Stress and the 70+ Body

By: Oliver Broudy

“The older we are, the more damage chronic stress can cause to our health. But older adults can develop a superpower that keeps the harmful effects at bay.”

                                                                          -Oliver Broudy-

A 6-year-old will feel stress on the first day of kindergarten, a 12-year-old will feel stress during athletic competition. And so-it-goes over the years from young adulthood through the elderly years. The stress trigger may change over the years, but the phenomenon of the stressful moment remains the same. 

The one difference that does occur is that with age our bodies react more intensely, creating a more toxic effect to our health.  

Seniors may have fewer acute stressors such as screaming kids and screaming bosses, but they are faced with more chronic situations like illness and financial insecurity. But there is also good news, although age may weaken our defenses against us, it also provides us powerful new weapons.

Next week we will present these stress fighters and why/how they occur.