What Are the Long-Term Effects of Stress?

Everyone feels overwhelmed. Left unchecked, chronic stress can lead to bigger health issues such as heart, muscle, and gut problems. In this PsychCentral article, Mindpath Health’s Anna Boyd, LPC, discusses the long-term effects of chronic stress and tools to help cope.

It’s common to feel stressed sometimes — but chronic stress can lead to health issues such as heart, muscle, and gut problems. 

You likely experience some form of stress on a daily basis, whether it’s sitting in traffic, trying to find lost car keys, or rushing to meet a work deadline. As frustrating as these moments can be, they typically pass quickly and you can move on with your day. 

If stress becomes regular and severe, it can impact your physical health, career, relationships, and mental health. 

That said, there are many coping methods to help you manage stress, promoting calm and even reversing the negative impacts of stress. 

Physical effects of chronic stress

The stress response occurs when your body goes into fight, flight, or freeze mode. This physiological response is meant to protect you from danger. 

When you’re in a situation your body perceives as threatening, your brain and body move into a stress response and work hard to keep you safe. 

Your body responds in the same way when you’re consistently stressed. Chronic stress causes a constant heightened state of arousal that can take a toll on all aspects of your health. 

Cardiovascular system

Stress can cause your heart to beat faster and your body to release adrenaline, noradrenaline, and cortisol. The amount of blood pumping in your body also increases, which can increase blood pressure. 

Nervous system

When you’re stressed, your sympathetic nervous system (SNS) becomes active. This response happens quickly during periods of acute stress. Once the stress subsides, your parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) — the “rest-and-digest” system — takes over to help your body recover and relax. 

Endocrine system

In stressful situations, your adrenal glands produce more cortisol. Over time, this can cause fatigue, depression, or issues with your immune system. 

Musculoskeletal system

When your body’s stress response kicks into gear, your muscles tense. Under chronic stress, your muscles may be in a constant state of tension, which can cause problems like chronic neck or jaw pain. 

Respiratory system

Stress can cause you to experience chest tightness and shortness of breath, which can be problematic for people with pre-existing respiratory issues like asthma. 

Gastrointestinal system

There’s a direct link between brain and gut health, so if you’re feeling stressed on a regular basis, you may also experience nausea or digestive discomfort. 

Reproductive system

Low libido is a common side effect of chronic stress. Males may experience erectile dysfunction or impotence. Females may experience changes in their menstrual cycles and have trouble conceiving. 

Immune health

Chronic stress may also impact your ability to fight off infection. 

“Continuous exposure to cortisol suppresses immune function, resulting in protective antibodies being unable to get circulated,” Dr. Sanam Hafeez, an NYC neuropsychologist and director of Comprehend the Mind.  

Mental health effects of chronic stress

Chronic stress can also cause: 

• changes in mood 
• anxiety 
• depression 

It may also make it tougher to participate in regular physical activity, which can impact your overall well-being. Consistently high-stress levels may also affect your relationships or self-worth. 

Can stress cause permanent damage?

Prolonged stress impacts all bodily systems and, in some cases, can cause serious harm. 

“If our bodies are in a constant state of stress due to trauma, cultural climate, or present life stressors, the impacts of stress can only promote exhaustion for our system,” says Anna Boyd, a licensed professional counselor with Mindpath Health. 

“When we are in a chronic state of hyperactivated sympathetic states for too long, the polyvagal theory states that we can drop down into our dorsal vagal response system,” she adds. 

This is typically associated with physical and mental exhaustion, leading to burnout, severe depressive symptoms, and an inability to regulate mentally and physically. 

“As a therapist, I have seen this lead to issues such as mental disarray, chronic pain, a diagnosis such as irritable bowel syndrome, high blood pressure, poor sleep, disconnection with motivation, inability to access gratitude or joy, and relationship problems,” Boyd explains. 

How to recover from long-term stress

Numerous tools can help you manage stress effectively.  

You may find it helpful to try out a few different techniques to see which ones work best for you. 

Mindfulness techniques

Cultivating a mindfulness practice is beneficial for managing stress and maintaining optimal overall health. 

A mindfulness routine can help you purposefully regulate your body to regulate the mind, Boyd explains.  

Exercise

Physical activity might not prevent stress altogether, but it can improve your ability to cope with it. 

“Exercising targets inflammation with a correlation to anti-inflammatory responses,” says Dr. Hafeez.  

Stay connected

Interacting with people in your life can help distract you from the lingering feelings of stress. Additionally, having people to talk with can make coping easier when you’re going through a stressful period. 

Let’s recap

Experiencing stress now and then is typical. But if you’re constantly stressed, it can have adverse long-term effects on your mental and physical health. 

The mental effects of long-term stress can include mood changes, anxiety, and depression. Physically, stress affects every bodily system, and when left untreated, it can cause issues like heart problems, poor immune function, and more. 

“When it comes to stress, there is certainly hope for change, and the best way to start is to start to acknowledge some of the symptoms you may be displaying of a hyperactive nervous system. Advocate for yourself, seek support, and find balance,” recommends Boyd. 

Read the full PsychCentral article with sources.