Stress Causes

Stress is a normal physical response to events that make you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. When you sense danger-whether it's real or imagined-the body's defenses kick into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the "fight-or-flight" reaction, or the stress response. The stress response is the body's way of protecting you. When working properly, it helps you stay focused, energetic, and alert. In emergency situations, stress can save your life-giving you extra strength to defend yourself, for example, or spurring you to slam on the brakes to avoid an accident.

Causes of stress

We all react differently to stressful situations. What one person finds stressful another may not at all. Almost anything can cause stress and it has different triggers. For some people, on some occasions, just thinking about something, or several small things that accumulate, can cause stress.

Causes of work stress include:

• Being unhappy in your job
• Having a heavy workload or too much responsinility
• Working long hours 
• Having poor management, unclear expectations of your work, or no say in the decision-making process
• Working under dangerous conditions 
• Being insecure about your chance for advancement or risk of termination 
• Having to give speeches in front of colleagues 
• Facing discrimination or harassment at work, especially if your company is not supportive

Life stresses can also have a big impact. Examples of life stresses are:

•  The death of a loved one
• Divorce 
• Loss of job
• Increase in financial obligations 
• Getting married 
• Moving to a new home 
• Chronic illness or injury 
• Emotional problems like depression , anxiety, anger, grief 
• Taking care of an elderly or sick family member.

Stress Symptoms

Stress is the body's reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response. The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental and emotional responses. Stress is a normal parts of our life. Many events that happen to you and around you, and many things that you do yourself, put stress on your body. You can experience stress from your environment, your body and your thoughts.

There are lots of emotional physical disorders that have been linked to stress including depression, anxiety, heart attack, stroke, immune system disturbances that increase susceptibility to infections, a host of viral linked disorders ranging from the common cold and herpes to AIDS and certain cancers, as well as autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. In addition stress can have direct effects on the skin (rashes, hives, atopic dermatitis, the gastrointestinal system, peptic ulcer, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis) and contribute to insomnia and degenerative neurological disorder like Parkinson's disease. In fact, it is hard to think of any disease in which stress can not play an aggravating role or any part of the body that isn't affected.


Symptoms of Stress

• Frequent headaches, jaw clenching or pain
• Stuttering of stammering 
• Tremors, trembling of lips, hands
• Neck ache, back pain. muscle spasms
• Ringing, buzzing or popping sounds 
• Increased or decreased appetite 
• Depression, frustration, hostility 
• Excess anxiety, worry, guilt, nervousness
• Diminished sexual desire or performance 
• Frequent urination
• Chest pain, palpitations, rapid pules
• Difficulty breathing, frequent sighing 
• Constipation, diarrhea, loss of control 
• Excess belching, flatulence 
• Heartburn, stomach pain, nausea
• Frequent colds, infections, herpes sores
• Dry mouth, problems swallowing
• Insomnia, nightmares, disturbing dreams 
• Trouble learning new information
• Difficulty in making decision 
• Feeling overloaded 
• Frequent crying spells or suicidal thoughts

 

Stress and Anxiety

Stress and Anxiety

Stress

Stress is simply a fact of nature -- forces from the inside or outside world affecting the individual. The individual responds to stress in ways that affect the individual as well as their environment. Because of the overabundance of stress in our modern lives, we usually think of stress as a negative experience, but from a biological point of view, stress  can be a neutral, negative, or positive experience. In general, stress is related to both external and internal factors. External factors include the physical environment, including your job, your relationships with others, your home and all the situations, challenges, difficulties, and expectations you are confronted with on a daily basis. Internal factors determine your body's ability to respond to, and deal with, the external stress-including factors. Internal factors which influence your ability to handle stress include your nutritional status, overall health and fitness levels, emotional well-being, and the amount of sleep and rest you get.

Stress has driven evolutionary change[the development and natural selection of species over time]. Thus, the species that adapted best to the causes of stress have survived and evolved into the plant and animal kingdoms we now observe.


Anxiety

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, unease, and worry. Every one feels anxious sometimes - worried, afraid of something happening obsessed about something being a certain way. When that fear of anxiety becomes something that gets in the way of your life (relationship, school, ability to cope) and it dose not go away, that is when it could be a more serious anxiety disorder. Wanting to fight or run away from things we are worried about, or afraid of, is normal - it keeps us alive. Having an anxiety disorder means this respond is causing you more problems than good. Around fifteen percent of young people have anxiety disorders, with most having their first symptoms before the age of 15.

Stomach Cancer: Causes and Symptoms

Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is the accumulation of an abnormal (malignant, cancerous) group of cells that form a tumor in any parts of the stomach - in most case, it refers to cancer that starts off in the mucus-producing cells on the lining of the inside of the stomach [adenocarcinoma].

According to WHO (World Health Organization) 800,000 cancer-related deaths are caused by stomach cancer each year globally. It is the fourth most common cancer worldwide, but the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world.

Gastric cancer is more common among males, and people in developing nations compared to industrialized countries, the exception being Japan and South Korea, where the disease is much more common than in the USA, Canada or Europe.

