We’ve all been there — sitting in traffic watching the minutes tack on to our estimated time of arrival. One of those days where it seemed like you started out running behind and an unexpected traffic jam has complicated an already stressful morning. A packed day with back-to-back meetings and a to-do list that feels a mile long looms. Your heart starts racing, your palms begin sweating, and you notice your breathing becomes more rapid. Your brain has given the order — send in the stress hormones! Adrenaline and cortisol are released, and the body’s fight or flight response is activated.¹

While mild, short-term stress enables individuals to flee from physically dangerous situations or protect oneself from psychologically dangerous ones, chronic stress can negatively impact mood and have dire consequences for our bodily systems.² For some, stress may make them feel like their heart is going to explode, while others may exhibit stress by way of irritability or a skin rash that doesn’t seem to go away. And though many may minimize their stress response or rationalize symptoms by identifying an alternate source — that eye twitch must be related to allergies! — when it comes to lawyers, the fact remains that they experience stress at greater rates than the general population.³ With 23% of attorneys saying they struggle with stress,⁴ this column looks at how stress impacts one’s physiology.

Though many are able to identify stress that occurs “in one’s head,” stress also has significant impacts from the neck down.⁵ Although mild stress is a normal part of life and, at times, can even be motivating, simulating, or enjoyable,⁶ chronic stress is maladaptive and detrimental to overall health and well-being.⁷ And though adrenaline and cortisol may be beneficial in preparing your muscles, heart, and other organs for an emergency, stress that persists over an extended period of time doesn’t allow the body to reset after the perceived threat is gone.⁸ The trouble with that perceived threat? It could be a looming deadline, overly full caseload, lack of civility from opposing counsel, or just a general overcommitment to work. Let’s take a closer look at how and where stress impacts the body.

CARDIOVASCULAR

With elevated rates of stress amongst legal professionals,⁹ it’s important to understand the link between stress and cardiovascular health. Stress can increase blood pressure, plaque rate, clot formation, and even arterial constriction, which can lead to heart disease, heart attack, or stroke.¹⁰

GASTROINTESTINAL

Have you ever been so stressed that you experience a stomachache? Feel nauseous? Have issues with constipation or diarrhea? Stress-induced changes to the gut can lead to inflammation, infection,¹¹ and other tummy troubles. With cortisol, the natural stress hormone responsible for managing the body’s metabolism, too much of it can cause certain bodily functions to stop and your metabolism to slow down,¹² impacting weight gain.

MUSCULOSKELETAL

Stress makes muscles tense up which can, acutely, be helpful; however, prolonged muscle tension can lead to tension headaches and back pain.¹³ It can lead to tightness in the neck and jaw, knots and spasms in your neck and shoulders, and even contribute to temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.¹⁴ When you’re fighting off the persistent throb from a debilitating headache, don’t forget to take a look at the role stress may play in your life.

IMMUNE

Struggling to kick the common cold? Not surprisingly, prolonged stress and elevated cortisol levels can actually suppress immune function,¹⁵ making it much harder to fight off illness. By increasing infection susceptibility, delaying wound healing, and exacerbating autoimmune diseases and inflammatory disorders,¹⁶ stress can make it much harder to stay healthy because it weakens the body’s defenses. With the cold winter months right around the corner, is your body managing stress in order to fight off germs this holiday season?

MENTAL

Practicing law is stressful. With 28% of attorneys reporting struggles with depression and 19% saying they deal with anxiety,¹⁷ it’s no surprise to learn that stress can impact mental health significantly. Stress can reduce enthusiasm for activities one typically enjoys and, simply put, wear you down emotionally.¹⁸ Because it can lead to excessive worry and other psychological disorders, stress can even impact cognitive function. With 40-70% of disciplinary proceedings and malpractice claims in the field of law involving substance use and/or depression, it’s more important than ever for attorneys to manage their stress in healthy ways.

CONCLUSION

Struggling to manage stress is not a personal failure. Statistics for legal professionals alone tell us that nearly 30% of attorneys are impacted by stress, depression, and/or anxiety.¹⁹ For professional help or even for tips on how to better manage stress, contact the State Bar of Michigan Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program by calling our confidential helpline at (800) 996-5522 or sending a confidential email to contactljap@michbar.org.