r/MadeMeSmile • u/dittidot • Feb 21 '25

Good Vibes : )

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u/beccyboop95 Feb 21 '25

Obama looks younger now than he did when he left office; that amount of stress must be horrific for you

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u/digi-artifex Feb 21 '25 edited Feb 21 '25

The last moment of his presidency, the mic drop moment... You can see all kinds of stress wrinkles in his face. His forehead and eyes, jowls, cheeks and mouth.... Stress is a silent killer.

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u/SparksAndSpyro Feb 21 '25

Off topic, but when people say “stress,” what do they mean physically? Is it like, chronic inflammation? There has to be a physical aspect to it in order to affect people’s bodies, right?

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u/digi-artifex Feb 21 '25 edited Feb 21 '25

Most of the time stress can be directly linked to fatigue, feeling "overwhelmed" or how emotionally "heavy" you feel at a time or as a reaction to a situation. Physically, it can manifest in a variety of ways, that, if unaddressed could develop into bigger issues like digestive problems or neurological damage.

Some symptoms that can manifest physically can be: general fatigue and tiredness, headaches and involuntary movements such as clenching the jaw, etc, chest pains or abnormal heart beating, vomiting, rapid loss or gain of weight, loss of sleep, inflammation as you mentioned, bad reactions to foods and drinks (indigestion), balding, sweating, skin cracks or develops wrinkles as you clench muscles of your face involuntarily as well, procrastination in some cases, rashes and excessive itchiness, excessive yawning, etc etc etc...

And many, many, many others symptoms that can become a problem down the line. Most of these start at the mind, you could argue but it is still a response to a certain taxing situation to you or in your environment. This can lead to depression, anxiety and other problems which lead to more stress, which creates a cycle of well, abuse to yourself in both mind and body.

A good link for some light reading on the subject, if interested.

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u/[deleted] Feb 21 '25

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u/digi-artifex Feb 21 '25

That's true. Cortisol is the stress hormone, building up along lactic acid for example can lead to mobility issues.

Photos from soldiers before and after active service also come to mind. So many examples.