Cancer is not the only serious disease that chronic stress can lead to; while not as directly life-threatening as cancer, chronic stress often leads to mental disorders. Research has suggested “...that chronic stress can lead to or exacerbate mood disorders…,” the most common being depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorders (Mills et al, “Mental”). Many sources state stress as a cause of depression. The byproduct of stress hormones act as sedatives, and the buildup of or large amounts of byproducts from chronic stress can contribute to a feeling of low energy or depression. This factor, as well as a sense of dysfunction and frustration at not being able to manage stress, may result in an increased sense of depression. Feeling …show more content…
All of this abnormal brain activity could result in a mental disorder, as mental disorders are a result of changes in brain structure or function (Grohol, “Causes”). More study is needed to verify the findings of this study, as they were done on rats. However, it does provide insight as to what the connection between chronic stress and mental disorders could be. Clinical depression is the term used for any kind of depression disorder, which includes the most common one: major depression, or informally known as depression. While there are several types of depressive disorders, they are share the same gamut of symptoms. These include not just cognitive, emotional, and behavioral symptoms, but also physical ones. Major depression is a mental medical illness that affects both the body and the mind, and it creates “physical, psychological, and social symptoms” (Nemade et al; “Depression”). Major depression is defined by a set of criteria before being labeled to a subject: the subject must experience several of the symptoms of depression almost every day for a span of at least two weeks (Grohol, “Warning”; Nemade et al). It is not absolutely certain what causes depression, as it is “a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors”(Smith et al). Chronic stress can contribute to all those factors which makes it a cause for depression; different events may trigger people in different
Major depressive disorder is the most common form of depression. It is also known as clinical depression. In order to be diagnosed, symptoms must be present for two weeks, and occurs twice as often in women as
Immune System: When people are under intense stress for a while, their immune systems may become dysregulated, leading to lower functioning of important white blood cells called lymphocytes and to increased production of C-reactive protein (CRP), a protein that spreads throughout the body and causes inflammation and various illnesses. Some studies suggest that immune system dysregulation of this kind may help produce depression.
The human body is an intricately interlinked organism. Every system of the body has a role to play in the well being of the other. The most prevalent disease of the modern age is cancer, and there has been considerable effort to determine the causes of cancer. Substantial research in this regard point to stress being one of the leading causes of cancer.
Clinical Depression is a serious common neurological disorder that can affect anyone from the adolescents to the elderly. Clinical Depression affects the mood, thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and symptoms could become severe if left untreated. Clinical Depression is widespread and common, but also misunderstood and we should be well informed on the causes, effects, and treatments of depression.
Clinical depression is an illness that significantly affects the way someone feels; causing a persistent pessimistic mood. There are two main types of depression; post trauma and clinical deposition. This medical condition is often accompanied by a range of other physical and psychological symptoms that can interfere with a person’s everyday life; affecting 6% of Australian adults every year. Symptoms for depression include sleeping pattern disturbances, loss of motivation and interest, feeling worthless or guilty, anxiety and impaired concentration. There are a few ways that this depressive illness can be caused: reaction to a distressing situation like loss or stress; part of an illness such
Stress is a natural way for a person to quickly react to an alarming situation. When the brain perceives a threat, it tells the body to react by releasing hormones, pushing it into overdrive until the threat has gone (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014). Everyday stress in life, or acute stress, is the most common and has no long-term damaging side effects (Miller & Smith, 1994). Episodic acute stress is found in those who suffer from acute stress frequently (Miller & Smith, 1994). This type of stress is linked to personality types, ceaseless worriers or people who are very controlling are easily pushed into episodic acute stress cycles. The symptoms of episodic acute stress are persistent tension headaches, migraines, hypertension, chest pain and heart disease. Chronic stress comes
