What is Stress and how does it Work? Stress is a protective mechanism our body creates when we are in an uncomfortable situation, causing us to react either by flight, fight, or freeze. It signals to us that we should try to remove ourselves from the situation in some way. However, when stress begins to be long-term, it creates negative impacts on the body and the mechanisms turn from protective to harmful. Examples include decreased pain and immune response, and quicker heart rate and blood flow. When these symptoms come multiple times though, it can lead to metabolic syndromes and cause hormones and neurotransmitters to hurt cognitive function. Impacts of Stress on the Brain The brain is heavily impacted by stress, and stress creates many neurological disorders. One major example is PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), which is developed after a major event. It causes increased levels of norepinephrine, a stress hormone, and cortisol levels lower in stressful situations. This then creates symptoms such as difficulty breathing, frequent nightmares, panic attacks, etc. There are treatments in place, medications that target and block specific brain receptors. General Affects of Long-term Stress There isn't always an outstanding event for stress to start; sometimes, just having stress for a long time can cause negative symptoms on the brain. Stress can affect the memory, brain functions, heart health, mood, arise anxiety, and more chronic diseases in the brain and heart. The primary reason for this is the brain shutting down its resources to go into survival mode. The longer stress goes on, it can rewire the brain to under-perform in certain areas with high-order tasks and create intense focus on simply surviving. In some cases, this can be reversed depending on how severe the stress is. How to Manage Stress Learning how to identify what makes you stressed can give you some control over it and understand what is damaging your brain. One way you can do this is establish control, by focusing on what you can control. Another major important thing is to sleep well, allowing your brain to recharge, and also staying organized so your workload everyday is not increased. Additionally, if you ever need help, reach out immediately to a specialist and understand what your symptoms mean. Changing your View on Stress We always see stress as something that we cannot control and comes involuntarily; but, it only comes to protect us. It can even help us know that we are entering a place of discomfort, which can sometimes even be good for us as we step out our comfort zone. If we see stress rather as a tool for us and even use it to be productive, rather as a barrier, we can change its impact on our brains. Having an increased amount of stress is unhealthy, but just a little bit can be motivating and if we constantly worry about it, it'll simply make us more stressed. Resources: 1. Protect your brain from stress - Harvard Health (Harvard Medical School) 2. How Stress Affects the Brain | American Brain Foundation 3. It Might Stress You Out to Know What Stress Is Doing to Your Brain | Live Science (Image Source) Assessed and Endorsed by the MedReport Medical Review Board