health, or does stress cause high blood pressure and unhealthy habits, which cause poor health? (monyet.cc)
submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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title. I feel like you always hear stuff to the liking of "high stress leads to poor health," but I am kind of wondering exactly why this occurs.

For instance, it's said that stress can cause:

  • Aches and pains.
  • Chest pain or a feeling like your heart is racing.
  • Exhaustion or trouble sleeping.
  • Headaches, dizziness or shaking.
  • High blood pressure.
  • Muscle tension or jaw clenching.
  • Stomach or digestive problems.
  • Trouble having sex.
  • Weak immune system.

Imagine, hypothetically, that I were to have a high stress life, but still had good sleep, low blood pressure, and a slow heart rate, while also staying away from unhealthy habits like drinking or addiction.

Would my health still be worse than a person who lives an equivalent, but less stressful life than me?

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Stress causes the body to release high levels of cortisol, which can have various harmful effects throughout the body if at high levels persistently. For example, I have Central Serous Retinopathy due to high cortisol, and have been advised by my Ophthalmologist to reduce my level of stress.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

You’re lucky your ophthalmologist has a model of causation for this stuff.

I had a vitreous degeneration in both eyes. It must have been caused by something but when I asked my eye doctor his response was “this happens in X% of people”.

Like his entire knowledge of the disease’s etiology is “it’s probabilistic”. He didn’t seem to understand what I was asking when I asked for risk factors.

Doesn’t inspire much confidence.