Introduction:  High blood pressure is called the "silent killer," because people ignore their stress levels and blood pressure and the result is that a heart attack sneaks up on them...and you know the rest of the story! 

At the following direct link, is an article I wrote several months ago, on the dangers of high blood pressure, and is entitled, "The Silent Killer (high blood pressure)"

http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=36892

"Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptible form of mental illness."  Richard Carlson, PHD

I will quote from the article directly, and then I will give my two-cents.  (opinions/additional comments)

The article reads as follows:

"In the still, lonely hours before dawn, Karen Gaebelein sits in her living room chair staring out the window at the dark sky...her thoughts racing; heart pounding!   At age 56, Gaebelein, who lives in Broadview Heights, Ohio, is worried about the mortgage on her condo; her shrinking retirement savings; her questionalble job future, etc. 

Like million of Americans, she is anxious, stressed by the troubling uncertainties of the faltering economy.  And that stress is literally making her sick!  Gaebelein, who has been unemployed for a year now, has had trouble sleeping!"

My Two-Cents: (opinions); 
I know all about sleep problems...as I have suffered from sleep problems for the past 3-4 years!  (2006-2009)  After SIX job layoffs in over a decade, the sleep deprivation has just added frosting on the cake and to the misery in my life, etc.  

After I saw the connection between sleep deprivation and diabetes in June, 2008 on 60 Minutes, I couldn't get to the Internet fast enough to do some research.  For years, I've gotten a physical exam and blood tests, and I've watched the steady rise of my glucose (sugar) until it hit the line of diabetes in early 2009! 

Because of early detection, me and my doctor (endocrinologist) are now working on the problem and for the first time, I am on diabetes medication; chlorestrol and sleep medication, etc.  For the reader who wants to learn more, just simply google the words "sleep deprivation and diabetes," and you'll find a wealth of information on the Internet.  Back in June, 2008, I wrote an article on the subject entitled, "Sleep Deprivation and Diabetes," and you will find it at the following link;

http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=40122

I have had a sleep test in March, 2009 and I am scheduled for another test in June, 2009, to try to find the cause of the diabetes, etc.  

The article continues...

"Her blood pressure is high!  She has bouts of depression!  "I forget to eat some days!" says Gaebelein, who managed two offices of a credit union.  "But once in a while, I get a big bag of greasy fast food and a giant Hershey bar.  I know I shouldn't...I know it's bad for me, but I can't help it." 

While a certain amount of stress can increase productivity and creativity, too much can be mentally and physically damaging.  Not only does stress provoke negative behavious such as bingeing on junk food, smoking and excessive drinking, it can also lead to ailments ranging from colds and flu to depression, high blood pressure and memory loss! 

Stress that persists over the years can exacerbate conditions such as heart disease, hardening of the arteries, autoimmune disease, diabetes and ulcers, experts say.  Research indicates stress can also speed the aging process. 

"Stress rarely causes disease, but it creates conditions that make the body more vulnerable to disease.  And if you're already sick or have a chronic illness, stress can make it worse," says Sheldon Cohen, a psychologist at Carnegie Mellon Univeristy in Pittsburg.  "It's effects...can be long-lasting!" 

Stress, he says, "is the perception that you are facing demands that exceed your ability to cope."  The demands can be physical...say, if you're being pursued by a robber.  Or they can be psychological...worrying about a job or money, etc.

Todays economic meltdown (2009) is triggering widespread psychological stress, which feeds on uncertainty and dread.  "We feel our control slipping and our lives growing more and more unpredictable," says Cohen.  And the mind repeatedly mulls the same questions: What will  happen next?  How long will it go on?  Will it get worse? 

Americans of all ages are living with the anxieties that a troubled economy brings.  But some of the most stressed people, like Gaebelein, have been laid off in their last decade of work, with less chance of finding a new job and recouping financial losses! 

Stress creates conditions that makes the body more vulnerable to disease! 

"Losing your job at 50 or 60 is not good for your health," says William Gallo, a research scientist at Yale University's School of Medicine in New Haven.  "There's compelling evidence that no matter who you compare the older job loser to...he or she does worse phisically and mentally." 

Gallo's studies, which tracked older people who lost their jobs after a plant closing, found not only that they had more symptoms of depression, but also that "their risk of heart attack and stroke was more than doubled compared with people who did not lose their jobs." 

Gallo says that job loss for people age 50 and older...with its attendant anxiety...should be considered an added risk factor for cardiovascular problems.  (When study particpants found other jobs, he says, the risk was greatly reduced.) 