The CNS instantly tells the rest of your body what to do, marshaling all resources to the cause. In the brain, the hypothalamus gets the ball rolling, telling your adrenal glands to release adrenaline and cortisol. When the perceived danger is gone, the CNS should tell all systems to go back to normal. It has done its job. If the CNS fails to return to normal, or if the stressor doesn’t go away, it begins to take its toll on the body. Symptoms of chronic stress include irritability, anxiety, and depression. A person may suffer from constant headaches or even insomnia. Chronic stress is a factor in some behaviors like overeating or not eating enough, alcohol or drug abuse, or social withdrawal. Let’s take a closer look on the different mental disorders that are directly linked to chronic stress. The first, and probably the must harmful, depression. Byproducts of stress hormones can act as sedatives (chemical substances which cause us to become calm or fatigued). When such hormone byproducts occur in large amounts (which will happen under conditions of chronic stress), they may contribute to a sustained feeling of low energy or depression. One could argue that it is normal to experience a range of moods, both high and low, in everyday life. While some "down in the dumps" feelings are a part of life, sometimes, people fall into depressing feelings that persist and start interfering with their ability to complete daily activities, and this isn’t normal. The term Major Depression is used to describe such periods of extended, and profound depression. Symptoms of Major Depression may include: sleep problems, fatigue, and feelings of worthlessness. It can also cause an inability to concentrate or make decisions, agitation, restlessness, and irritability. Depression is also associated with an increase in suicidal
If we feel stressed about a problem at home, at work, within ourselves, or within the world, this can affect our overall health and mood. The Mayo Clinic cites many common symptoms that are the result of stress, including headaches, muscle tension, chest pain, nausea, issues with sleeping, and fatigue. These symptoms are often so commonplace that we don’t realize they are caused by stress. Aside from physical pain, the Mayo Clinic also says that stress can affect your feelings by causing anxiety, the inability to focus, crankiness, and even depression. This moodiness can affect eating habits and social life, lead to abuse of drugs and alcohol, and contribute to a decrease in exercise. I believe that stress has become a talking point today
Stress is causes by an increase of glucocorticoids in the blood, the hypothalamus become under alerte and secretes a hormone call CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone) and reach the adrenal glands which can affect the reasoning and all kinds of symptoms come out.
Consequently, these hardships may lead to serious health related problems such as insomnia, migraines, heart problems, and stomach ulcers. Mild episodes of chronic stress may trigger increased motivation, but the long-term effects of persistent chronic stress can be problematic. The deep seeded mental issues associated with chronic stress may be difficult to treat without professional help, as the affected individual becomes familiar with the pressure and distress of living with the disorder; it almost becomes normal to them. Sufferers of chronic stress primarily experience feelings of depression and hopelessness, which can ultimately lead to more prominent issues such as outbursts of violence, strokes, heart attacks, and even suicide. Extended cognitive behavioral therapy and stress management is used to treat this disorder; medications may be required to treat physical illnesses acquired as a result of the chronic stress
Secondly, according to the DSM-VI which is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The symptoms of depression fall into four different categories which are all disadvantages of depression: cognitive (feelings of low self-worth or unbecoming guilt), physical (forms of insomnia or loss of appetite), emotional (enormous sorrowful feelings), and motivational (lack of motivation and aspiration). Depression is the second most common mental health disorder. Therefore everyone has felt depressed at least once in their life over challenging situations, but for most people, the feeling of depression is a temporary feeling. Clinical depression (major depressive disorder) is more than just a temporary felling
In experimental animals, stress has been demonstrated to contribute to atrophy of the hippocampus similarly to depression (Sapolsky, 2000). Chronic stress paradigms in animals show many of the primary behavioural characteristics of depression and respond to antidepressant treatment (Willner, 2005). The exact reasons are not yet fully understood but any comprehensive model of the pathophysiology of depression needs to include the role of stress plays in the etiology of the mental illness. There is also an increased appreciation of the impact stress has on mechanisms of neuroplasticity. Evidently an intimate relationship must exist between the effects of stress, mechanisms of neuroplasticity, and the pathophysiology of depression and the role
Firstly, it is well known that long term stress has detrimental effects on the body, and the mind. One study published this year showed a possible link between cortisol, the stress hormone, and depression (Jin, et al. 2016). Another literature review published this year linked stress with increased risk of developing several mental and physical conditions, like certain cancers, arthritis, mood and
According to Cambridge Dictionary, clinical depression is “a mental illness that causes feelings of sadness and loss of hope, changes in sleeping and eating habits, loss of interests in your usual activities and pains that have no physical explanation” (Cambridge dictionary accessed online Oct 2017). It is estimated that 1 in 4 people in England will at some point experience a mental health problem in a given year (PHE 2016). In the words of Robert Burton;
Depression has numerous causes and effects which affect not only the person but the people around them. Depression doesn’t have a specific cause; in most cases it’s different for everyone. It is a common, treatable mental illness that can be experienced at any time in life. It is often described with feeling sad, unhappy, miserable, or “down in the dumps”. Most people have these feelings on occasion. There are several types of depression. These different types of depression describe slight, but often important, diagnostic differences. True clinical depression interferes with mood disorder in everyday life for weeks, months, or even years. Most people think depression affects only one