40 Ways How daily Stress can Lead to Cancer

Stress and the occurrence of a disease are so closely linked, that sometimes by a person suffering a stress it is possible to predict the disease. Back in the 1920s, Hans Selye conducted research in the University of Prague, who argued that emotions can cause disease. Current data based on observations of people and animals confirm the results obtained by Selye, and reveal the psychological processes through which emotional reactions to stress can make a person susceptible to a particular disease.

Stressful situations cause “daily headaches”

Doctors have long noticed that after people have in life something that causes stress it increases the likelihood of disease. Many have noticed that after a strong emotional shock in patients is not only happening exacerbation of disease that is usually associated with the emotional effects (ulcers, high blood pressure, heart pain, headaches) – but it is also increased their susceptibility to infections, tendency of sciatica, and even accidents.

Dr. Thomas H.Holms and his colleagues at the medical college at the University of Washington have tried to scientifically substantiate these observations. They have developed an approach that allowed objectively measure the stress and other emotional moments in human life. Dr. Holmes and Dr. Rae picked up a scale in which each event can cause stress, consistent with a certain number of points. The total score of all the stressful situations in a person’s life determines the overall amount of stress, he was subjected over a period of time.

During the study period 49% of those who scored in the year more than 300 points, fell sick, and from among those who scored below 200 points, fell ill just 9%. Over the next 12 months, it was found that all those who on the number of points had the first third of the seats, fell ill on 90% more than those who were in the last third of the list.

Oddly enough, along with events that are considered to be stressful situations (death of a spouse, divorce, job loss, etc.), this table includes events such as marriage, pregnancy or outstanding individual achievement, usually considered to be joyful. All of them require some changes in human habits, relationships with people or ideas about themselves. Even positive emotions can trigger the need for introspection or irritate some unresolved emotional conflicts. The bottom line is that any change – positive or negative – causes a person to adapt to them.

Although stress contributes to disease still the most important is the way the person carries it. There is no doubt that different people react to different events, even stressful, quite differently. For example, job loss in 20 years of experience is not as difficult as in 50. All the same can be said about other situations mentioned in the list: they all involve some changes and, therefore, cause stress, but  their magnitude will depend on each individual.

COMPARISON SCALE RESPONSE TO SELECTED EVENTS

EVENT                                                                                                          POINTS

Stress can build up and reach of such force that the person is unable to cope with it and get sick. But usually the ratio of stress and a person’s ability to cope with it is more complex. This is explained by the fact that the activity of the body, aimed at overcoming stressful situations may lower resistance to disease, especially if a person chooses wrong ways to overcome the stress with and does not meet the challenges ahead. This view of the disease once again reminds us that human capabilities are not unlimited, that we have a limited amount of energy. If external factors require too large of its cost, we may not have enough forces to fight the disease. When life gets too hectic and we are not able to cope with life situations that arise, the result is a disease.

Emotional states and cancer

We must say a few words about the relationship of emotional states and cancer. One of the theories of the causes of cancer suggests that cancer is a symptom of the presence in the life of the patient of unresolved issues. Scientists have established the relationship between stressful situations in which people fall, and the emergence of such a dangerous disease like cancer. In the first place in the table on the number of points is the death of a spouse .

In any case, the loss of a loved one can lead to the damage of health and even loss of life. Moreover, the disease may develop in the period from one year to two years after the loss. If people can’t cope with the stress caused by the loss, then the probability of occurrence of the disease is very big. Psychotherapy can help a person survive, “recycle” the critical situation. We do not require strictly visiting psychologist or therapist, but, however, we strongly recommend you to do this to those who are in a state of grief, in order to save your own life.

Pay attention to family and friends experiencing grief, which often it superficially may seem that they are able to adapt to their misfortune. It seems that nothing is holding them in this life. They’re just waiting for their time to die to come, because then they see the only way out for themselves. So they are without any hope, waiting for death to release them. This is, of course, true not in the case of all people who have borne the loss, but only those for whom who had very important emotional connection with the lost object. In any case, it is necessary to take care of such people: to help them survive the grief, to not hold it in themselves, to return them to the meaning of life. And here, more than ever, it is needed the help of a psychologist or therapist.