BODILY SYMPTOMS OF STRESS: IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME, NERVOUS URINATION AND MUSCLE TENSIONS
Irritable bowel syndrome
«I have to be careful about everything I eat. Just terribly careful. If I am at home it’s OK. I eat what I know I can manage. Go out anywhere, eat something different and it’s terrible. Pains in the tummy. Diarrhea. The evening is a disaster. Better to stay at home. But you can’t always do that. It affects the two of us. »
The brain cells, over-alert due to stress, respond to very little stimulation. If our food is very bland, the stimulus is minimal, and the rhythmical contraction of the muscles in the wall of the bowel proceeds normally. However, if we eat food that has stimulant qualities, either through its chemical composition or its physical structure, the bowel overreacts, and produces discomfort and diarrhea.
Nervous urination
«I have to make speeches and give lectures. This is part of my life- It is often very inconvenient. But just before I give the lecture, I feel I must pass water. This in itself adds to my tension about the lecture, and makes everything so much the more difficult. »
Nervous urination is one of the commonest symptoms of stress. It is brought about by similar mechanisms to those which produce nervous diarrhea. To those there is added the conscious reaction, ‘I had better pass water just to be on the safe side.’ This conscious reaction of prudence is distinct from the stress reaction which manifests itself as a need to urinate.
Muscle tensions
«My muscles get tense and sore, particularly around my neck and shoulders. I go for regular massage. It helps a bit. But I am always told that my muscles are very tense, and that I am a very tense person. »
The increase in anxiety, which is part of the stress reaction, prepares us for action. Extra blood is diverted into the muscles, and the over-alertness of nerve cells in our brain holds some of our muscle fibres in a state of contraction instead of their normal relaxed state. The muscles become sore as a result of many of the fibres remaining contracted.
Massage helps, but the better way is to get the mind relaxed, and so reduce the stress that is affecting the muscles.
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