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Brett Bailey
Professor Federle
29 February 2016
Excessive Stress on the Human Body and Mind
Over the years, scientists have been focused on finding out why people become stressed
and what side effects occur as a result of stress. Stress is something that most people get, and can
be a very large burden for many people. There are countless numbers of students and workers
who suffer from stress by overworking themselves. Many probably aren't aware how much of a
negative effect that stress has on their physical and mental states. There has been much research
in the field of stress research within the past 50 years, with many recent studies altering the way
the medical field looks at mental stress. Stress has many negative effects on the human body both
mentally and physically.
Stress is caused by changes to one's physical or mental states, or their environment. The
things that cause stress can be minor or major, yet stress takes a gigantic toll on a person's state.
According to the Mayo Clinic, your brain releases hormones to fuel your capacity for responses
to emergencies, and when you have many changes occurring around you, your brain becomes
stressed. The level of emergency in which these hormones are released changes depending on the
person, although most people tend to stress as a result of their work or major life changes. It is
important to note that many cases of stress arent dangerous, as it can lead people to perform
under pressure. Some stress can be helpful, as a little bit of stress often pushes people to get
needed work done and gives them a boost of energy as a result of the release of extra hormones.
Quite often, stress over a longer amount of time that a person is used to will push a person out of

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their comfort zone and cause mental and physical damages. An excessive amount of stress will
usually negatively affect the human body in multiple ways.
Most people react to stress in three different ways (Segal, Smith, Segal, and Robinson).
The first way, social engagement, is the most common way to respond to stress. This is when you
engage in a social interaction where you feel calm, attentive, and understood. It allows your body
to relax and feel safe, and has a major positive effect on your blood pressure and digestive
system. The second way is through mobilization, which occurs when your body feels the need to
escape danger and run away. Your brain releases chemicals that provide energy, and body
systems that arent needed, like the digestive and immune system, are temporarily disabled. The
third and final common response to stress is immobilization, which is less common and the least
helpful reaction, and only occurs when social engagement and mobilization do not work. During
immobilization, the human body enters a state of shock, which leaves the body in a dysfunctional
state. One is unable to move on, and can even be left in an unconscious and unresponsive state.
This reaction is very dangerous, and usually only happens in major or life-threatening situations.
An overload of stress can cause many negative symptoms relating to your emotions and
your behavior. The part of your body that suffers the most from stress would be your mental
state, as stress can completely change the way somebody acts and responds to situations. The
Mayo Clinic, a foundation for medical research, found that stress can cause anxiety, depression,
overeating, and social withdrawal (Mayo Clinic Staff). All of these symptoms can severely harm
a person's mental state and attitude, which are all caused by a natural environmental response by
the brain. Some people who live under constant stress can suffer from chronic stress, which will
last for a very long time and will open the person suffering from it to very serious effects, like

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heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and asthma. Overall, the behavioral and emotional problems that
occur from an excessive amount of stress can seriously harm a person's mental state.
In addition to the mental damages that an excessive amount of stress causes, there are
also a number of physical problems that occur to someone experiencing large amounts of stress.
If your central nervous system fails to return all of your body's systems back to normal, different
parts of your body can become weakened by a lack of energy and an overwhelming amount of
stress. Under an excessive amount of stress, the human body normally suffers physical damages
to your respiratory, digestive, immune, muscular, and reproductive systems (Pietrangelo). Stress
attacks your respiratory system by causing breathing issues and asthma problems, and in some
extreme cases even lung diseases. When someone is experiencing stress, the bodys natural
reaction is to tighten up its muscles, which over a long period of time can cause wear and tear to
your muscular system. A person suffering from chronic stress will also experience major changes
to their reproductive system. Males suffering from excessive stress will likely suffer see issues
relating to testosterone production, blood pressure, sperm production, and even erectile
dysfunction. For female patients, a typical related effect of stress includes inconsistent
menstruation and a lack of sexual desire (APA).
All of these problems are a result of excessive amounts of stress on the body. A large
amount of people suffer from chronic stress, which is why it is a major issue in the psychological
field. Excessive stress has such a large array negative effects on the human body and mind, all
caused by a reaction that the brain creates to respond to a change in one's environment.

Citations Page
Pietrangelo, Ann. "The Effects of Stress on the Body." Healthline. 2014. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.

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"Stress Management." Stress Symptoms: Effects on Your Body and Behavior. Mayo Clinic
Staff, 19 July 2013. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.

"Stress Effects on the Body." American Psychological Association. Web. 08 Feb. 2016.

Segal, Jeanne, Ph.D, Melinda Smith, M.A., Robert Segal, M.A., and Lawrence Robinson.
"Stress Symptoms, Signs, and Causes." Stress Symptoms, Signs, & Causes. HelpGuide.org.
Web. 29 Feb. 2016.