If you don't take the time to counter the effects of stress, your short-term happiness and long-term health will suffer.

When stress takes over your life, the consequences are not merely emotional. Physically, the stressed-out body takes a beating. Tiny spines on the dendrites of brain nerve cells are worn away by the effects of stress hormones. Stress weakens the immune response and is associated with increased fat around the organs, a serious health risk. A zone at the tail-end of chromosomes, called a telomere, unravels as we age. In recent years, scientists have found that when we are under stress, telomeres come apart more quickly. People under chronic, extreme stress require complex interventions to avoid or remedy serious health effects. But for most of us, taking a deep breath and devoting time to stress management will improve your well-being.

In this wellness center, you will see the physical evidence of stress and its impact on the body. You will also learn how stress-management interventions can improve health and quality of life. Here is how to get the most out of this center:

• The chapter listing at the left shows the range of subtopics that we will explore in this health center.


• The key visualizations from each chapter appear in our carousel of small pictures, above. Clicking on each one will enlarge it so you can view the content for the related chapter.


• On the main images, buttons may launch short videos, graphics and interactive features.


• A feature called "Take Three Steps" in some chapters gives you three simple actions to take in order to begin improving your well-being right away.


• Also, rolling over the red arrows on the images reveals more interactive content.


• Finally, the photos, graphics and icons in the text labeled “Read More” link to additional content and interactive experiences. Click away!

We hope you find all of “The 9 Visual Rules of Wellness” to be informative and compelling.


What Causes Stress?

We all know that stressed-out feeling: clenched jaw, frayed nerves, pounding heart, tense muscles. When a challenge in our environment seems overwhelming, beyond our control, the body releases stress hormones that prepare us to react. The problem arises when stress is constant, or too frequent. Excessive stress hormones can cause serious damage to our health. Stress is linked to cardiovascular disease, digestive ailments, reduced immunity, headaches, muscle tension and more. Learning to avoid stress and minimize our reactions to it is vital to our longevity.

MANAGE YOUR STRESS VIDEOS

CHAPTER 1 (currently viewing) What Causes Stress? When you face challenges that seem beyond your control, your body's stress response takes over. VIEW VIDEO

CHAPTER 3 Fight or Flight A perceived threat triggers this heart-pounding, muscle-tensing state of alertness. VIEW VIDEO

CHAPTER 8 Stress Takes a Toll Over time, stress raises your risk of cardiovascular disease, digestive ailments and more. VIEW VIDEO

CHAPTER 10 Stress & the Growing Brain Babies and kids who endure traumatic events develop different brain structure as they grow up. VIEW VIDEO

CHAPTER 14 Your Genes & Stress Stress is one factor that can cause certain genes to switch on or off, affecting inherited traits. VIEW VIDEO

CHAPTER 16 Inherited Stress Damage There is growing evidence that some stress-induced changes in gene expression care passed on to children. VIEW VIDEO

CHAPTER 17 How Stress Ages Us Part of our chromosomes that protects our cells during cell division can be damaged by stress, causing speedier aging. VIEW VIDEO

CHAPTER 20 Coping with Stress You can't eliminate stress from your life, but you can minimize the harm by learning to manage it. VIEW VIDEO

CHAPTER 25 Meditation in Focus One method of stress-reduction, meditation, brings measurable physical and emotional improvements. VIEW VIDEO