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The Dangers and Effects of Chronic Stress
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Long-term stress can damage multiple body systems, leading to heart disease, digestive issues, weakened immunity, and mental health disorders like anxiety and depression. The body's constant "fight or flight" response is harmful over time.
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Chronic stress manifests as physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms, including fatigue, muscle tension, irritability, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and social withdrawal. It can severely affect daily functioning and quality of life.
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Stress management strategies like exercise, healthy diet, relaxation techniques, and time management can help. Professional treatment, including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or medication, may be necessary for those experiencing debilitating stress.
Understanding Chronic Stress Symptoms
Chronic stress is stress that goes on for many weeks, months, or even longer.
Stress is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself. Rather, it is a natural reaction to life experiences. It is perfectly normal to feel stressed occasionally. A looming work deadline, an upcoming job interview, a divorce, the death of a loved one, or impending test results can all trigger temporary stress.
Your response to these common stressors is your body’s way of coping with potentially serious situations. When the situation eases, the symptoms of stress disappear.
But sometimes, stress can be present all the time, taking control of your life and putting your physical and mental health at risk. This is called chronic stress.
Chronic (long-lasting) stress can be dangerous because it has effects on many body systems.
Difference Between Chronic and Acute Stress
The main difference between acute and chronic stress is how long the stress lasts:
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Acute stress is a short-term reaction to a specific event and usually goes away quickly. For example, you might feel acute stress when you slam on the brakes to avoid a car crash or have an argument with a family member.
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Chronic stress is a long-term feeling of pressure that lasts for weeks or months. For example, you might feel chronic stress if you have ongoing money problems, an unhappy marriage, or trouble with your boss at work.
Understanding Acute Stress: What is a Stress Response?
When you encounter a real or perceived danger, such as a growling dog or someone following you down a dark alley, a part of the brain called the hypothalamus triggers an alarm in your body. This results in what is commonly called the fight or flight response. It is an automatic physiological reaction to a stressful or frightening event.
A cascade of reactions occurs as part of the fight or flight response to prepare the body to fight the danger or flee from it. These reactions are essentially evolutionary adaptations that occurred to increase our chances of survival.
Through a combination of hormonal (including cortisol) and nervous system signals, the heart rate increases, the blood vessels dilate (widen) to send more blood to the muscles, muscle tension increases, the breathing rate increases, the liver makes more glucose (energy) available, the eyes dilate, and the skin becomes pale (due to a diversion of the blood to more essential parts of your body). Once the danger passes, this acute stress response stops firing.
Common Causes of Chronic Stress
Chronic stress is long-lasting stress. It can have many causes, including:
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Work: A demanding job, unemployment, or retirement.
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Family: A dysfunctional family, divorce, or caring for a sick family member.
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Finances: Poverty, unexpected bills, or financial losses.
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Health: A serious illness, injury, or bereavement.
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Life events: Getting married, having a baby, moving to an unfamiliar place, or the death of a loved one.
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Traumatic events: Childhood abuse, domestic violence, physical abuse, surviving a violent crime.
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Media: Spending too much time following news on television and social media.
Stress levels can vary greatly based on a person's personality and how they respond to situations. You probably have some friends who are completely unfazed by whatever life throws at them— they seem relaxed about things that usually trigger stress in others. On the other hand, there are people who react quite strongly to even mild stressors. Most people fall somewhere between these two extremes.
A person’s reaction to any stressful event is unique. It is determined by both genetics and life experiences. Overactivity or under-activity of genes that control the stress response can affect how a person reacts to stressful situations.
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Symptoms of Chronic Stress: What Does Extreme Stress Feel Like?
Extreme stress can feel like a combination of physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral symptoms.
As noted, acute stress occurs due to clear and present danger. It triggers the fight or flight response with a range of physical symptoms. Chronic stress, which is more constant than acute stress, may have even more far-reaching effects. These include physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms.
Emotional Symptoms
Feeling irritable, angry, tearful, anxious, overwhelmed, hopeless, scared, or depressed.
Physical Symptoms
Fatigue, aches and pains, headaches, muscle tension, dizziness, high blood pressure, insomnia, excessive sleepiness, constipation, nausea, and diarrhea.
Cognitive Symptoms
Difficulty concentrating, focusing, or paying attention; memory problems; problems with decision-making and judgment.
Behavioral Symptoms
Staying in more often, using alcohol or drugs, being irritable or angry with loved ones.
Health Risks of Long-Term Stress: What Does Prolonged Stress Do To The Body?
According to the American Psychological Association, chronic (long-term) stress affects nearly every organ system in the human body.
What Happens To The Body If Stress Continues Over A Long Period of Time?
According to the Department of Health and Human Services and the American Psychological Association, chronic stress has some of the most significant effects on the heart and blood vessels. A consistent increase in heart rate and constantly elevated blood pressure can take a heavy toll on the body. Moreover, stress hormones contribute to inflammation in the cardiovascular system, specifically the coronary arteries, as well as increased cholesterol levels. For these reasons, chronic stress is believed to be linked to an increased risk of three serious, potentially life-threatening conditions—heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.
Impact on Mental Health
Chronic stress can have a significant impact on mental health, including mental health problems like anxiety, depression, and substance abuse.
Consequences on Physical Health
Nervous System
The nervous system is designed to deal with short-term stressors. The sympathetic nervous system is directly involved in the body’s response to imminent danger. However, when stress is present long-term, it can drain the body’s resources. The constant triggering of the nervous system can lead to the wear and tear of many organs in the body.
