Stress and Wellbeing

In the article “Stress Can Make You Sick. Take Steps To Reduce It” Dr Chatterjee talks about ways in which stress affects our daily lives. Dr Chatterjee is an author, television host, and influential doctor in Britain. He hosts the show Doctor in the House, in which he visits overweight and chronically ill patients, and transforms their diet, exercise habits, and relationships. He also has a podcast, “Feel Better, Live More”, where he talks about lifestyle medicine. In his most recent book he addresses the ways stress can be a detriment to our health, and how managing our stress can help us maintain our health. He recounts an interaction he had with one of his patients who could not control his blood sugar even though he was exercising and following an intense diet. Dr Chatterjee states that the root of the problem was unmanaged stress. He urged his patient to practice forms of meditation and to reduce his use of electronics before bedtime, and six months later there was a drop in the patient’s blood sugar, levels bringing it close to normal. Stress can play a role in other chronic diseases such as insomnia, high blood pressure, depression and weight gain. Dr Chatterjee recommends changes such as calm morning routines, minimizing the use of social media, and participating in some form of exercise or meditation. These methods tend to have better results than telling people to change their diets. 

Managing stress is important because it can consume our lives, and lead us to have poor health. When a person is constantly stressed it takes an effect on their immune system which could potentially have the person become sick more often. In addition, it can lead to things such as weight gain and high blood pressure. The management of stress and importance of one’s mental health does not always take precedence in people’s life, but it is detrimental to start focusing on it. SImple things like doing breathing exercises and cutting down on social media use can greatly improve stress.