Table of contents:
- What are the effects of severe stress on brain function?
- Early symptoms of mental disorders due to severe stress that need to be watched out for
- What mental disorders can be triggered by severe stress?
- Depression
- Bipolar disorder
- Anxiety disorders
Basically, stress is the body's way of protecting itself from harm so that it keeps us focused, active, and always alert. Even so, this self-protective response is not easy for the brain to control and can cause mental stress in the long run. Severe stress is not only known to cause various degenerative diseases, but also affects how a person thinks and behaves - and even triggers mental disorders.
What are the effects of severe stress on brain function?
Severe stress can affect the structure of the brain which has the potential to trigger an imbalance of brain material. This was discovered by a study on the brains of people with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) which showed a change in the ratio of white matter portions (white matter) with gray matter (gray matter) brain. The two materials are thought to come from the same cell but have different "tasks" and roles.
White matter is composed of myelin nerve sheaths which are useful for conveying information, while gray matter consists of neurons and glia which are useful in processing and storing information. PTSD is a condition in which the individual sufferer experiences severe stress due to trauma in the past. From the research, PTSD patients have more brain white matter than gray matter.
The low number of neurons when the brain is under severe stress causes a decrease in the ability to process information so that communication between brain cells becomes disrupted and ineffective. On the other hand, the brain when under stress also responds to fear more quickly than usual and causes the mechanism in the brain to calm down to be disturbed.
Early symptoms of mental disorders due to severe stress that need to be watched out for
In this day and age, conditions of severe stress caused by social or work problems are considered commonplace. Although it does not always have a direct impact on physical health, allowing your mind and body to choke on stress has the potential to cause serious mental problems that you are often not aware of.
Severe stress has an impact on mental health by displaying different types of symptoms, including:
Emotional changes
- Feeling unhappy
- Anxiety and agitation
- Gloomy and irritable
- Feeling very burdened
- Feel lonely but tend to isolate yourself
Changes in cognitive function
- Weak memory
- Difficulty concentrating
- Difficulty communicating
- It's hard to make a decision
- Always negative thinking
- Always feel anxious and think about it
Changes in behavior
- Eating too much or too little
- Sleeping too long or too little
- Avoid interacting with other people
- Leave or postpone work
- Smoking and consuming alcohol as a means of relaxation
- Look nervous
- Often lie and make excuses
- Too defensive and suspicious of others
- Impulsive cravings for shopping, gambling, casual sex, etc.
The most dangerous thing about severe stress is when we are very used to dealing with stress. This causes our emotional state, thoughts and behavior to change without us knowing it. Recognizing stress based on the initial symptoms is very important so that we can deal with it as early as possible.
What mental disorders can be triggered by severe stress?
The release of the stress hormone cortisol in a long time can also have a direct impact on the work of hormone control in the brain and can trigger several mental health disorders. For example:
Depression
Depression can be triggered by the byproduct of the hormone cortisol, which can make a person feel weak or calm. The buildup of these waste products occurs due to unmanaged severe stress and eventually leads to depression. Depression is a condition of dark mood changes that occur continuously over a long period of time, in contrast to feelings of sadness or grief that usually occur occasionally and can disappear over time. Depression isolates the sufferer from life and social interactions, and tends to make him think about ending his life.
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder is characterized by a cycle of mood swings from manic (very, very happy) and depressive (very, very sad) phases that often change over a period of days, weeks, or months. These changes can be made worse if the sufferer experiences severe stress for longer or gets worse. During the depression phase, the sufferer feels sadness and deterioration, but in the mania phase there is a drastic increase in mood where the sufferer feels super happy, hyperactive, and energetic. The manic phase is even more dangerous because people with bipolar disorder tend to be impulsive, coupled with poor decision-making skills. Symptoms of the manic phase cause the sufferer to tend to act impulsively - doing dangerous things without thinking about the consequences.
Anxiety disorders
Anxiety disorders can be identified by symptoms of excessive anxiety such as fear, being unable to stay still, and sweating profusely. Serious anxiety disorder can also cause a person to experience unreasonable fear of doing things. Without proper treatment, the severe stress you experience can turn into depression and trigger PTSD symptoms.
