19 STRESS ILLNESSES (PHYSICAL AND MENTAL) - DUDAS - 2025

There are diseases caused by stress due to the emotional, physiological and endocrine responses that occur in the body. These responses can have negative effects on our health, both mental and physical.

In a brief way, stress could be defined as a physical and mental state that we enter in response to stressful events. Responses to stress are not just behavioral, although this is the only response that is directly observable.

The physiological and endocrine responses are aimed at increasing the energy of the individual so that he can respond to the stimulus in a fast and effective way. For this, the autonomic nervous system, the immune system, and the endocrine system secretes epinephrine, norepinephrine and steroids.

Illnesses and physical disorders caused by stress

Exposure to stressful situations over a long period of time can cause or intensify the physical disorders described below.

Coronary diseases

These diseases can occur due to the increase in blood pressure caused by the secretion of norepinephrine and cortisol. These diseases include hypertension, tachycardias and even an increased likelihood of having a heart attack, stroke, or stroke.

Dermatological disorders

Hormonal and endocrine imbalances caused by stress can cause problems such as acne (due to excess sebaceous secretion), alopecia, spots, eczema, dryness, excessive sweating, weak nails…

Endocrine disorders

Overfunction of the endocrine system can eventually lead to type II diabetes (caused by the systematic increase in glucose in the blood) and, in the most severe cases, can lead to obesity.

Gastrointestinal disorders

Increased secretions of gastric juices can lead to stomach ulcers, digestive problems, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and even a disorder called colon / irritable bowel syndrome that I will explain later.

Irritable bowel syndrome (or irritable bowel)

This syndrome is directly caused by a situation that causes intense stress or prolonged stress. Overactivation of the endocrine system due to stress can cause increased sensitivity in internal organs, such as the colon or intestine.

Respiratory disorders

Sustained stress makes us more likely to suffer from allergies, sleep apnea (cuts in breathing while sleeping that decrease the quality of sleep) and asthma.

Muscle and joint problems

Due to the continuous tension of the muscles, neck and back pain, pulling and contractures are frequent. Also, this in turn causes joint problems.

Headaches and migraines

Increasing blood pressure can inflame the meninges (the layers that surround the brain) and this can lead to headaches and, in more severe cases, migraines.

A curious fact is that the brain does not have pain receptors, therefore, when our head hurts, it is not because nothing happens in the brain, it is usually due to inflammation of the meninges.

Immune disorders

As I have explained before, the defenses go down if the stressful situation lasts over time, therefore, it is more likely to contract infectious diseases.

Disorders of the sexual organs

The sexual organs can deteriorate due to hormonal imbalances caused by stress. This deterioration can cause alterations in menstrual cycles, decreased sexual appetite, worsen some disorders of sexual behavior (which I will talk about later) and even infertility in both men and women.

Growing problems

The height that we will reach in our adulthood is genetically predetermined, but in our genes there is no exact figure, but rather an interval within which our height may be.

The height that we reach, within that interval, depends on environmental factors and one of them is stress. Adults who suffered from stress during childhood have been found not to reach the maximum height of their range.

Psychological stress illnesses

Among the psychological disorders influenced by stress we find:

Adaptive disorder or chronic stress

Chronic stress is a type of adjustment disorder characterized by an unhealthy emotional and behavioral reaction to an identifiable and prolonged stress situation.

That is, this disorder appears when the individual suffers prolonged stress and does not carry out adaptive responses to that stress.

The Depression

It has been proven that this disorder is more common in people who have suffered chronic stress.

Anxiety disorders

People who suffer a lot of stress in their daily lives are more likely to suffer from anxiety disorders because they are activated too much in stressful situations by the diabolical learning process explained above.

Chronic pain

Some studies have shown that chronic stress causes hyperalgesia (excessive sensitivity to pain) in internal organs and the somatosensory system, and therefore, chronic pain is more likely.

Sexual behavior disorders

High levels of stress can lead to a sexual behavior disorder called hypoactive sexual desire disorder. This disorder is more common in women and leads to a progressive loss of sexual desire.

Sleep disorders. People with high levels of stress often develop sleep disorders such as insomnia. In addition, in a recent study, it has been shown that the ways that these types of people cope with stress are not very efficient.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

This disorder occurs as a result of a traumatic experience that causes acute stress, such as being sexually abused or witnessing a catastrophe.

It does not occur in all people who suffer this type of experience, it is more frequent that it develops if the experience has occurred during the individual's childhood or if he uses little adaptive strategies to cope with stress.

Eating disorder

One of the most common eating disorders in people who suffer from stress is binge eating disorder. This disorder is characterized by episodes of compulsive eating (binge eating), that is, the person eats an excessive amount of food for a very short time and has a feeling of loss of control over what he is doing.

Alzheimer's

Studies have shown that stress causes premature aging of key areas of the brain, such as the hypothalamus, and therefore increases the chances of developing Alzheimer's disease.

Acute psychosis

Zubin and Spring suggest that the experience of stress is essential for the onset of acute psychosis. Recent studies have shown that this is so, poorly managed stressful experiences, which cause discomfort and anxiety, can generate the appearance of psychotic symptoms in individuals with a genetic predisposition.

In addition, if these individuals have experienced childhood trauma, there is a high probability that they will develop psychosis.

Recommended Topics

Stress: symptoms, causes, types, consequences, treatments.

Consequences of stress.

Work stress.

Stress hormones.

References

1. Chang, L. (2011). The Role of Stress on Physiologic Responses and Clinical Symptoms in Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Gastroenterology, 761–765.
2. Groesz, L., McCoy, S., Carl, J., Saslow, L., Stewar, J., Adler, N.,… Epel, E. (2012). What is eating you? Stress and the drive to eat. Appetite, 717–721.
3. Parish, SJ, & Hahn, SR (2016). Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder: A Review of Epidemiology, Biopsychology, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Sexual Medicine Reviews, 103–120.
4. Zullig, KJ, Matthews-Ewald, MR, & Valois, RF (2016). Weight perceptions, disordered eating behaviors, and emotional self-efficacy among high school adolescents. Eating Behaviors.