Sophie Lindquist

Dr. Liu

November 21, 2019

Speech to Convince

Intro:

You often hear people say that stress can be both good and bad. However, by a show of
hands, how many of you just love being stressed out? Though there are a few benefits
that stress can possibly provide, there needs to be a greater awareness of just how bad
stress is for you. We are seeing a rise in anxiety in colleges and around the world. We
cannot underestimate what stress can do.

Thesis: When stress consumes you and is not handled correctly, problematic
repercussions take place in the brain, in the body, and in relationships.

I. Good Stress vs. Bad Stress

A. Eustress is the “good” kind of stress and can help motivate you and focus your

energy​ (​ Holland, et al., 2017).

B. We are most familiar with the “bad” type of stress called distress, and this stress

is overwhelming our culture and college students because of the many areas of

life that it affects.

II. Stress is destructive to the brain.

A. As a review, cortisol is released in excessive amounts.

1. One traumatic event can cause memory loss because of

cortisol(Valvano,2018).

2. The hippocampus is the area that controls our memory, and when an

excess of cortisol damages this, the region can no longer maintain control

over the regulation of stress.

 B. Chronic stress decreases levels of protein, which is needed in producing more

brain cells.

1. This puts the brain into an inflamed state and causes structural damage.

2. Then, this results in the inability to clear harmful waste products.

3. Cells are destroyed and the brain shrinks.

C. Chronic stress affects blood sugar levels.

1. This is a contributing factor to depression, anxiety, lack of sleep, and a

weakened immune function.

2. With these systems damaged, the body is unable to fight off disease.

III. Stress can induce disease and ruin your heart.

A. Some people are already prone to disease, but stress has been linked to the

chances of disease being higher.

B. Stress hormones increase heart rate and constrict blood vessels, so the heart

has to work harder.

C. Researcher, Michael Blaha from John Hopkins University Medicine reported that

people who are anxious about losing their job are 20% more likely to develop

heart issues(John Hopkins Medicine).

D. Enjoyable events can also cause high levels of distress which impacts the heart.

E. Often times cancer, lung disease, cirrhosis and more are linked to being stressed

out.

IV. Stress is destructive to the body.

A. Distress causes poor dietary choices.

1. Some people eat more when they are stressed, and some people do not

eat at all.
 2. This can often cause an increase in weight.

B. Stress can affect your appearance.

1. Stress contributes to premature aging(Bergland, 2014).

a) Stress has been linked to telomere shortening.

b) At a certain point of shrinkage, cells lose the ability to divide and

get rid of the bad cells.

c) Therefore, it contributes to premature aging and shorter lifespans.

d) Stressed out people have more wrinkles, weak muscles, poor

eyesight….

2. Stress can deteriorate your gums and rot your teeth.

a) When people respond to stress, they often grind their teeth as a

sort of nervous tic.

b) This can have long-term damage to the jaw and wear down your

teeth.

V. Stress can ruin relationships(Gordon, 2017).

A. Stress spills into our personal lives.

B. Stress causes the person to become more withdrawn, distracted, and less

affectionate.

C. When the life stressors are taking up time, there is less time for leisure activities

to get your mind off of stress. Less time also leads to alienation between

partners.

D. Stress brings out people’s worst traits and can cause friends to back away.

E. Stress depletes you and makes you more irritable and susceptible to fighting,

especially in a romantic relationship.

 F. A 2015 study in Switzerland showed that stress can bleed over into your romantic
lives(Newman, 2016).

Conclusion

As you can see from this research, our bodies were not created to deal with stress on
our own. God’s word speaks of this in 1 Peter 5:7 which says, “ Cast all your anxieties on
Him, because he cares for you.” When we choose to deal with our problems on our
own, we become overwhelmed with distress. In summary, this state of mind is
detrimental to our brain, our bodies, and our relationships. Our creator, who fearfully and
wonderfully made us, commands us to cast our burdens on Him, because he is the only
one who is capable of taking care of us.
 Works Cited

Bergland, C. (2014, April 7). Emotional Distress Can Speed Up Cellular Aging. Retrieved

November 19, 2019, from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201404/emotional-distress-c

an-speed-cellular-aging​.

Gordon, A. M. (2017, September 29). Is Stress Killing Your Relationship? Why You're Not

Alone. Retrieved November 19, 2019, from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/between-you-and-me/201709/is-stress-killing

-your-relationship-why-youre-not-alone.

Holland, E., Holland, E., Emily, Emily, Health Coach, & Health Coach. (2017, July 13).

How to Use Stress to Your Advantage. Retrieved November 20, 2019, from

https://chopra.com/articles/how-to-use-stress-to-your-advantage

Newman, K. M. (2016, February 10). Could Stress Be Causing Your Relationship

Problems? Retrieved November 19, 2019, from

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/could_stress_be_causing_your_relationsh

ip_problems.

John Hopkins Medicine. Risk Factors for Heart Disease: Don't Underestimate Stress. (n.d.).

Retrieved November 19, 2019, from

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/risk-factors-for-hear

t-disease-dont-underestimate-stress.
Valvano, L. (2018, May 31). Is Stress shrinking your brain? Retrieved November 19, 2019,

from https://www.stress.org.uk/stress-shrinking-brain/.