Another finding;  People who fear losing their jobs have more health problems than those who actually lost them, says Sarah A. Burgard, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Michigan.  She and her team looked at 3,000 employed people under age 60 participating in two long-term studies and divided them into those who worried about losing their jobs and those who didn't.  They found that over a two-year period, people who felt chronically insecure about their jobs reported much worse overall health and were more depressed than those who actually lost their jobs.  'Living with uncertainty...that's extremely damaging to your health,' says Burgard."

"Do not anticipate trouble or worry about what may never happen."  Benjamin Franklin

My Two-Cents (opinions):  I can relate to this, because before everyone of my six job losses, I felt awful, as to not knowing what was going to happen and when!  When it finally happened...I was relieved (to a degree) that the worry was finally over, and I could start a new life.  My biggest problem was my age...(over 50) and as it turned out...ruin...and all of it led to my downfall.  I wrote another article entitled, "Discrimination Against Older Workers (Ageism), and the reader can go directly;
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=26238

Why is stress so insidious?  The stress response is an archaic mechanism designed to help pirmative man survive a sudden physical threat....an animal attack or a raid by warriors, etc.  It's a powerful physiological response meant to kick in briefly while the body prepares to flee or to fight the danger, etc.

But this atavistic system has been dragged into the 21st century, says Louise Hawkley, associate dirctor of the Social Neuroscience Lab at the University of Chicago.  "What our brains often interpret as a threat today...a job loss or problems with the mortgage...can trigger the stress response and keep triggering it" until the body, creating a surge of strength.  Glucose (sugar) levels spike to provide the energy needed.  The heart rate jumps, and blood pressure climbs so that blood moves faster and with greater force to deliver oxygen to the muscles. 

To allow the body to channel all effort toward fleeing or fighting, other hormones suppress systems that don't directly aid those actions, including the immune, digestive, growth and reproductive functions.  The body remains in this state of alert until the brain is convinced the threat is over. 

If this massive reaction occurs repeatedly, Hawkley says, over time it wreaks havoc on the delicate hormonal responsis that regulate the body's various systems.  Elevated hormones, for example, rev up the cardiovascular system, straining the heart and blood vessels and increasing cholesterol and plaque...changes that can lead to hardening of the arteries, stroke and heart attacks! 

When chronic stress disturbs the body's correct hormonal settings, other problems can ensue, including colitis and bowel problems, and infections that breach a faulty immune system.  One study, led by Cohen, shows that people living with one of two major 'stressors' unemployment and underemployment...were five times more likely to develop colds than the unstressed. 

Still...people can learn to cope, experts say, and that helps mitigate the effects the stress on health.  The first step is to 'learn to notice your stress signals,' says Rajita Sinha, M.D., director of the Yale Stress Center in New Maven, Conn.  Kdy indic ators, she says, include a faster hearbeat, a drop in energy, changes in appetite, teeth grinding, tension in the arms, back or neck, tightness in the stomach and sleep problems.  'Attend to these signs early,' she says, 'and find ways to cope that work for you.'

The brain is an arbiter of stress, and what sends one person into an anxious funk or even prompts thoughts of suicide hardly affects another.  What's key is that the brain can be distracted, calmed by activities that engage and provide enjoyment...such as reading a great mystery, jogging with the dog or playing the trombone.  Dealing with stress 'is not about moving toward the positive, doing things that make you happy,' says Douglas Mennin, associate professor of psychology at Yale and director of the department's Anxiety and Mood Services.  He suggests engaging in activities that turn the mind away from stress, 'not just on the week-end' but as a regular routine.

A crucial strtegy, experts say, is to stay connected to friends and reletives.  Find emotional support.  Loneliness is a major stressor that can heighten every other problem.  And remember that many people are resilient and adaptable, Mennin adds.

Karen Gaebelein says she's trying to exercise more and see her friends.  She has found satisfaction volunteering in a senior community.  'I have not lost hope yet.' she says." 

END OF ARTICLE:  

"For fast-acting relief...try slowing down."  Lily Tomlin

My Two-Cents (opinions);

Over my lifetime, my health has been my number one priority, and in 2009, I am 64 years young.  I weigh 170 pounds and I've jogged for over 24 years, so me and my doctor point the finger at sleep deprivation for the diabetes.  I'm a firm believer of early detection, and having a physical and blood test every year, and that's what we've done here.  I hope to be under the safe line soon, and stop pricking my finger every day, etc. 

I wrote an article on diabetes entitled, Ten Million Americans Have Diabetes and Don't Know It. 
http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewarticle.asp?id=39435

"It's not the stress that kills us...it's the reaction to it."  Hans Selye

None of us are getting any younger...and as for the reader...all I can do, is to suggest that you get a check-up and a blood test ...I've been there...I've done that! 

GOOD LUCK WITH LOWERING YOUR STRESS AND WITH YOUR BLOOD TEST, TOO!  SEE YA!

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