Causes of Stomach Cancer

As with most cancers, researchers do not know yet what causes stomach cancer. Several risk factor have been identified, however. These include:

• alcohol use
• cigarette  smoking 
• diets high in foods that  are preserved by drying, smoking, salting, or pickling 
• diet low in vegetables and fruits 
• exposure to chemicals used in rubber and lead manufacturing 
• family history of stomach cancer 
• gastric atrophy 
• history of Helicobacter  pylori infection 
• being older than 50 years of age 
• previous stomach surgery 

Symptoms of Stomach Cancer

A symptom is something the patient feels and describes, such as a stomachache,  while a sing is something others, including doctors and nurses can detect, such as a rash. There are several symptoms associated with stomach cancer. However, as they also exist in many other much less serious  conditions and illnesses, gastric cancer may be difficult to recognized initially. That is why so many patients are not diagnosed until the disease is already advanced.

 Some of the early stomach cancer symptoms may include:

• A sensation of being very full (and rapidly full) during meals 
• Dysphagia ( swallowing difficulties) 
•  Feeling bloated after meals 
• Frequent burping 
• Heartburn 
• Indigestion that does not go away 
• Stomachache, or pain in the sternum (breastbone) 
• Trapped wind
• Vomiting 

Risk Factors 

A risk factor is a condition, disease, lifestyle,  or situation which increases the risk of developing a disease of conditions. For example, a risk factor for type 2 diabetes is being obese, i.e. obese people have a higher risk of developing diabetes.


The risk factors include:


Smoking: According to the UK's National Health Service, regular long-term smokers have one-and-a-half times the risk of developing stomach cancer compared to lifetime non-smokers

Family history: Having a close relative who has or had stomach cancer. In about 2 percent of stomach cancer cases, patients share a genetic mutation in the E-cadherin gene. People with blood type A also have a higher risk - we inherit our blood type one of our parents.

Diet: People who regularly eat salted fish, salty foods, smoked meats, and pickled vegetables have a higher risk of developing gastric cancer. In Japan and South Korea such food are popular. The World Cancer Research Fund reported that if people in the UK reduced their salt intake to the recommended daily amount, 1 in every 7 stomach cancer cases could be prevented.

Genetic and Hormonal Causes of Breast Cancer, Side Effects of Chemotherapy

Genetic Causes of Breast Cancer

Family history has long been known to be a risk factor for breast cancer. Both maternal and paternal relatives are important. The risk is highest if the affected relative developed breast cancer at a young age, had cancer in both breasts, or if she is a close relative. First-degree relatives like mother, daughter, sister are most important in estimating risk. Several second-degree relatives like grandmother, aunt with breast cancer may also increase the risk. Breast cancer in a male increase the risk for all his close female relatives. Having relatives with both breast and ovarian cancer also increases a women's risk of breast cancer. There is great interest in genes linked to breast cancer. About 5 percent to 10 percent of breast cancers are believed to be hereditary, as a result of mutations, or changes, in certain genes that are passed along in families.

BRCA1and BRCA2 are abnormal genes that , when inherited, markedly increase the risk of breast cancer to a lifetime risk estimated between 40 percent to 85 percent. Women with these abnormal genes also have an increased likelihood of developing ovarian cancer. Women who  have the BRCA1 gene tend to develop breast cancer at an early age.

Testing for these genes is expensive and may not be covered by insurance.

The issues around testing are complicated, and women who are interested in testing should discuss their risk factors with their health care providers.

Hormonal Causes of Breast Cancer

Hormonal influences play a role in the development of breast cancer.

• Women who start their periods at an early age (12 or younger) or experience a late menopause (55 or older) have a slightly risk of developing breast cancer. Conversely, being older at the time of the first menstrual period and early menopause tend to protect one from breast cancer.
• Having a child before 30 years of age may provide some protection, and having no children may increase the risk for developing breast cancer.
• Using oral contraceptive pills means that a women has a slightly increased risk of breast cancer than women who have never used them. This risk appears to decrease and return to normal with time once the pills are stopped.
• A large study conducted by the  Women's Health Initiative showed an increased risk of breast cancer  in postmenopausal women who were on a combination of estrogen and progesterone for several years. Therefore, women who are considering hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms need to discuss the risk versus the benefit with their health-care providers. 

Side Effects of Chemotherapy 

Chemotherapy destroys cancer cells because the medicines target rapidly dividing cells. But normal cells in your blood, mouth, intestinal tract, nails, vagina, and hair also divide rapidly. So chemotherapy affects them, too.

The healthy cells in your body can repair the damage that result from chemotherapy. But cancer cells cannot repair themselves very well.

The side effects you may have from chemotherapy depend on the regimen you are on, the amount of medicine you are getting, the length of treatment, and your general health. The side effects you have may be different from someone else who is on the same regimen.

While your body is recovering from chemotherapy, other medicines can help ease many of the side effects you may have. It is very important to tell your doctor and oncology nurse about any side effects you are having. If medicines are not controlling the side effects, your doctor or nurse can help you find something that works.

Hormone Therapy

Estrogen, a hormone produced by the ovaries, promotes growth of some breast cancers. Women whose breast cancers test positive for estrogen or progesterone receptors can be given hormone therapy to block the side effects of estrogens on the growth of breast cancer cells. Tamoxifen, the most commonly used antiestrogen drug, has been shown to provide a 26 percent annual reduction in recurrence and a 14 percent annual reduction in deaths. Hormone therapy is effective in both postmenopausal and premenopausal patient's whose cancers are positive for steroid hormone receptors.