None of us are strangers to stress. From the classroom to the boardroom to the family room, stressors are all around us. While it may be impossible to completely avoid them, research shows that long-term or chronic stress can impact the body in devastating ways. For National Stress Awareness Month, we’re looking at some of the short and long term impacts—both mental and physical.
MIND
Perhaps the most recognizable impact of stress is the one it has on our mental health. The psychological effects can manifest in many ways, such as aggression, irritability, exhaustion, sadness and difficulty focusing. If left unchecked, stress can lead to larger problems, such as depression, anxiety or burnout.
Anxiety: There is a difference between stress and anxiety. The latter is defined by persistent, excessive worries that don’t go away even in the absence of a stressor. A buildup of stress over time can trigger anxiety or even lead to the development of an anxiety disorder.
Restlessness: Your flight or fight response is triggered by stress. This results in a surge of adrenaline, which can make it difficult to sit still, rest or relax. Restlessness may leave you feeling fatigued or make it difficult to concentrate at work or school.
Lack of focus: Stress has an impact on your cognitive processes, including working memory–the small amount of memory that is temporarily held in your mind and used to complete tasks. Working memory is what allows us to get stuff done without losing track of what we’re doing. Without working memory, you can’t focus, so it can be very difficult to accomplish tasks.
Feeling overwhelmed: When you’re having trouble managing stress or its side effects, it can lead to feeling overwhelmed. The mental impact of feeling this way can include cognitive slowness, forgetfulness, confusion and difficulty concentrating or thinking logically. This in turn can lead to more stress, creating a vicious cycle.
Irritability: The emotional effects of stress can lead to abrupt changes in mood, and a common one is anger, especially in those who are already prone to irritability. Chronic stress can make you more sensitive to small problems and, therefore, more quick to anger. For example, you’re more likely to be irritated by a dog barking or getting cut off in traffic if you’re already feeling stressed.
Depression: Stress and depression have a bidirectional connection, meaning one can cause the other and they can make each other worse. The social isolation often caused by depression can lead to stress, and major stressors like divorce or financial difficulties can unbalance your mental health.
BODY
Our bodies can handle stress in small doses, but when it becomes chronic, the impact can be serious. Long-term stress affects all systems of the body, including musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, nervous and reproductive.
Muscle pain: When we’re stressed, we’re tense—literally. Our muscles reflexively tense up as a natural response to avoiding injury and pain. Not only can constant tension lead to aches and pains, but it also can trigger other responses in the body.
Change in sex drive: In both the male and female reproductive systems, stress can have an impact on the libido. Chronic stress can affect testosterone production, resulting in lower sex drive or even erectile dysfunction. For women, sexual desire can be reduced by factors like fatigue, distraction or
feeling overwhelmed.
Headache: You’re more likely to experience a pounding head when you’re dealing with stress. Both tension and migraine headaches can be a result of chronic muscle tension. They are often caused by the contraction of muscles in the scalp and neck.
Chest pain: To deal with stress, your body releases hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. This can lead to an increase in blood pressure and heart rate, leading to difficulty breathing, throat constriction and contraction of your chest muscles. These factors can contribute to chest pain.
Fatigue: Stress means your body is operating at high alert—every part of it is working harder. That’s exhausting, and you’re going to feel it. That impact could manifest as chronic fatigue, which can leave you feeling drowsy or unmotivated even when you have gotten enough sleep.
Stomach issues: When you’re worried about something, you often feel butterflies in your stomach. That’s because your brain and gut are in constant communication. Stress can trigger pain, bloating and other discomfort. It also can impact how food moves through your digestive system, leading to vomiting, diarrhea or constipation.
Trouble sleeping: Stress can decrease both the length and quality of sleep, and in turn, sleep deprivation makes it easier for stress to impact you. The American Psychological Association found that adults who get fewer than eight hours of sleep a night are more likely to feel irritable, overwhelmed and unmotivated. Severe stress also has been known to cause insomnia.
WAYS TO MANAGE STRESS
Take time for activities you enjoy. Even if it’s only for 10 or 15 minutes, doing something simple that makes you feel good can help relieve stress. Play with your kids or pets, catch up with a friend, stretch and move, garden or read a book.
Get active. No matter your athletic prowess, physical activity can be a stress reliever. It gets feel-good endorphins pumping along with other neural chemicals that boost your sense of well-being. Exercise also can help refocus your mind off of stressful situations.
Eat better. When we’re stressed, we may crave junk food or other comfort dishes. This can actually heighten the negative side effects of stress because our bodies are working overtime, so we need more nutritious food to meet the demand. Avoid stress eating and try to maintain a healthy diet of regular meals.
Try different wellness therapies. Stress interventions include acupuncture, infrared sauna sessions, meditation, yoga and breathing exercises.
Start a journal. Writing is a great way to manage stress. It can also help you sleep better. Write down what’s on your mind before bed and then set it aside for the next day.
Defuse your stress in the moment. When faced with a stressful situation, take steps to calm yourself down. Try counting to 10, listen to chill music, take three deep breaths using belly breathing or walk away from the situation for a while.
Sources: Harvard Health, Mayo Clinic, National Institutes of Health
