How Does Stress Affect Your Mental Health?
Stress can affect a person's health and cause a number of issues, such as heart disease and high blood pressure. Most people do not know that stress can also affect your mental health as well. If you are experiencing any of the symptoms outlined in this article, you should seek medical advice.
How Stress Affects Your Mental Health
We all experience periods of stress in our lives, whether it be work related, family issues or financial worries that are the cause of stress. However, prolonged periods of unrelenting stress can wreak havoc on our bodies and even our minds. Stress can cause hormone imbalances within your body, which can lead to the following mental health issues.
Depression: the most common mental illness associated with prolonged stress. The symptoms of depression include:
- Feelings of helplessness
- Loss of interest in activities once enjoyed
- Difficulty concentrating, remembering details or making decisions
- Fatigue
- Loss of energy
- Feelings of guilt
- Insomnia
- Irritability, restlessness
- Weight gain or loss
- Persistent sadness
- Aches and pains
- Anxiety
- Thoughts of suicide or suicide attempts (severe depression)
Nervous breakdown: another mental illness that can occur while experiencing long-term stress. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, please seek medical assistance.
Mania - symptoms include: inflated self-esteem, high levels of energy, lack of sleep, high risk behavior, aggressive behavior or increased sexual activity. Periods of mania are usually followed by severe depression.
Psychosis - symptoms include: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking and disorganized communication. A person experiencing psychosis loses the ability to function in a normal state.
Dealing With Stress
The best way to handle prolonged periods of stress is to find an outlet to alleviate or release the stress, such as exercise or taking up a hobby that you truly enjoy. Understand that stress can harm more than your mind, it can also harm your body and even lead to death. Seek medical advice from a qualified doctor or mental health professional before the stress has a chance to do damage to your mind and body.