New Health Guide
In today’s society, stress is an integral part of everyday living. Learning to cope with stress is an essential skill that modern human should master. Stress has a major impact on our psychological health. Acute short term stress is normal and all of us face it occasionally in our lives. However, if the stress is chronic and it occurs repeatedly it causes psychological and other health problems.
The first symptoms of depression usually occur in people after they encounter a major traumatic event in their lives. A study in Denmark shows that most people who were admitted into psychiatric facilities for the first time to get treated for depression, had faced traumatic events like fatal disease, unemployment, divorce, etc.
Stress causes depression
When you are under stress, the stress hormone cortisol is released. Cortisol in moderation causes bursts of energy and it is meant to help in survival during stressful conditions. However, prolonged production of cortisol due to chronic stress has an adverse effect, as it causes low energy levels and induces depression. It is normal to face stress and low moods occasionally. But if you experience prolonged periods of depression it can interfere with your professional and personal life.
Intense depression that extends for long periods is called major depression. Some of the symptoms of major depression are fatigue, sleep disorders, appetite changes, feelings of low self esteem, guilt, irritability, agitation, loss of concentration and focus, decrease in decision making abilities, refraining from activities that once caused pleasure and suicidal tendencies. One of the major psychological effects of stress is depression.
Stress causes anxiety disorder
Anxiety usually precedes development of depression. People who are experiencing mild feelings of anxiety show signs like fidgeting. However in case of people experiencing chronic and intense anxiety, symptoms can be more severe such as fast heart beat, nausea and sweaty palms. They also experience feelings of helplessness and they are very apprehensive about life. Post traumatic stress disorder and panic disorder are the most common anxiety disorders apart from generalized anxiety disorder. Prolonged anxiety can interfere with one’s performance with everyday tasks.
Stress affects brain function
Chronic stress and constant secretion of stress hormones leads to changes in the structure and function of the brain. Chronic stress causes decrease in the functioning of the brain cells in the hippocampus (responsible for long term memory) and frontal lobe (responsible for attention and judgment). If you are under constant stress the changes in your brain will lead to confusion, difficulties in decision making, learning, focusing and concentrating.
Stress causes personality changes
A personality of a person is determined by genetics and their environment. Every person has a unique way of dealing with stress and stress causes changes in a person’s personality. If you are under stress you will experience increased irritability, aggressive feelings, frustration, anger, decreased interest in pleasurable activities, not paying attention to appearance, problems with focusing, social withdrawal, cynicism, low self worth, helplessness and reduced productivity.
Other effects of stress
Stress in children and adolescents can be due to exposure to violence, sexual and emotional abuse, and conflicts between parents in the family leading to divorce. Stress in children leads to intimacy issues and they develop distrust in relationships. Sexual abuse in children leads to personality disorders. Childhood abuse leads to poor performance at school and they develop a negative attitude towards learning. Children from divorced homes have a higher probability of getting involved in anti-social behavior and suffer from depression and anxiety. Children who have been exposed to war have been reported to develop post-traumatic stress syndrome that lasts for at least 10 years after they were exposed to the stress.
Exposure to chronic stress during developmental years in children and adolescents leads to problems in adult life such as increased risk of anxiety disorders, mood disorders, structural changes in the brain and even early death.
Stress should be handled efficiently to prevent it from causing serious psychological and health disorders. Below are some of the ways to reduce the psychological effects of stress:
