Tag Archives: Stress

None is immune to stress and addiction

April 3, 2014

None is immune to stress and addiction-All are at risk

.Addiction

Professionals work in very stressful environment and many of them are suffering from addiction secretly

It’s easy to think only the less privilege in the society is the possible candidates for stress and addiction. This school of thought is in the mind of the majority and everyone wants to believe it however this is not always the case. Everybody is at risk of being addicted to any substance or being stressful in any environment. If you go to health institutions you will find medical staff trying to offer treatment to addicts, you may be tempted to believe that they themselves aren’t suffering from the same. Some are, and some definitely aren’t. In fact one out of 10 physicians have problems with alcohol or drugs at some point during their careers.

Those who admit they have an addiction to alcohol or drugs, as well as those who slip up and get reported, usually have to go through an intense substance abuse program before they can practice medicine again. Such physician health programs are pretty effective, helping around 80% of doctors recover from their problems. But these programs raise some ethical questions and I ask.

None is immune to stress and addiction-Is your doctor impaired?

Given that drug- or alcohol-impaired doctors aren’t rare, it’s possible you may come across one someday that is if you haven’t. You might suspect a drug or alcohol problem from your doctor if you notice some of these signs:

  • slurs words
  • stumbles
  • lacks coordination
  • forgets beyond what is reasonable
  • looks unusually disheveled
  • is irritable or easily angered
  • becomes overly emotional

It must be noted that these aren’t specific to drug or alcohol abuse, but they could be the result of drug or alcohol use. They could also be due to many other issues, such as a personal problem (marital difficulty or death of a loved one, among others), a medical illness (such as diabetes or the onset of dementia), or another mental health problem. Keep in mind that doctors, like the rest of us, can be very good about hiding an addiction. This drug problem is not affecting only the medics but it cuts across all professions.

None is immune to stress and addiction-Reporting

What should you do if you think one of your doctors has a drug or alcohol addiction? For your own protection, it would make sense to find a new doctor, though this might be difficult if there aren’t many in your area. If the doctor you are concerned about works in a group practice or a hospital setting, talk with the practice administrator, clinic chief, division head, ombudsman, or other doctor in the practice in an objective and matter-of-fact way. They are obligated to ensure that their colleagues are safe to practice medicine.

If your suspicions are strong enough, and you don’t trust the doctor’s colleagues to take appropriate action, voice your concerns to the state board of medicine. Someone there will then be obliged to do some investigating.

Who is an addict? With addictive tragedies striking every community in the nation – with many millions of Americans addicted to alcohol and drugs alone – legions of scientists are asking: What aspects of psychological makeup contribute to addiction? Are there common threads that weave through all addictions, from hard drugs to cigarettes, from gambling to overeating?

It is part of a much broader effort that has already seen progress in understanding the chemistry of addiction, as biochemists isolate the chemicals and mechanisms by which the brain gives itself pleasure. And the whole panoply of addiction research has led to insights that buttress a profusion of therapies. Though some of them hold great promise, all would benefit from an increased understanding of the addictive personality.

Despite the wide gulf between an addiction to drugs and an addiction to gambling, some mental health experts find it useful to view addiction as including all self-destructive, compulsive behaviors. Some even go so far as to include the relatively benign activity of compulsive television-watching.

In bringing together much of the existing knowledge on the personality’s role in addictions, with an emphasis on drugs and alcohol, a new study prepared for the National Academy of Sciences concludes that there is no single set of psychological characteristics that embrace all addictions. But the study does see common elements from addiction to addiction.

None is immune to stress and addiction-Factors contributing to addiction

The report finds that there are several ”significant personality factors” that can contribute to addiction:

  • Impulsive behavior, difficulty in delaying gratification, an antisocial personality and a disposition toward sensation seeking.
  • A high value on nonconformity combined with a weak commitment to the goals for achievement valued by the society.
  • A sense of social alienation and a general tolerance for deviance.
  • A sense of heightened stress. This may help explain why adolescence and other stressful transition periods are often associated with the most severe drug and alcohol problems.

Professionals believes that the continuing search for the personality traits that play a part in the development of addictions is an essential part of the broader fight against addiction, an opinion shared by others familiar with the field. ”If we can better identify the personality factors, ”they (doctors) can help us devise better treatment and can open up new strategies to intervene and break the patterns of addiction.”

