Everything begins with depression and outbursts of anger. Typically, these are the first visible effects of chronic stress. People stop caring for others, even if the very ones who do their best to help them. However, this is only a beginning. Soon after, the first health problems occur, usually related to high blood pressure. The chance of a heart attack goes up, average life expectancy goes down. If you are stressed the chances of blocking of heart arteries is slightly increased, especially if you are hit by a stress without prior warning.

Unfortunately, prolonged stress is capable of doing much more damage than increasing the chance of a heart attack. It also shuts down your digestive system, making it impossible to eat anything without risking severe digestive problems, and shuts down (partially) our immunological system making us more prone to any disease that comes by.

The problems caused by chronic stress does not end there. Stress usually affects our diet requirements as well as decrease our abilities to make logical informed choices concerning what we should and shouldn't eat. As the result, the risk of extreme obesity and anorexia skyrockets. Food becomes our archenemy or just the opposite - the only tool we use to cope with stress. Either way, the results are disastrous to our well-being. and we haven't even started talking about other problems such as arthritis or diabetes that can be developed under chronic stress.

Last, but not least, stressed people ten do to suffer from insomnia. With so high blood pressure and subsequent adrenalin secretion, it is extremely hard to go to sleep. As the result they are more and more tired which leads to feeling even more stressed. The sleeping pills are one of the most common solutions - but they will cause their share of problems later, when their negative effects on the stomach and brain start to be obvious.