Stress is the Body’s response to being overwhelmed, overworked, bad situation and danger. It’s the body’s survival system used to help a person react quickly when something important happens. Stress can be a positive in situations such as being used as a motivation or increasing alertness however stress over a long period of time can cause major problems. It is important to remember that it effects everyone differently so there is not a one box fits all effect.

In the UK 74% of adults have felt overwhelmed by stress and at some points in the past year with 11% feeling stressed every day. 63% of people are stressed at least weekly. Women reported feeling stressed more frequently than men women are on average stressed 11.7 days a month compared to 8.7 days for men

Stress is shown to cause depression if prolonged this causes emotion regulating to stop so relationships may be effected as you loose the will to put effort in. Also it may lead to a short temper so you will get to breaking point faster.

There are multiple effects on the body some are temporary and some are permanent. The temporary effect of stress is a faster heart rate this releases adrenaline which gives the body a sense of fight or flight. This hormone can also cause muscle pain as it causes the muscles to tighten and stay contracted. Stress also causes the body to have a temporary increase in blood pressure however if this happens frequently it can cause habits which keep it high. With this being said stress over a long period of time can also cause permanent changes to the body with some effect being changes to the structure and shrinking regions such as the hippocampus and PFC which can cause a person to become anxious and react to conflict in different ways. Chronic stress also contributes to angina, strokes and heart attacks as it strains the heart and narrows the arteries which are life threatening problems.

there are also many charities and organisations set up to help those struggling. These all help in different ways with some giving advice whereas others give information and guidance skills.

These are some of the many:

• The mix (offers free counseling, crisis support and self help resources).

• Childline (offers free confidential support for young people).

• Mind (offers information and services to improve mental health and shows coping mechanisms).

• Stress management society (gives people guilds and workshops to improve well being and notice signs of stress before they develop).

• The mental heath foundation (gives practical based guilds and community resources that support wellbeing).

The word diet is used a lot but the proper definition is how much food and drink you aim to consume over a set amount of time a adult woman should aim to have 2000 calories a day whereas a adult man should have 2500 this change is due to men usually being bigger needing more energy to power their body however this whole measurement changes between person as an athlete will need much more then a office worker as they need more calories to fuel their sport. A balanced diet should include fruits, vegetables, protein and dairy and limited amounts of sugars and saturated fats. There is also a recommended amount of 2/3 litres of water intake a day however this can increase with activeness or a hot climate. For adults a daily recommended amount of sugar is 30gs which is surprisingly low and correlates to 1 double decker bar. Adults should also stick to no more than 6 gs of salt per day sticking to these helps reduce the risk of getting life threatening conditions. With a healthy diet comes regular intake it is important to eat at regular times when possible because if not it can cause metabolism problems and issues sleeping.

80% of the children born in 2022 are expected to be obese

In the years 2019/20 10780 of hospital admissions directly attributable to obesity costing the nhs £74 billion. In 2019 18% of boys were obese and 13% of girls were obese.

This is used for rapid weight loss so predominantly useful for boxers and wrestlers. This drug is also useful for masking other drugs so it is used by any athletes with consumption of others it masks other drugs by causing the kidney to excrete more water and salt which reduces the overall overall fluid causing the increasion of urine production

PEPTIDE HORMONES

Peptide hormones are used to increase red blood cells and recovery speed so this is useful to most athletes especially those in rugby and other contact sports as they are likely to get injured but to get back to it. However the negatives or peptide hormones is that it can cause bones to grow abnormally, the blood to thicken and pain in joints.

NARCOTICS

Narcotics are used predominantly by athletes in football, wrestling and cycling. They take this to deal with pain, manage stress or sometimes to enhance their performance in sport however they are banned and can cause multiple other problems such as addiction, constipation, breathing issues or in some cases further injury.

STIMULANTS

stimulants are mostly taken by endurance sports as it delays fatigue. It is also used by gymnasts and wrestlers to lose weight. Stimulants create high alertness which is good for basketballers and hockey players. But stimulants are highly addictive. Can cause a increased heart rate or other related problems and lead to anxiety.

ANABOLIC STEROIDS

Anabolic steroids are used to gain more muscle mass. bodybuilder and sprinters predominantly use it as it causes them the most benefit. However steroids may cause the user to get liver damage or become infertile. It will also change the way you think by causing “roid” rage or hormonal imbalances.

Stimulants are drugs which increase the activity of the CNS which will cause fast reactions and little thought process of doing an activity there are multiple drugs which are in this category some of these are Cocaine which causes the user to become talkative and feel pleasure however it will also lead to negative effects such as paranoia and a increase in heart rate it is highly addictive and in extreme situations causes seizures or even death. Another drug under this category is MDMA and ecstasy causes a short euphoria but can cause the taker to have a dry mouth, nightmares and nightmares.

OPIOIDS

Opioids are drugs which will relieve pain and cause numbing they can be used legally in hospitals however on the street they are highly illegal a form of this is heroine it causes false positives such as euphoria and relief but is highly addictive and may lead to insomnia or death.

HALLUCINOGENS

Hallucinogens are drugs that alter your state of perception and makes you see things that aren’t really there LSD is a form of hallucinogens it gives a feeling of euphoria and paranoia but may cause the taker to become sweaty and dehydrated get addicted and in the long run lead to depression.

CANNABIS

Cannabis are drugs which come from the cannabis plants and contain THC the most notable cannabis drug is marijuana this makes a mellow effect for the taker it is the most legalised as itn some states of America it’s legal but it leads to bad judgements, impaired memory and can have a major effect on brain development for the taker.

STATISTICS

The statistics taken for the uk in 2015 :

Hospitals reported 8000 patients in 2015 which is 6% more than the year before.

There was 15000 reports of poisoning of drugs

There was 2479 drug related reported deaths

from a survey taken 15% pupils have taken drugs with 6% of 11 year olds tried drugs

INITIATIVES TO STOP

there are many ways to seek help with stopping drugs with most urban areas having rehab centres to help stopping takers from their addiction. There are many sites such as Talk to FRANK which is a site where you can gain facts, support and advice for drugs and alcohol. At A lot of festivals now there are drug test centres which are legal as they know people are going to take drugs so their goal is to ensure that the drugs they take are safe and not spiked with more harmful stuff.