Endocrine System
When certain situations stress a person, the body increases the production of hormones such as cortisol (commonly known as stress hormones) from the adrenal glands. While this is an important response to make more energy available during an acutely stressful event, in the long term, increased cortisol levels can lead to many health problems, such as diabetes, obesity, and depression.
Immune System
Stress causes the release of a variety of substances in the body that influence the immune system, leading to reduced immunity. The risk is especially high in older individuals or those with underlying health conditions.
Gastrointestinal System
The brain-gut axis is a direct communication channel between the nervous system and the digestive system or gut (this explains why you sometimes feel nauseous or experience butterflies in your stomach before an exam or big presentation ). Stress can lead to changes in the gut microbiome, i.e., the millions of microorganisms that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract. This can lead to symptoms such as heartburn, nausea, vomiting, stomachache, bloating, and indigestion.
Respiratory System
Strong emotions related to stress can affect breathing, causing rapid, shallow breaths or shortness of breath. This is usually not a problem for people with a normal respiratory system, but in those with underlying breathing issues, such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, or COPD, it can exacerbate the condition. Also, rapid breathing in a person who is stressed can trigger a panic attack if the person is prone to mental health disorders.
Cardiovascular System
Increased heart rate and blood pressure are important components of the acute stress response. However, a consistently elevated heart rate and high blood pressure due to chronic stress can lead to heart disease and other serious health problems.
Musculoskeletal System
When the body is under stress, the muscles tense up. With chronic stress, the muscles are constantly tense or taught. The resulting muscle tension can lead to physical symptoms such as tension or migraine headaches and/or neck, shoulder, and back pain.
Reproductive System
The release of stress hormones like cortisol from the adrenal glands has an effect on both the male and female reproductive systems. In men, chronic stress can lead to low libido (sex drive) and erectile dysfunction (impotence). The stress response can also impact sperm production, making it difficult for couples to conceive. In women, stress can lead to irregular or painful menses, reduced sexual desire, and reduced ability to get pregnant.
Identifying Chronic Stress in Your Life
What Are 5 Chronic Stress Symptoms?
Some of the common symptoms of stress include irritability, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and headaches. Chronic stress can cause muscle aches and pains, low energy, changes in appetite, clouded thinking, increased alcohol or drug use, emotional withdrawal, and changes in social behavior, such as avoiding friends.
How Chronic Stress Affects Daily Life
Chronic stress can have long-term implications on your mental and physical health. In addition, prolonged stress can weaken the immune system, making you more likely to catch infections like common colds, flu, and COVID-19. It can also make underlying health conditions worse.
If you are experiencing anxiety, depression, and physical symptoms that may be stress effects, it is important to be proactive about stress management. You can take self-care steps to try and manage stress, such as getting regular exercise or participating in relaxing activities.
If self-help measures don’t work, it’s essential that you obtain medical advice. Talk to your doctor about getting emotional support. This is important if you want to prevent the long-term physical and mental effects of stress, which can lead to a number of serious health problems, including a risk of self-harm.
Addressing and Managing Chronic Stress
Self-Care: Effective Strategies For Managing Stress
Here are some self-care strategies that can help in managing chronic stress:
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Exercise: Physical activity improves mood and reduces stress. You can try walking, running, swimming, cycling, dancing, or gym workouts.
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Sleep: Most adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep per night. A consistent sleep routine and a relaxing bedtime routine can help you sleep better.
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Diet: Eating regular, healthy meals can help your body handle stress.
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Relaxation: Relaxing activities like yoga, meditation, tai chi, deep breathing exercises, or progressive muscle relaxation can help in reducing chronic stress.
Other stress management techniques include:
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Identifying and challenging negative thoughts.
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Practicing gratitude and acknowledging the good things in your life.
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Accepting what you can't change and focusing on the things you can control.
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Setting realistic goals for yourself so you don’t feel overwhelmed by unachieved goals.
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Learning time management skills to reduce stress.
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Making time for enjoyable activities and connecting with loved ones.
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Being mindful of social media, including deactivating it for a few days or unfollowing accounts that cause negativity.
When To Seek Professional Help
Seek professional help for chronic stress if:
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You have constant, overwhelming feelings of stress.
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You are unable to work or function at home.
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You have cut back on socializing and doing the things you enjoy.
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Stress is causing physical health symptoms.
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You experience mental health symptoms such as panic attacks or anxiety attacks.
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You are using recreational drugs or alcohol to cope.
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Your symptoms of stress haven’t gone away with self-care stress relief techniques.
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You are having thoughts of self-harm (suicidal thoughts and behaviors).
It can be difficult to tell the difference between chronic stress and anxiety. Stress is an inevitable part of life, but some people may experience chronic, paralyzing stress, making it difficult to get through daily routines and tasks. If mental health is affecting day-to-day life, it may be wise to seek professional help. Depending on your needs, your primary care doctor may recommend seeing a psychologist or psychiatrist.
Available Treatments For Chronic Stress
One of the most effective research-backed treatments for chronic stress is cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This is a type of talk therapy that can be offered online and in person. During CBT sessions, a trained therapist helps you identify and modify negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. CBT helps you learn effective coping strategies to manage chronic stress.
People with anxiety and depression related to chronic stress may also benefit from medications. Examples include:
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Anti-anxiety drugs, such as alprazolam (Xanax) and diazepam (Valium) for acute anxiety
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Antidepressants like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), including fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), paroxetine (Paxil), escitalopram (Lexapro), and citalopram (Celexa). SSRIs are used to treat generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Read next: Are There Supplements to Reduce Cortisol (Stress Hormone)?
References:
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https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response
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https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037
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https://health.gov/myhealthfinder/topics/health-conditions/heart-health/manage-stress
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https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/so-stressed-out-fact-sheet#:
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