Stress & Mental Issues
Stress can lead to other issues with our body. In our research we found that stress can be one of the prime factors for mental illness, such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and insomnia.
Stress Leading to Depression.
What is depression?
- Depression is a mood disorder that makes you feel sad and disinterested in this you usually enjoy.
Depression can affect your appetite, how much you sleep, and the ability to concentrate on things.
The Stress-Depression Connection
IDepression can disrupt people’s life, which can lead most to be isolated and to themselves.
Severe stress is a major stressor that can lead to depression.
Chronic stress raises the incidence level of depression.
- According to the Mental Health Survey, levels of depression among members of Gen Z went up about 4% to 5% between pre-and post pandemic
Anxiety related Stress
What is Anxiety?
- Anxiety is a person’s specific reaction to stress. Its origin is internal.
- Anxiety is characterized by a “ Persistent feeling of apprehension or dread.
- Anxiety can persist even after a concern has passed.
Stress and anxiety can go hand in hand in any situation. Most people can experience stress and anxiety anytime in their life. It just depends on the level of severity, it can have an impact detrimental to someone’s quality of life.
What is stress in this relationship to Anxiety?
- Stress is a response to an external cause.
Such as: having a tight deadline at work or an assignment. Having an argument with a friend.
It is important to identify and differentiate signs of stress and anxiety. As stress is a common trigger for anxiety, it is important to know and catch symptoms of anxiety as it can lead to a development of an anxiety disorder.
Eating Disorders
Stress can be a huge factor in the causes of an eating disorder for most college students. Most people like to use food as a way to destress, to get rid of the tension that is built up in the head and use that tension and other emotions they would like to hide by chewing away delicious foods/ snacks.
Insomnia
Stress and Insomnia can go hand in hand. It becomes more complicated to stay neutral and relax when we are busy running around doing things that stress us out.
The Cycle of binge eating:
- When we are stressed, we like to eat
- Then once someone has overeating, they are worried and/or feel guilty about how much they ate that it might lead to weight gain. Which can lead to more stress.
How can stress provoke insomnia?
- When we are sleeping, our bodies have a biological clock. Meaning that only that schedule our body makes can ensure a healthy lifestyle of all actions.
- Stress breaks this chain, and it can impact negatively in many ways affecting our QOL. When we are feeling anxious and fatigued, our brain takes over our stress levels and floods our body with a fight and freezing chemicals. (Cortisol and Adrenocorticotropic hormones sent through the veins).
Coping with stress related mental illnesses
There are ways many ways the people can cope with stress related mental illness. Below is a video on how to find ways to have a happier life! Listen to the first episode of the podcast below!