How Stress Enlarges Your Prostate and What to Do About it

When we think of stress, we think that it makes us absentminded,
not able to do what we're supposed to as well as we could. We
think depression, time off work and generally a mental issue.

Stress is actually a whole lot more. Everything that goes in on your
emotions, your head, and your thoughts actually physically affects you.
A person who is stressed is almost certainly a person who feels under
the weather constantly, and is not aware of the root causes.

Being stressed runs down your immune system, and when you get
stressed your body tenses up, getting ready for a wound, a cut, or a
bite. This tension also restricts blood flow and energy causing you to
be constantly tired. The worst stresses – those horrible ones that seem
beyond your control or seem like they're never going to end – result in
every single area of your immunity being suppressed and your immune
system function to drop significantly in all parts of your body.

Your prostate relies on tiny blood vessels for nutrition and cleansing
and when that blood flow is restricted it fails to function correctly.
These effects can be damaging and set you on a course to developing
a prostate problem, or making one you already have even worse.

One clinical trial of more than 300 men, found that high stress levels
are associated with elevated PSA readings. Prostate-specific antigen
(PSA) is produced by the prostate so obviously the higher the reading,
the larger the prosate. Not good for you!! Another study conducted at
a US university, looked at the relationship between stress and prostatitis
in rats. This research found that even mild stress produced increased
inflammation of the prostate. Conversely, inflammation diminished in the
rats not placed under stress.

At the next level above prostate problems, a May 1998 issue of Cancer
magazine reported that among men with prostate disease, anxiety and
depression were very common. They noted that 80% of prostate disease
occurs in men over 65 years of age and though the prostate was also
physically enlarging at this time, this group was experiencing a higher than
normal number of stresses. These were age-related, loss of a spouse,
retirement and friends or other family members passing away.

Physically, when you feel positive emotions like love or acceptance,
happy hormones are released into your bloodstream, giving you a feeling
of well-being and 'on-top-of-thew-world'. The opposite is also true
though, putting you into that tensed fight or flight mode which is completely
instinctive.

Your ability to deal with stress varies immensely from anyone else you
know. A little stress is good, otherwise you'll go senile, but you will have
to find out for yourself, (or you should know be now) what stress makes
you perform better, and what causes you to crumple.

If you have trouble dealing with stress, you should consider getting rid
of negative people from your life, the people that cause you problems
and stress. Choose your friends carefully, surround yourself with people
who you can trust and make you feel good. If you can, avoid dealing
with people you stress you out.

In regards to the physical stresses, take note that tight underpants and
trousers can restrict the flow of blood to the groin and restrict body
movement, leading to tight muscles. Your testicles need to be free to
regulate their temperature by raising or lowering themselves, something
they cannot do if they are held firmly in place. Instead, go for loose pants
and boxer shorts.

If you are spiritually minded then mediate on the Bible or anything else
you consider appropriate. This helps you to be calm and have your
life more centered. If you are not, then consider doing yoga, or something
slow and relaxing that clears the mind and relaxes the body. Just find
something, de-stress yourself and it's one more little thing towards the
end goal of a better prostate for life.