Word: chronic
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...illness like clinical depression will send biochemical shock waves through the body. But the intimate relationship of body to mind isn't limited to serious disease. Researchers have come to understand that what lies below the neck can also be harmed by less acute kinds of brain disturbances. The chronic stress that millions of people feel from simply trying to deal with the pressures of modern life can unleash a flood of hormones that are useful in the short term but subtly toxic if they persist. Thus it shouldn't come as a surprise that stress-reduction strategies that take...
Diabetes is another illness that doesn't go well with depression. It's well known that 10% of diabetic men and 20% of diabetic women also have depression--about twice the rate in the general population. It's natural to be depressed about having a chronic, potentially fatal illness, but that doesn't entirely explain the discrepancy. Moreover, depressed diabetics are much more likely than those without depression to suffer complications including heart disease, nerve damage and blindness. Somehow depression makes the body less responsive to insulin, the hormone that processes blood sugar--plausibly through the action of cortisol...
...reduce hardening of the arteries, especially in African Americans with high blood pressure. People suffering from anxiety disorders also appreciate the lowered stress, reduced blood pressure and slowed heart rates associated with meditation. Similarly, there is growing evidence that a meditation program can have a positive, sustained effect on chronic pain and mood, including depression and anxiety. In an even more dramatic example, initial research has suggested that meditation combined with dietary changes may slow tumor progression in prostate-cancer patients...
...works as well as drugs like Prozac. And though it's not quite as quick as antidepressants, the results last longer after treatment stops. One study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that, used together, cognitive therapy and antidepressants can help 85% of patients suffering from chronic major depression...
...CHRONIC Caused by constant emotional pressure the victim can't control, it produces hormones that can weaken the immune system and damage bones...