How Stress Affects Mental Health?

Stress will affect mental health in a variety of ways. First, we should distinguish between the two types of stress. Generally speaking, stressors are broken down into different categories, acute and chronic. Acute stress is when we are reacting to a sudden or very short-term predicament.

For instance, being chased by a wild animal will create stress, but it is no longer a stressful event once we reach safety. An example of acute stress from a psychological perspective is being put on the spot at a meeting by your supervisor; once the meeting is over, the stress has gone. Acute stress rarely has long-term implications for a person’s health since it is so time-limited, and the mind can go back to a calm state of mind very quickly. Acute stress only becomes a mental health challenge when a person is suddenly confronted with a series of them.

Chronic is a far more common issue in terms of affecting mental health. Chronic stress is a form of long-standing stress that may not have an end date. These stressors may last so long that a person may not even recognize them as stressors due to getting used to them. Examples of these types of stressors include dysfunctional marriages, long-term unemployment, and toxic work environments.

These types of chronic stressors will affect a person’s mental health in a myriad of ways. Due to the stress hormone cortisol being released into the body constantly, people experience sleep issues such as insomnia. This will impact both a person’s daily mood and their ability to regulate their mood state. People dealing with chronic stress tend to lose interest in activities that they once found pleasurable, which will decrease one’s ability to cope with any stressors. Chronic stress has been shown to push people into depressive states and feel helpless and hopeless.

Finally, chronic stress tends to make people feel a certain amount of anxiety. This anxiety tends to be constant and can reveal itself through worry and ruminating. If you find yourself in such a position and believe stress affects your mental health, talk to a mental health professional. Such a professional can help you develop a plan to manage it more effectively.