4 Ways Stress Can Lead to Other Mental Illnesses

4 Ways Stress Can Lead to Other Mental Illnesses

Mental health is important to maintain to properly live the healthiest lives possible. Stress is one of the most common causes of other mental health illnesses. So when you have an excess amount of stress constantly present, it will become harder to find ways to resolve these issues.

Depression

Many people suffer from depression every day. This mental illness leads to a difficult life of chronic fatigue, low energy, and thoughts of self-harm, among other symptoms. Constant stress will eventually lead to other mental illnesses, like anxiety, because of the continued focus on the cause of the stress. This can leave a person feeling tired. A depressed person may not want to partake in activities that bring them joy and cause them to sink into their stressful thoughts, leaving less room for enjoyment in life.

Anxiety

Anxiety is just as common in people as stress, and both are similar in how they may affect the body. Stress and anxiety are connected, as one may lead to another after prolonged periods. A person under a lot of stress will eventually have anxiety-related feelings, such as a fight or flight response and feelings of near-panic. It’s important to know about stress and anxiety and how to mitigate either, as both will easily fuel the other and cause worse feelings and side effects of mental illness.

Addiction

When you suffer from high stress, you’ll want to find different coping mechanisms to help you manage your stress. Some people will turn to drugs, alcohol, or other substances to make them feel less stressed and have some feelings of enjoyment. Addiction is a mental illness due to its effects on the brain and how it alters it.

Stress will lead to mental illnesses such as addiction because of its constant negative feelings that people have trouble managing. The use of drugs and alcohol may give a person a reprieve from these feelings. Thus, the brain will begin to create more dopamine, the reward chemical, and cause a person to want more of the substance, leading to addiction.

Eating Disorders

When we undergo a lot of stress, our food intake may suffer. Eating disorders, such as bulimia or binge eating, are common in people with a large amount of stress. Stress may cause a lack of appetite or cause you to eat less. Eating a large amount of food may act as a coping mechanism, leading to multiple problems in their physical health. It would help if you always watch what you eat when you feel stressed so that your body will feel better, which may help your stress decrease.

Stress is an impactful thing that may cause multiple mental illnesses. By knowing how stress affects you and what it may cause, you know what to look for and prevent yourself from falling into other mental illnesses.