Stress is experienced by people of all ages. Emotional/mental and physical changes can occur in individuals who experience prolonged stress, which in turn can seriously damage the body.
In this article, we’re going to take a closer look at the top 5 effects of stress on the body and mind, and how you can avoid them.
What is Stress?
Stress is caused by a hormone called cortisol, which is activated when we feel threatened, not in control of a situation, experience rapidly changing environmental conditions, or feel that something bad is going to occur. Men, on average, who have a high cortisol level are often less likely to suffer negative health impacts than women who experience a high level of cortisol.
Here are the Top 5 Negative Effects of Stress on the Mind and Body:
- Insomnia
When trying to fall asleep during a stressful time in your life, which we all experience, your mind is constantly rummaging through responsibilities as well as things that need to be done. A cycle such as this can cause disruptions in your sleep pattern and cause you to experience insomnia.
For students, this often includes deadlines, exams, anticipating social interactions and extra-curricular activities. For adults, this stress can often come in the form of job stress, family relations, taking care of a child and tensions in your romantic relationships.
Dr. Annie Wildson advises trying yoga and taking warm baths, as well as limiting caffeine consumption and screen time before going to bed.
- Behavioral Changes
Healthy stress, commonly known as Eustress, is the kind of stress that enables individuals to get started on their day, and motivates them to continue being productive in their everyday lives. When stress becomes too much to handle, it can cause people to have emotional outbursts.
Some tips and tricks that may help you realize, and then navigate through your stressed out brain may be to step away, pause and breath, express yourself, use humor and think about something outside of your current situation.
- Headaches
Stress and headaches go hand in hand, and if you’ve ever been stressed, there’s a decent chance a headache came along with it. Stress and headaches can also be linked to insomnia, because if you’re not getting quality sleep due to a stressful environment, a headache can be the result.
This kind of stress, the stress that brings along headaches, can often be found in students who have to meet deadlines, as well as students or adults who have to be somewhere at a certain time.
Strategies you can use to avoid this include getting some exercise, eating a regularly nutritious diet, maintaining healthy sleep hygiene, and taking medications.
- Depression
The link between stress and depression is what professionals call “bidirectional” and it means either stress or depression can cause the other one, and both can make each other worse. A common cause for depression and stress can be when you become deeply invested in school, work, or any activity for a long period of time you can become stressed by it. As a result of that, you start to become isolated and disconnected from certain beneficial aspects of your life and that can cause depression.
Some activities you can avoid to help mitigate this outcome is to stop binge-drinking or eating, try to quit smoking, and avoid people or things that stress you out.
- Memory Impairment
When you go through traumatic situations and experience high levels of stress, it’s entirely possible that you have a hard time remembering certain things during that time period. Stressful situations such as losing a loved one can cause time to appear as if it flew by when you internally reflect. It can also feel like your memory leading up to, and after the event is blotchy.
It’s also common that if you’re being asked questions shortly after an extremely stressful situation, such as witnessing a crime or natural disaster, your story leading up to the event may not add up. In rare cases after we experience something traumatic, our brain will subconsciously block out major details to protect us.
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Are You Stressed?
There are many ways to tell if you’re experiencing long-term or short-term stress. If you find yourself feeling as though you relate to, or have experienced any of the above-stated symptoms of stress, especially if you are a student in college or high school, take some time to evaluate your mental health.
An overwhelming source of stress can be detrimental to many aspects of your life and it’s important to nurture and take care of your mind and body.