Moreover, it’s believes that the insights provided by this kind of research could lead to much more effective preventive programs than those available today, to be used ”before problems reach the critical stage.” Supplementing the personality factors listed in the academy’s report, other behavioral scientists who have studied addicts point to additional often-found features of personality or background – a lack of self-esteem, marked depression or anxiety, physical or sexual abuse in childhood, and sharply conflicting parental expectations.

The broad approach to addiction is taken by Lawrence J. Hatterer, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the Cornell University Medical College who wrote in his book, ”The Pleasure Addicts” (Barnes) that ”Addictive behavior has invaded every aspect of American life today. We all feel the cloud of concern about becoming addictive – preoccupation with weight, smoking, drinking too much, or being caught in an excess of spending, acquiring, gambling, sex or work.”

Among other activities which, done in excess, have been characterized as addictive behavior are caffeine consumption, eating of chocolates or other sugar-laden foods, television watching, playing video games and even running.

None of these activities are considered to be addictions by doctors unless they involve excessive, repetitive use of pleasurable activities to cope with unmanageable internal conflict, pressure and stress. While such activity may begin pleasurably in a person’s life, the process in the addict involves increasing activity to achieve the same effect and eventually results in injury to the person’s health or to his work, family and social relationships. The addicted person typically denies that his activity is detrimentally affecting him. If the addict is forced to stop, he finds he suffers physical or psychological withdrawal pains, and often feels compelled to resume his excessive pattern.

None is immune to stress and addiction-All are at risk

 

 

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Primitive brain prevail under stress

April 3, 2014

Primitive brain prevail under stress-Understanding the Science of Stress

Stress

Stress is a serious impediment in our society it cuts across all sectors of life in humanity

You probably have seen or heard stories of people displaying almost unimaginable mighty strength (superhuman-like powers) when confronted with an emergency situation?

If you haven’t then listen to the story of Lindy shared in class one day: “She raised her hand and told of a time when her mother and sister were out working on their farm. Her mother was driving a big farm machine designed to cut the hay that was growing in their field. She didn’t see the youngster playing in the tall wheat stocks. Accidentally, she ran over her young daughter with this big farm machine. Noticing the unusual sensation as she struck her daughter, she stopped the loud engine and hurried off to see what she had run over. Realizing it was her daughter, she panicked not knowing what to do. There was no one around to help. In a moment of extreme alarm, she lifted the very heavy machine off her daughter and pulled her out with one mighty motion. Once she pulled her child out from underneath the machine, she picked her up, and ran all the way back to the farmhouse to call for help”. Afterwards, the mother collapsed from exhaustion, unable to generate any energy. In those few moments of her daughter’s peril, she had become superwoman.

How can we explain this super-human response that releases power and strength beyond anything we have imagined or previously experienced? What physical and psychological factors are responsible for these amazing abilities?

Primitive brain prevail under stress-The Science of Stress

In the last 50 years we have seen a surge of research on stress. Discovering what actually happens in your body and your mind will help you understand the mechanics behind the stress prevention and management skills you will be learning. This knowledge on the science and theory of stress is captivating and provides strong, credible support for understanding why and how stress management techniques work. Based on this knowledge you will come to understand that you use good stress management skills not just because they feel good, but because they are good science, good medicine.

Why do you feel stress in the first place? What is the purpose of this complex interaction of nerves, muscles, hormones, organs and systems that leads to such unpleasant symptoms as sore muscles, headaches and feelings of emotional upset and a host of other side effects? To answer these questions, we need to go back a few thousand years to see what life was like back then. This will help us understand how our bodies are programmed to respond to threat and danger.

Primitive brain prevail under stress-Stress and the Big Bear

Put yourself in the following imaginary scenario: Imagine that you and I live in a place and time where we find no trace of modern conveniences. We have no comfortable homes, no telephones or television, no indoor plumbing, no electricity, no cars to move us around, none of our modern day comforts. For the sake of this article, let’s say that we live in caves or in huts that are out in the “wilds” of some undeveloped area.

