In the 1930s, a researcher outlined the GAS effect (General Adaption Syndrome), which is related to stress:
Stage 1: Adrenal Stress
This is where you start feeling the energy slumps, irritability, or feeling wired. You may also experience trouble sleeping and have some digestive discomfort.
Stage 2: Adaption
When you learn to adapt, your symptoms actually lessen. It’s another survival tool.
Stage 3: Adrenal Exhaustion
Most people first realize they are suffering from stress at this point. Your body no longer has the juice to keep going, so there’s no more fuel from which to take. You’re constantly tired and get colds and other viruses continuously.
Stage 4: Physical Burnout
In this phase, your immune system breaks down and you start suffering from chronic conditions, such as sudden onset of allergies, depression, hypoglycemia, acid reflux, colitis, chronic fatigue, autoimmune diseases and severe disorders such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, MS, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid arthritis. Even cancer is connected to stress and severe emotional trauma, the greatest stressor of them all.
Common Signs of Stress:
- You can’t sleep
- You have digestive problems, stomach aches, excessive acid, and reflux
- You have constant headaches and migraines
- You have tightness or pain in your lower back
- You have heart palpitations and high blood pressure
- You get sick all the time, including colds or the flu
- You have increased abdominal fat you cannot get rid of
- You feel anxious all the time even when you have down time
- You’re exhausted and fatigued
- You cannot relax without feeling guilty
What Adds to Your Stress?
Lack of Sleep
Your body will see lack of sleep as potential danger lurking. And being tired makes it harder to cope with problems.
Caffeine
It might make you feel on top of the world after a cup or two, or what gets you going in the morning but it’s also what triggers your stress hormone to rise and what makes you more exhausted as the day goes by. It drains your adrenals even faster than stress alone would.
Dehydration
We are mostly water. When you’re dehydrated, your body will perceive it as danger that you’re not getting your first and most basic need met.
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