Whenever I read about stress' effects on the body, I always wonder about exercise. Exercise is an example of stress, or at the very least causes similar symptoms (rapid heartbeat, breathing difficulties, cortisol and adrenaline spikes). Why is it that exercise is so good and stress is so bad?
Chronic stress is problematic. The body regularly experience spikes in stress.
Stress tends to increase cortisol, which results in precursor (progesterone/pregnenolone) depletion. Progesterone/pregnenolone also become DHEA, testosterone, etc. If the body doesn't have enough raw material to produce needed hormones, many issues can accumulate.
Cortisol tends to slow thyroid function, lead to increased estrogens, and put the body in a state of degeneration. Brief states of degeneration and halting of healing/renewal processes are fine, as it's necessary to produce flight/flight energy. On the other hand, the body isn't able to heal/build if sustained.
I wonder if there have been any studies on the effects of intermittent stress on the human body. Might there be healthy outcomes from regularly putting the body under short term stress that is then successfully resolved, almost like psychological exercise?
The body is regularly stressed. It means little when normal. It's problematic when chronic, as it interferes with healing and causes degeneration. I suppose exercise is an example of a stressor that has positive effects.
Too much exercise is also injurious. That said, I have subjectively experienced an adrenaline rush for stupid reasons and chosen to do nothing with it — no run, no fight — and the subsequent downer felt terrible; as a result of this, I assume that physical exertion produces extra substances in the body which mitigate the stresses in much the same way that purely psychological stress is countered with external substances such as alcohol, weed, etc., or clinical antidepressants.
Really interesting point. Body gets all charged up and then needs to work to eliminate byproducts through slow manual processes instead of them being excreted through exercise. That would make a lot of sense.