Imagine that I have invited you over to my cave because we just killed some big animal and are having a barbeque. Several of our friends are here outside of my cave just having a pleasant time. I have supplied the group with some croquet mallets and balls and we are playing a little croquet on my front lawn. Like I said, we are having a great time.

We are thoroughly enjoying ourselves when, at some point, we notice some rustling of bushes in the distance and then, charging mightily, or hungrily, toward us emerges a huge ferocious-looking bear. This enormous creature has smelled our picnic and wants some of it for himself. He is a menacing creature that could easily put us out of commission with a single swipe of his mighty forearms.

As you imagine yourself in this scenario, one of the first thoughts that will likely pop into your mind is something like, “Uh-Oh! I am in trouble here!” “I am in danger and I am likely to experience some pain!” These immediate thoughts will be followed closely by the next thought, “RUN!” You sense the immediate need to get away from danger. You don’t want to be its dinner. Your next thought might be, “I need to kill this creature to protect my family, myself, and my friends!” “Fight”

The immediate effect of these thoughts is a physiological response that prepares the body to either run with incredible speed, or fight with incredible strength. This response is known as the fight-or-flight response.

Primitive brain prevail under stress-Fight-or-Flight Response

An exciting flood of physiological processes in the body immediately takes place automatically and precisely after the initial thought of “Uh-Oh!” It is a state of physiological and psychological hyperarousal. A cascade of nervous system firings and release of stress hormones lead to immediate responses that help the person deal with danger either by fighting or running. As you read in Lindy’s story in the opening vignette, the fight-or-flight response can be activated to protect both ourselves and others when we perceive danger.

This response is amazingly complex, involving interactions between many organs and systems in our body. While it is not necessary for you to understand every detail of these complex interactions, it is important to understand the science of what is happening in your body and mind when your stress response is activated. You can use this information to guide you in developing an individualized program to prevent and manage stress.

Primitive brain prevail under stress-The Purpose of the Fight-or-Flight Response

It is interesting that the physiological stress response has only one purpose. The fight-or-flight response is designed to help us do one thing, and only one thing, very well. That one and only purpose of this response is to help us SURVIVE! Our bodies are designed for survival. When the big bear is charging at us, our system knows how to protect us from experiencing pain and death. The mechanics for sustaining us are nearly flawless. There is no other purpose for the fight-or-flight response.

Primitive brain prevail under stress-Understanding the Science of Stress

 

 

 

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Lyme disease and Stress

March 11, 2014

Lyme disease and Stress-Negative Emotions

Stress

Stress and Lyme disease put together brings more harm to human

All of us at some point go through some stressful moments and have high emotions. From a personal experience I want to share with you about the happenings in my work place and my life having been a victim of Lyme disease. In my work routine I interact with many clients of different types, I have always found common links/threads in the emotional patterns with the clients I attend to.

Because I had chronic Lyme disease and about half of my clients have it too, I will outline some of the common emotional denominators I see with this disease. The same is also common with other chronic physical manifestations that involve the immune system. However, they are always part of what I work with when seeing a client with chronic Lyme disease who hasn’t been making any progress in their treatment.

Lyme disease and Stress-How These Affect Us

Unresolved emotional issues and negative emotional patterns can put a huge stress on the immune system, which can allow a disease to take over. Our immune systems are our bodies’ greatest protection. Stress hormones have been found to inhibit the production of cytokines, the agents of the immune system that responds to danger. This response causes these cells to overreact and create an inflammatory response that is over the top, often creating a greater problem than the original danger.

Our systems cannot distinguish the difference between a negative emotional pattern, trauma or wound; or a real threat to our physical health. If the emotional issue or trauma does not get released, our bodies can remain in a perpetual state of stress. Clearing these emotional issues can be highly beneficial in releasing the immune system from suppression.

In my opinion, a disease always serves a purpose that is to keep us safe, to allow us justification to not be perfect, to force us to care for ourselves when we’d otherwise feel too guilty, to make us re-assess how we live, our relationships, and the list goes on.

The only way our body has to communicate with us is with symptoms, and it does a very good job using them to get our attention. Once you take away the body’s reason to try to get your attention, it is amazing how the symptoms can start to fall away because they have no purpose anymore. Ask yourself what is your body trying to tell you?

