Effects of cortisol and chronic stress on the human body

Abstract

How often do patients complain of a lack of health when they visit a doctor, assuring the doctor that they are no longer healthy? This trend is especially common among young people. However, there is no such definition as "no health"; there is the concept of having a disease, an ailment of the body - a violation or change in the balance of homeostasis of the human body. It is worth remembering that in a stressful situation, cortisol levels rise to prepare the body for the "fight or flight" strategy, which is based on an adaptive defense response, but in chronic stress, when the body is in constant anticipation of either "running" or "fighting" without a clear answer as to which decision to make, it gradually kills the body, completely depleting it. Psychosocial risk factors, especially their social component - chronic stressors, which include events happening around us - are a constant trigger for increasing cortisol levels, which, of course, have a significant negative impact on health. For example, an increase in this hormone can lead to a deterioration in health and performance, quality of life, and cause various endocrine disorders. Unfortunately, the current situation in Ukraine is a stressor for many Ukrainians. That is why this topic is so relevant at the moment.