Understanding the Different Effects of Long-Term Stress

Stress touches everyone's life. But it's important to know that not all stress is created equal. While some stressors are part of normal life, like juggling responsibilities or adapting to change, there are times when stress becomes overwhelming, persistent, and far from what we might consider "natural." This kind of stress can deeply affect both your mind and body, making it important to address it before it takes a serious toll on your wellbeing.

Although it's easy to brush off stress, thinking it's just part of life. The truth is that unmanaged stress can lead to different physical and mental health issues. This is why it's essential to take stress seriously and recognize when it’s time to seek help.

Managing stress isn’t just about reacting when things go wrong—it's about proactive care. Engaging in stress management therapy, such as the services offered by MeHelp, can be a powerful way to manage stress before it takes a toll on you. Our team can provide you with tools and strategies to maintain mental and physical wellness, helping you navigate life’s challenges with resilience and calm, long before stress reaches a breaking point. Taking this step is about valuing your health and well-being, ensuring that stress doesn’t have the chance to cause lasting harm.

In this article, we want to help you understand the different effects of stress on your body and mind.  We hope this information can encourage you to be more proactive in recognizing and managing stress in your life.

Stress takes a toll on your mental health

Chronic stress can trigger anxiety disorder

Chronic stress can push your brain into overdrive, causing it to be on constant high alert. This relentless vigilance stems from the continuous release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones are crucial for immediate "fight or flight" responses, but when they are persistently elevated, they can wreak havoc on your mental health.

Excess cortisol and adrenaline can lead to anxiety by overstimulating the brain and wreaking havoc on your mental health. Cortisol, in particular, affects areas of the brain involved in mood regulation, fear, and motivation. When cortisol levels remain high for an extended period, it can disrupt the balance of neurotransmitters, leading to heightened anxiety. Similarly, adrenaline increases heart rate and blood pressure, preparing your body to respond to danger. However, when there is no actual threat, these physical changes can create a constant sense of unease and panic.

This is why prolonged stress can turn into anxiety disorders like Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Panic Disorder. What begins as a persistent feeling of being overwhelmed or constantly on edge can, over time, develop into a more entrenched anxiety disorder. That’s because chronic stress wears down your ability to cope, making you more vulnerable to the development of GAD–where anxiety becomes a constant and pervasive part of life.This makes it important to deal with stress before it turns into anxiety.

Stress can turn into depression

Prolonged periods of stress can significantly affect your mental health by creating an imbalance between “feel-good” and “feel-bad” hormones. That's because when you're under constant stress, your body continually releases stress hormones like cortisol.

While these hormones are vital for dealing with immediate threats, their persistent presence can lead to severe mental health problems.

For instance, excessive cortisol disrupts the production and function of serotonin (the feel-good hormone). Ultimately, the imbalance in cortisol & serotonin levels results in depression.

Chronic stress can create mood swings

Chronic stress can lead to severe mood swings and emotional instability due to the continuous release of stress hormones like cortisol.

This leads to an imbalance in your brain chemicals which are important for regulating mood. As a result, you may experience frequent emotional highs and lows, making it hard to maintain a stable mood. This instability can strain relationships, affect work performance, and erode your overall well being. For example, frequent mood swings can lead to misunderstandings with loved ones. It can also decrease focus and productivity at work. Then it can lead to a growing sense of frustration or helplessness. 

Over time, this hormonal imbalance can lead to mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder, characterised by alternating periods of depression and mania.

Stress is bad for the heart

Stress influences your blood pressure

One of the most immediate effects of chronic stress on the cardiovascular system is high blood pressure. When you're stressed, your body remains in a constant state of "fight or flight," causing your heart to pump faster and your blood vessels to constrict. This response is meant to prepare you for immediate action, but when it’s prolonged, it keeps your blood pressure elevated.

Over time, this increased pressure strains your heart and blood vessels. Stress-induced high blood pressure and heart rate can lead to plaque build-up in the arteries.This results in hypertension.

In the long run, you might develop heart diseases

As previously mentioned, stress can lead to hypertension, but its impact on your heart doesn't stop there. Imagine your heart as a tireless pump, working nonstop to keep you alive. Continuous stress acts like added weight on this pump, forcing it to work harder and faster. This relentless pressure accelerates plaque build-up in your arteries—a process similar to your pipes at home clogging with debris. This eventually restricts blood flow.

Now, this arterial blockage doesn't just slow things down. It sets the stage for potential disasters like heart attacks. In Australia, heart disease remains a leading cause of death, with stress being a significant contributing factor. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, approximately 57,000 Australians experience a heart attack each year, and chronic stress plays a role in many of these cases.

These numbers show the critical importance of managing stress effectively. By taking proactive steps to reduce stress, you're not just improving your day-to-day well-being—you're potentially saving your heart from life-threatening conditions.

If not coronary heart disease, chronic stress can lead to stroke

One of the major results of stress on your cardiovascular system is the formation of blood clots, which can lead to a stroke.

That's because the constant changes in blood pressure and heart function caused by stress increase the likelihood of clot formation. When these blood clots form, they block blood flow to the brain, resulting in a stroke.