Lyme disease and Stress-Common Emotional Patterns Leading to Stress

Self-criticism or fear of not being perfect: This is a huge one. My Lyme disease clients are some of the ones that beat themselves up the most about everything. I can attest to having been one of the best examples of these people (and still have to work on it to this day). This process is so unconscious that many people don’t realize it until we start to break down what’s really going on. Some ways this shows up are fear and guilt. If these are themes in your life, chances are that you’re probably a highly self-critical person.

I often recall something a friend used to tell me when I was struggling with chronic health issues: “The mind leads and the body follows” If we are constantly telling ourselves, we aren’t good enough, or criticizing every little thing why do we think the body has any reason to feel deserving of health, and ever come into line with that? What messages are you giving to yourself? Once that you deserve to be healthy, or ones that allow your mind and body to justify that you’re in exactly the right place with deserving the punishment of an illness. Our bodies listen to us – make sure you’re not sending the wrong messages.

Lyme disease and Stress-Inability to trust yourself and/or the flow of life (has to be in control)
Another one I always see is inability to trust – which leads to a feeling of being unsafe in the world. This is the person who tries to control everything. This one is not only completely exhausting, but never works either. We always tend to think that our analytic selves know better than anything or anyone how to run our lives. But, it’s not always true. We over-plan, over research, kill ourselves getting every perspective from every doctor everywhere. But the sheer amount of energy this consumes, takes an unbelievable toll on the body and mind.

How would things be different if you followed the flow of where life was trying to take you? For those of you who believe in the Universe and God, how would things be different if just for a while, we considered they knew more than us? And also considered that our inner selves know what feels right for us? What if we stopped over-researching, over controlling, over analyzing everything and just followed what felt right?

I believe there is an absolute flow to life and by trying to control the path precisely using logic, you may be steering yourself away from the very place you’re meant to go.

I saw a massive shift in my health when I was finally able to just let go…stop holding myself to unrealistic treatment rules I made for myself….trust that if I was feeling something wasn’t the right road for me despite what others’ said, it would be ok. You can’t imagine the strain on your body that’s released when you get to this point of trusting and letting go.

Lyme disease and Stress-Lyme disease and Stress-Taking on too much responsibility
This one is a pattern of taking on everything! I find these clients to be highly energetically sensitive which can be a gift; but the downfall is it’s too easy to take on everyone else’s crap. Once someone has a chronic illness, this can become exacerbated as they suddenly feel like they have to save everyone from going through these themselves. It perpetuates the problem.

This can show up in a few ways: feeling responsible for other people’s feelings, feeling like you have the responsibility to make sure other’s lives are going right, thinking you know better for someone else than they do, and feeling like you have to save people from their own pain or possible mistakes.

This is dangerous as not only are you draining your own energy, but no one has a right to impede on another’s journey. We each walk on our own and you are interfering when you can’t allow someone else to fully be themselves. This attempt at ‘helping’ other people hurts both parties.

Once someone can work through their need to take responsibility, it can release so much healing energy for their own body.

Lyme disease and Stress-Do Any of These Resonate With You?

If any of these resonate with you, it is a good idea to start watching out for this pattern and even watching for how it might correlate with symptoms. Your body is a messenger and it’s trying to tell you something. How would it change your life if for a while, you tried to really, really listen?

Lyme disease and Stress-Negative Emotions

 

 

 

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Weight Loss and Adrenal

February 17, 2014

Weight Loss and Adrenal-Could it be a hindrance?

Andrenal

Is stress causing you to Gain Weight? your adrenal glands initiated a “fight or flight” response

We go through periods of time in our lives when the demands are greater and the stress load is heavier. Regardless of the reasons – illness, relationship difficulties, work struggles, caring for an aging parent or ailing child – there can be a physical impact. We may turn to food for comfort, or we may not nourish ourselves adequately. During times of stress there are actual physiological changes that happen in our bodies, one of which is weight gain. It may not happen overnight, but if we do not pay attention to our body’s needs, over time we may notice we are putting on the pounds.

Our adrenal glands govern our stress response, by secreting hormones relative to our stress levels. They actually help control many hormonal cycles and functions in our body. When the adrenal glands are overworked, the body prepares for disaster, by storing fat and calories. We crave foods, we lose precious energy, and we gain weight. So how can we keep the heavier stress load from equaling heavier bodies?

