Ibrahim Keru
Exams, work, deadlines, being stuck in traffic, these can all be stressful and trigger stress hormones that affect our minds and mental health negatively in the long run.
Stress can be defined as any external or internal stimulating factor that elicits a biological response. We experience stress from time to time and it can be beneficial. However, when we experience stress frequently it can take a toll on our minds affecting our memory, learning and even the structure of the brain. Chronic stress can alter appetite, sleep patterns and worsen existing health conditions.
How does stress affect your brain?
The brain has many different parts. Scientists think that when certain parts of the brain are engaged the other parts of the brain required for vital tasks have less energy. For instance, the part of the brain in control of survival instincts called the amygdala may assume control which will leave the parts of the brain that responsible for memory and rational thinking such as memory centres called hippocampus with less energy. This phenomenon happens because the brain is in a type of survival mode and not a memory mode causing you to be more forgetful in stressful situations. This phenomenon can even lead to lapses in memory during traumatic events.
Does stress change the brain?
Scientists have proven that long exposure to stress hormones from stress can cause the brain regions responsible for memory, cognition and learning to atrophy resulting in disorders such as cognitive, mood and memory disorder while regions like the amygdala that are responsible for survival instincts start to dominate because these areas are used more.
This phenomenon is like when we go to the gym and train a certain muscle that muscle will start to grow and be eventually stronger than the muscles we did not train. The brain changes structurally and functionally to adapt to the stressful situations it is in overtime however depending on the duration and intensity of the stress experienced these changes can be reversed.
Mental health and stress
Stress can influence our sense of well-being and mood. Stress is strongly associated with mental health disorders. Long term stress and Stressful life events often precede depressive episodes, anxiety disorders,PTSD, and other mental health disorders in the diagram below.
Conclusion
Exercise, good sleep and meditations are essential to managing and reducing stress and if these approaches to stress management don’t alleviate or lessen your stress it is recommended that you reach out to a professional early. Early intervention can reduce the chance of permanent damage. Stress has a massive impact on the brain and mental health. Understanding how the brain is affected by stress can be helpful in being mindful of your own mental health so that you can reduce and manage stress and stressful events in your day-to-day life. Creating awareness of how dangerous prolonged stress can be on the brain and mental health might result in more research on stress which may lead to more advanced treatment for stress being discovered.
Find Out More!
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/protect-your-brain-from-stress
https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2005.tb06153.x
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Wow this was very interesting to read and think about.