Physiology of Chronic Stress

Chronic stress negatively impacts the physiology of your whole body The brain is the first target for stress. Prolonged stress can prevent the brain from adequately controlling the physiological and psychological coping responses to daily events and stressors in your life, makes you a nervous wreck, and impedes your ability to carry out your daily responsibilities effectively. Constant and continual reaction to stress for a long period of time overloads the brain with hormones and neurochemicals naturally intended for short-term activity during an emergency. The cumulative effect of chemical overload may be toxic to nerve cells in the brain which may lead to the damage and destruction nerve cells and ultimately resulting in the death of brain cells. In essence, chronic stress gradually kills brain cells. It is now widely accepted in medical and clinical circles that stress destabilizes the nervous system. Scientific studies have shown that chronic stress has a cumulative effect on your brain. First and foremost, chronic stress promotes the overload of brain chemicals It leads to chronic over-secretion of cortisol and powerful brain chemicals which are needed only in emergency situations for short-term activities. This chemical overload damages and kills your brain cells, impairs your memory, promotes forgetfulness, reduces your ability to remember and learn, hampers your thinking processes, and consequently promotes poor judgments and awful decisions. Repeated or prolonged exposure cortisol has a deleterious effect on the function of your brain and may likely contribute to the age-related decline in brain function. Overall, long-term stress can shred your nervous system, induce mental poisoning, and put your whole life in total confusion. The psychological ravages of chronic stress are also extensive. It depletes the body’s level of the “feel good” brain chemical called serotonin. Depletion of serotonin can make you moody, depressed, cloudy, irritable, and hypersensitive, and can prevent you from focusing or concentrating on the task at hand and issues of the day. During periods of chronic stress, you become overwhelmed with your normal chores and activities and everything in life becomes a big deal and you end up sweating over things that you normally regard as non-issues or small stuff. Constant and long-term emotional stress may manifest as chronic pain, headache, dizziness, depression, anxiety, fear, anger, and self-hate. Individuals who continually deal with chronic stress are very quick to lose their temper and are easily frustrated and overwhelmed by circumstances. Under stress, some people may spend a considerable amount of crying and complaining over the stressful event instead of taking a corrective action. Chronic stress can also cause a mental block and/or mental poisoning, which can impede your thought processes, hamper your thinking, and prevent you from making right decision or judgment.