Weight Loss and Adrenal-How stress becomes physical

For millions of years, humans were forced to protect themselves from environmental factors. From the earliest days of dinosaurs and cavemen, nature has proven its ability to put fear in human beings. Life and death circumstances have evolved around the ability to understand danger, and seek protection and survival. If you were being chased by a predator, your adrenal glands initiated a “fight or flight” response, releasing adrenaline and cortisol into the body. These hormones provided extra physical energy and strength from stored carbohydrates and fats.

While most of our stressors are not the same our earliest ancestors, the body’s natural course of evolution has maintained this original fight-or-flight stress response. But whether we are being physically threatened or not, with any increased stress our body looks to its stored fuel, and then replenishes it when used. Also, with increased levels of cortisol, our body also does not respond as well to leptin, the hormone that makes us feel full, so we eat more.

Modern-day stress may be more psychological than physiological, but it is also more constant. Many of us face chronic stress as a way of life, which means we have consistently elevated levels of cortisol. Now the body thinks it continually needs extra fuel, and typically stores that as fat around the abdomen, or as it’s commonly referred to, the old “spare tire.”

Belly fat: a common sign of adrenal fatigue

Adrenal imbalance causes a number of issues, including an expanded waistline. The science behind it is quite interesting. Normally when we feel begin to feel hungry, our blood sugar drops and the brain sends a message to the adrenal glands to release cortisol. Cortisol activates glucose, fats, and amino acids to keep our body fueled with energy until we eat. Cortisol maintains blood sugar levels, and insulin helps our cells absorb glucose. When we have long term stress, both insulin and cortisol remain elevated in the blood, and the extra glucose is stored as fat mostly in the abdomen.

Here’s where it gets interesting. Scientists have discovered that fat cells actually have special receptors for the stress hormone cortisol, and there are more of these receptors in our abdominal fat cells than anywhere else in our bodies! In addition, scientists have shown that belly fat is actually an active tissue, acting as an endocrine organ that responds to the stress response by actually welcoming more fat to be deposited! This is an ongoing cycle until we take steps to correct this adrenal imbalance. How do we do that?

Weight Loss and Adrenal-Eat well for healthy adrenal glands

What you eat matters. Although it sounds ironic, if you want your body to believe that it is not in danger of starving to death, you need to eat healthy food at regular intervals. Since cortisol helps regulate blood sugar, keeping glucose levels balanced will take some of the stress off the adrenal glands. Three nutritious meals and two healthy snacks spread out across the day will keep our adrenal glands steady.

When you eat matters. Our natural circadian rhythms can help us know when our bodies need nourishment and fuel. Cortisol’s cycle complements our body’s own rhythms, although is highest in the morning and declines gradually throughout the day. When we eat we elevate our cortisol, so it’s ideal to consume larger meals earlier in the day, which also helps our body prepare itself for restful sleep at night.

Have healthy foods on hand. It may be easy to reach for sweets and caffeine for quick energy, but these actually backfire on us, dropping our blood sugar levels rapidly. Reaching for micronutrient-rich foods, such as lean protein, avocado, fresh fruits and vegetable, garlic, and ginger will more adequately support adrenal functioning.

Supplement your daily diet. Adrenal expert, Shawn Talbot, PhD, says, “When it comes to dietary supplementation for stress adaptation and cortisol control, the first line of defense appears in the form of a comprehensive multivitamin/mineral supplement.” The benefits of a daily multivitamin enhance many of the functions in our body. Consider the high-quality multivitamin mineral complex we have in our Program at Women to Women.

For more information on healthy eating and adrenal glands, see my articles about how to eat for your adrenal health.

Weight Loss and Adrenal-Pace yourself to heal

Our fast-paced world is never unplugged. We rarely have time to disconnect from technology, our cell phones, the Internet, email, and even television. And our adrenal glands notice! Instead of being tired, wired, and overeating, consider slowing down and restoring balance to your adrenal glands, and your life. You may think that by moving fast you will lose weight, but in fact, when stress levels are high and our adrenals are working overtime, we will stay in a perpetuating cycle of adding pounds. Here’s how we can learn to pace ourselves.

