There’s good types of anxiety and bad types. Acute stress is a good type. We all go through anxiety at some time in our lives. Acute stress is a short lived “fight or flight” response where the body experiences an extreme hormonal shock to the body in response to a perceived threat. When the perceived threat is over, the anxiety dissipates and the body’s systems and hormonal levels return to normal. This process is a millions years old survival mechanism that all mammals have.Chronic stress, however, is continual anxiety where the body’s systems don’t return to normal after a traumatic or stressful event. Instead, the adrenaline levels remain high and the person is in a continuous state of anxiety.Anxiety can be initially triggered by many things – the loss of a job, difficulties in relationship, a near death experience, and so on. An extreme form of chronic stress is post-traumatic stress disorder which normally occurs after someone experiences an overwhelming traumatic event. Occupations particularly susceptible to post-traumatic stress disorder are firemen, policeman, and combat soldiers.

The human body was not designed to function with such sustained levels of anxiety. As a result, chronic anxiety can have devastating and long lasting effects on both the body and the mind. Chronic stress does not have any one set of definitive symptoms. It affects people differently. In various circumstances, chronic stress has been shown to increase the risk of a person developing high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, depression, digestive disorders, sleep disorders, back pain, and many other symptoms.

These physical symptoms of anxiety are a direct response to the pressure that the stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline are putting on the body’s organs. Adrenaline will cause your heart to race and your blood pressure to become elevated. Cortisol will increase your blood sugar levels. Sustained high levels of either of these hormones is detrimental to the body. In addition to these hormone, the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which governs heart rate and blood pressure, is also released into the body.

Chronic anxiety is the body’s physical response to a person’s thoughts, not to actual ongoing events. Eventually, the person’s body develops a “pattern of stress” where the original event causing the stress is not important and, in many cases, no longer even remembered. It no longer matters because the body now has developed the habit of being stressed, regardless of the circumstances. In cases like this it can take years to retrain the body to feel normal without such anxiety.

Over the years, researchers and physicians have had the opportunity to develop much practical experience in dealing with patients experiencing chronic stress. As a result, many stress management methodologies have developed such as – pharmaceutical prescription medicines, relaxation therapies, visualization, biofeedback, breathing exercises and more.

For the sake of your health, you cannot afford to let chronic stress wear you down. If you have been in a state of constant stress for a while, no matter the reason, seek out help. Talk to your physician and make a joint effort to find the causes of your stress and develop a plan to tackle them. The treatments for chronic stress are available, if you take advantage of them.