These are just a few reasons why managing stress is crucial not only for your mental health but also for preventing serious cardiovascular events. It’s important to recognize that stress management isn’t just about fixing problems after they arise—it’s about taking proactive steps before stress becomes overwhelming. One of the most effective preventive measures you can take is to schedule a session with a mental health professional, like our team at MeHelp, to have your stress levels evaluated. By addressing stress early, you can protect your heart and overall well-being, ensuring that stress doesn’t have the chance to develop into a bigger issue.

Stress is a gut punch that hurts your digestive system

Constant stress makes your stomach churn and hurt

Stress doesn’t just weigh on your mind; it can twist your body in knots, especially in your stomach. When stress hits, it can feel like a gnawing pain or burning sensation deep in your gut. This happens because stress triggers your body to ramp up stomach acid production, almost as if your insides are on overdrive. The vagus nerve, which is like a direct hotline between your brain and your digestive system, becomes activated, flooding your stomach with acid. This surge can lead to sharp, stabbing pain, acid reflux that burns your throat, or the relentless ache of gastritis. Over time, this chronic assault on your stomach can turn everyday discomfort into a constant, agonising presence that’s hard to ignore.

Stress can also tighten up or loosen up your bowels

Stress doesn’t just churn your stomach—it can wreak havoc on your entire digestive system, throwing it completely out of sync. You might find yourself running to the bathroom with a sudden bout of diarrhoea, or you could be left feeling painfully blocked up, struggling with constipation. This happens because stress hijacks your gut motility—the rhythmic muscle contractions that move food through your digestive tract.

When stress overwhelms the brain-gut axis (that delicate communication system between your mind and your gut), everything goes haywire. For some, stress sends those contractions into overdrive, leading to cramps and diarrhoea. For others, it grinds the process to a halt, leaving you with the uncomfortable weight of constipation.

What’s particularly troubling is the unpredictable nature of stress—its effects can vary wildly from one person to another. But the common thread is clear: stress pushes your body outside its normal range, disrupting what should be a smooth, effortless process. Whether it’s speeding things up or slowing them down, stress leaves your gut in turmoil, making it impossible to feel at ease.

It can also cause Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) flare-ups

For those with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), stress isn’t just an annoyance—it’s a powerful trigger that can turn your gut into a battleground. The moment stress strikes, it can feel like your stomach is twisting into painful knots, with intense cramping and relentless bloating that leaves you feeling uncomfortable.

That's because stress messes the gut-brain axis, making IBS symptoms more severe by altering gut motility and sensitivity. The increased stress response heightens the gut's sensitivity to stimuli. This can cause more frequent and intense IBS flare-ups.

This heightened sensitivity and altered motility can make managing IBS particularly challenging during stressful periods, as the symptoms become more unpredictable and severe.

Stress weakens the body's defences

Lower defences mean more infection

Chronic stress can take a serious toll on your immune system, leaving you vulnerable to infections and illness. That’s because when stress becomes a constant in your life, your body is flooded with high levels of cortisol, a hormone that, over time, acts like a double-edged sword. While cortisol is meant to help you cope in the short term, its prolonged presence can suppress your immune function.

As a result, cortisol directly reduces the number of lymphocytes, the white blood cells that are your body's frontline defenders against infections. With fewer lymphocytes on guard, your immune system becomes weakened and less effective at fending off pathogens. This compromised state doesn’t just make you more susceptible to colds or the flu—it can also slow down your recovery from illnesses and leave you more exposed to serious health threats.

The impact of a weakened immune system reaches far beyond occasional sickness; it can lead to various health problems, where minor infections linger longer and more severe illnesses find a foothold. In essence, chronic stress doesn’t just wear you down mentally—it leaves your entire body defenceless, undermining your overall health and resilience.

There are more long-term health consequences

Stress can lead to type 2 diabetes

Stress can increase glucose levels in the bloodstream, raising the risk of type 2 diabetes. When stressed, your body releases hormones that boost blood sugar to provide quick energy. This means continuous stress keeps your blood sugar levels elevated, which over time can lead to insulin resistance and diabetes.

It can also put you on the path to obesity

Stress often leads to overeating and weight gain. This is because of the increased production of cortisol, which can boost appetite and cravings for unhealthy foods. Cortisol also increases appetite and encourages the body to store fat, particularly around the abdomen, leading to weight gain and obesity.

Chronic stress impairs your brain function

Chronic stress can wear down your brain over time. This leads to difficulties with memory, attention, and decision-making. That's because stress hormones can damage the brain’s hippocampus, which is essential for memory and learning. Moreover, prolonged exposure to stress can increase your risk for Alzheimer's and dementia.

Takeaway

We hope this article helped you realise how dangerous chronic stress can be. And this should motivate you to be proactive in managing your stress levels.

Although stress is a normal part of life, there are ways to deal with it so it doesn't create more problems. So if you ever feel overwhelmed or you want to check your stress levels, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. Online counselling services like MeHelp can provide the professional guidance and support you need to improve your well-being.

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