Sleep

Many of my patients complain of being tired all day then having trouble sleeping at night. They are in an upside down circadian rhythm, which affects cortisol levels, causing irregular sleep patterns. You can correct these by eating less food late in the day, turning off all technology including television, by 8 p.m., and by trying to be in bed and asleep by 10 p.m. The goal is to have at least eight hours of sleep, so our bodies can rest and regulate our hormonal cycles.

Exercise

Our adrenals respond to stress, even if we think it is positive. Exercise is positive, and can help us reduce stress, but only if it does not make us feel tired. When we are exhausted, our adrenals are already working hard, and exercise can put added strain on them. The goal is to keep your heart rate under 90 beats per minute when working out. If you don’t regularly exercise, walking 15 minutes once or twice a day after meals, outside in fresh air, makes our adrenal glands, and our mind and body, very happy.

Have fun

Don’t forget that having fun, laughing, and enjoying your time is a very important way to relax! We all need to make having fun a priority, the benefits are amazing!

Don’t forget to breathe

Deep breaths in and out of your nose can not only slow your heart rate down, but will calm your entire body. Sometimes when we are under stress our breathing becomes shallow, and fast. It only takes three or four deep breaths to feel better. Try to remember that slowing down our breath, as well as our life, even for a few minutes, can make a big difference in reducing our stress level.

Weight Loss and Adrenal-Just let it all go

It isn’t always easy to let things go. We put pressure on ourselves to meet the demands in our lives, to take care of others, to do well in our endeavors, and to make everyone around us happy. But when we forget about ourselves in that equation, the stress will appear as extra pounds, or other things that impede our health and our functioning. When we live with continually elevated levels of stress, our body adjusts to the “crisis mode” and sometimes needs help learning how to live in a calmer state. The first step is to heal your adrenals. By following some of the tips in this article, giving yourself time, and being patient, you will begin to replenish your energy, lose extra weight, and most importantly, feel better.

Weight Loss and Adrenal-Could it be a hindrance?

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Stress and Obesity the Missing Link!!!

February 13, 2014

Stress and Obesity-Not a Union

Stress

Research has found that stress leads to specific reactions in the body that cause induced cravings and lead to obesity

Obesity is a burgeoning problem in the developed world, and certain behaviors, such as increased portion sizes and reduced physical activity, can help explain why the obesity epidemic is spreading. Job strain might also contribute to the prevalence of obesity, and the current study addresses this issue in a cohort of civil servants followed over time. Obesity continues to be one of the largest public health concerns of the developed world. Analysis of data from the 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) found that the prevalence rates of overweight and obesity among US adults were 31.5% and 30.5%, respectively. The prevalence of overweight in children was 16.5%. Compared to the previous NHANES survey (1988-1994), the body mass index (BMI) greater than 30 among adults had doubled. (Of note, the prevalence of overweight and obesity were fairly stable between the 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 examination periods.)

Stress and Obesity-Understanding obesity

While the problem of obesity has been well publicized, clinicians should also understand that societal factors play a prominent role in obesity. In research sponsored by the World Health Organization involving 26 different populations worldwide, surveys of over 30,000 subjects found an inverse trend between BMI and highest educational level attained. Women with lower educational attainment were significantly more likely to be obese compared with men with similar educational backgrounds, although lower educational levels in both sexes were associated with higher obesity. Moreover, the negative association between educational attainment and obesity increased over the 10-year study period, indicating that the obesity gap between well-educated and poorly educated individuals was increasing. To reinforce these data, another study limited to developed countries found that increased income disparity was associated with not only higher rates of obesity, but also diabetes mortality as well among subjects at the lower end of the income scale. Other societal trends can affect obesity as well. In the United States, more individuals are choosing to eat at restaurants than at home, and the easiest and least expensive option in dining is often preferred. Such choices can increase the risk of developing obesity. Ecological research from 21 developed countries found that girls who ate fast food at least twice a week were more likely to become obese compared with those who ate fast food less frequently. Unfortunately, the assimilation of other cultures into American society may not help improve the obesity problem. In one study, while regularly eating at fast food restaurants increased the risk of overweight in adults and children in Mexican-American families by a factor of 2.2, the risk of overweight associated with eating at buffet-style restaurants was slightly worse (odds ratio = 2.8). Families who ate food at Mexican restaurants, however, were less likely to be overweight.

