How does chronic stress affect my body?

A little stress can help you get things done -- but if stress goes on and on, it can cause big problems. In this video, Dr. Oz Show guest and internist Keri Peterson, MD, explains the damage that chronic stress can cause.

Transcript

00:00

Chronic stress can even reduce your immune system so that it's harder to fight off colds and flu. So that's why it's so important to try

00:07

to manage your daily stress, so that it doesn't do harm over time. [CALMING MUSIC]

00:24

So, stress serves a purpose in our lives when we're faced with trauma or something upsetting.

00:30

Our body reacts by creating stress hormones called adrenaline and cortisol. That allows us to have our fight or flight response, which

00:37

is a survival mechanism. However, when chronic stress goes on for days or months or years and you

00:44

have these consistently elevated levels of adrenaline and cortisol, that's when it becomes unhealthy for your body.

00:51

And that's when it can cause health problems. There's many conditions that can erupt from chronic stress--

00:57

heart disease, obesity, headaches, digestive problems, insomnia, memory impairment, and depression, just to name a few.

01:07

And in fact, chronic stress can even reduce your immune system so that it's harder to fight off colds and flu.

01:13

So that's why it's so important to try to manage your daily stress so that it doesn't do harm over time.