Stress and Obesity-The Environment

The work environment can contribute to obesity as well. In a study of 208 male workers in Japan, obesity was associated with psychological tension and anxiety, much of which was derived from high demands and poor decision latitude at work. The authors also found that higher degrees of stress negatively affected subjects’ diets, which contributed to higher rates of obesity. The current study examined the 10,308 civil servants from the Whitehall II study, all of whom were between the ages of 35 and 55. Work stress was assessed by the Job Strain Questionnaire and defined by poor work social support, high job demands, and low job control. Overall, work strain was associated with increased risk of BMI obesity by a maximum odds ratio of 1.73, and of waist obesity by a maximum odds ratio of 1.61. There was a dose-response relationship between the number of reports of stress and obesity. There were some interesting nuances related to the study’s main finding. Men were more likely than women to suffer the negative effects of job strain in terms of obesity, to the point that women did not experience a significant increase in waist obesity with stress. Overall, poor social support at work was the most important singular factor of job strain in increasing the risk of obesity in this study. The study was strengthened by analyzing individuals prospectively over time and employing repeated measures of job stress as participants advanced through their careers. However, the study was limited by examining a very specific group of employees — civil servants — in a first-world country.

Stress and Obesity-Health Risk

Obesity may just be a part of the overall increased health risk associated with work stress, with the sum of these risks being an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease. In a study of nearly 7000 individuals, the prevalence of smoking was elevated among subjects with greater job strain, while men with low degrees of decision latitude were also more likely to be sedentary. However, no job environment factor in this study was independently related to increase BMI. A case-control analysis of 609 workers in France found that job strain increased the risk of developing hypertension. The odds ratios for hypertension associated with job strain were 3.20 in women and 2.60 in men. Low social support at work was not related to hypertension, and, moreover, higher levels of social support did not mitigate the effects of job strain on hypertension. Another study of female nurses and male factory workers generally corroborated these results. Researchers found that increased duration of shifts during work was associated with increased systolic blood pressure among men over age 30. Both BMI and waist-to-hip ratio increased with increasing shift duration among nurses. The study of nurses and factory workers failed to find an association between blood glucose levels and the duration of shift work. In another analysis of the Nurses’ Health Study II cohort, working overtime was associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, while women who worked less than 20 hours per week had a lower risk of diabetes. There is also evidence that serum markers associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease may increase with job stress. A study of adults in Sweden found that men reporting high effort and low reward at work had increased levels of total cholesterol and the total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio after adjustment for possible confounders. Women whose jobs required more effort had higher levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. The association between stress at work and cardiovascular risk factors such as BMI, hypertension, and lipid levels points to a possible larger relationship between work stress and cardiovascular disease. The researchers of the Whitehall study have previously examined this issue in their study cohort. They demonstrated that the hazard ratio for coronary heart disease was increased with low decision latitude among men (adjusted hazard ratio 1.43), but low decision latitude did not significantly increase the risk of coronary heart disease among women. However, both men and women experienced increased risks of coronary heart disease with higher demands at work. This increased risk of coronary heart disease was increased with job stress at all employment grades in the organization. This research echoed previous studies in that greater social support at work failed to improve cardiovascular outcomes associated with significant job stress.

Stress and Obesity-Effects
Stress

The harmful health effects of stress-induced obesity.

The effects of stress at work constitute a major public health issue. As clinicians, the best we can do is counsel patients about the potential cardiovascular and metabolic events associated with high levels of stress and encourage healthy life choices for patients at risk. While it may be unrealistic to ask employers to reduce job stress at all levels in our competitive economy, these same employers should understand that their employees’ health is critical to their success. There is a dearth of data regarding stress reduction programs at work and cardiovascular outcomes, and future researchers should address this issue. The phenomenon of obesity being among chronic diseases makes Dr. Akoury of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center very resourceful for you. She will help you achieve optimal weight loss, the Dr. Focus on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE. With the help of Dr. Akoury your problem is sorted out for good.

Stress and Obesity-Not a Union

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