The Link Between Stress and Depression
When you think of stress, it probably brings negative emotions to mind. But some stress is good for you, like the anticipation you feel when you start a new relationship or job. It can fuel excitement and make you want to do and achieve more. Stress can also help you be prepared to face challenges or respond to dangerous situations.
Good stress doesn’t stick around. It boosts your mood to meet the moment, then goes away. If you’re under stress for long periods of time, it can become overwhelming and affect you both physically and emotionally.
“Our stress response does pretty good in the short term, but it doesn’t do very good if you activate it in the long term,” says David Prescott, PhD, associate professor of Health Administration and Public Health at Husson University in Bangor, ME.
“If we stay under chronic stress, our physiological stress response is taxed beyond what it’s designed to do, and it starts to impair us.”
The effects of chronic, or long-term, stress can be harmful on their own, but they also can contribute to depression, a mood disorder that makes you feel sad and disinterested in things you usually enjoy. Depression can affect your appetite, your sleep habits, and your ability to concentrate.
And the effects of depression can cause stress.
“The impact of stress on depression, and vice versa, is one of the most important problems of our times,” says Carol Landau, PhD, clinical professor at Brown University.
The Stress-Depression Connection
“We think that the causal relationship between stress and depression is what’s called ‘bidirectional,’” Prescott says. “One can cause the other, and the other can cause the first, and both can make each other worse.”
The ways depression can lead to stress are pretty clear.
“Depression disrupts your life, so you often are more isolated,” Prescott says. “Sometimes you shrink your interpersonal network and stop doing a lot of activities, like work or school or things that you enjoy. We know that kind of isolation makes your perceived stress level go up, so we know that depression can cause stress.”
There’s good evidence that the reverse is true as well.
“A severe stress, like a divorce or a huge financial change, is a major stressor, and it sends the psyche sort of out of equilibrium. If you keep raising levels of stress, something’s going to happen, and often it is depression,” Landau says.
But the reasons stress contributes to depression are less obvious.
“It’s pretty clear that chronic stress raises the incidence level of depression,” Prescott says. According to The Mental Health Survey Report from The Mental Health Institution, levels of depression among members of Gen Z went up about 4% or 5% between pre- and post-pandemic.
“We think the social isolation, the disruption in normal activities, and the general stress of having your college or work disrupted appeared to increase levels of depression. But I would say we don’t know, causally, exactly how that happened.”
Make Lifestyle Changes
Sometimes a few small changes can break the stress-depression cycle, beginning with a more positive mindset.
“If you’re stressed and feel like you’re starting to become depressed, the biggest thing is to get a little more active coping strategy in the way you’re going to deal with your stress,” Prescott says. “Don’t just think that you’re going to have to ‘suck it up and take it.’”
A more active coping strategy can include:
- Exercise. Just 30 minutes of physical activity 5 days a week is enough to make a difference. Activities like yoga and tai chi, which slow things down and help you relax, are good for reducing stress.
- Avoid binge-eating or drinking. These may make you feel better temporarily, but they’re not helpful. In addition to being physically harmful, they can make you feel guilty and worse about yourself. Overdoing alcohol can affect your sleep and make you sluggish the next day.
- Limit caffeine. Too much can wind you up and make stress even more intense. Try to cut down on coffee, soda, and other caffeinated drinks.
- Quit smoking. The idea that smoking cigarettes can help you handle stress is a popular myth. While nicotine does help relax you right away, that feeling is short-lived and can create more stress through cravings or withdrawal.
- Make time for yourself. Do things you like to do or that make you feel good. Go easy on yourself and focus on the things you do well.
- Steer clear of stressors. If you know something or someone sets you off, do what you can to avoid that situation or person.
- Sleep well. Making sure your mind and body get enough rest can go a long way toward easing stress. The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7 to 9 hours for adults every night.
“If you’re depressed and you’re trying to minimize the impact of stress on your life, it’s important to overcome that belief that ‘nothing I do is really going to matter,’” Prescott says. “It’s just not true in most cases. It may not change everything, but it’s a big thing to overcome that kind of hopeless belief.”
Find Support
Another way to ease the effects of stress and depression is to not try to handle them alone. Strong, supportive relationships can make a big difference.
“Depression is a state of disconnection,” Landau says. “So one of the most important things would be to find a way to connect. Adding a couple of people who you’ve known from the past and finding a way to connect is extremely important.”
Talking with friends and family can help you better understand what’s causing your stress, which can be a big step forward.
“If stress and depression are playing off each other, it can help to kind of articulate and pinpoint the stressors in your life that are causing the most impairment,” Prescott says. “We ultimately all feel ‘I’m stressed,’ in general, but it’s really helpful to sort of pinpoint down what specific things are getting to you.
“It’s helpful to have someone say things like, ‘How are you doing dealing with your stress?’ or ‘Tell me about how your mood is holding up?’ or ‘How are your spirits?’ Then just listen.
“A lot of times, what helps people is not specific advice like, ‘Do this or do that,’ but just a chance to talk it out with somebody who pays attention. Ask an open-ended question like that and then bite your bottom lip and listen for a while.”
If talking to friends or family doesn’t work well enough, you can talk with a professional. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is one way to change your perspective and approach.
“Cognitive behavior therapy is important because we want to be able to get control back,” Landau says. “CBT helps you focus on what small thing you can accomplish today, how you can implement it, how you can evaluate it. So it’s a great educational tool as well as a therapy tool.”
Wow that was strange. I just wrote an really long comment but after
I clicked submit my comment didn’t appear. Grrrr… well I’m not writing
all that over again. Regardless, just wanted to
say fantastic blog!
Good article! We will be linking to this particularly great post on our site. Keep up the good writing.
Thanks for any other excellent article.
The place else may just anybody get that kind of info in such a perfect approach of writing?
I have a presentation subsequent week, and I am on the look for such information.
I believe that is among the such a lot vital info for me.
And i am happy studying your article. But want to commentary on few basic issues, The website taste is
great, the articles is in reality great : D. Good job,
cheers
This is a really good tip particularly to those new to the blogosphere. Brief but very precise information… Appreciate your sharing this one. A must read post!
Медвежатники Харьков – Аварийное вскрытие замков любой сложности, Открываем без повреждений автомобили, квартиры, открыть машину харьков сейфы, двери любого уровня сложности.
Right here is the perfect website for everyone who would like to
understand this topic. You understand a whole lot its almost tough to argue with you
(not that I personally would want to…HaHa). You certainly put
a new spin on a subject that has been discussed for ages.
Wonderful stuff, just excellent!
Hello There. I discovered your weblog the usage
of msn. This is an extremely well written article.
I will make sure to bookmark it and return to read more of
your useful info. Thank you for the post. I will definitely return.
Hmm it looks like your site ate my first comment (it was super long) so I guess I’ll just sum it
up what I wrote and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m
still new to the whole thing. Do you have any points
for first-time blog writers? I’d really appreciate
it.
Highly descriptive blog, I loved that a lot. Will there
be a part 2?
I think the admin of this web page is actually working hard for his site,
for the reason that here every information is quality based material.
I do believe all of the ideas you have offered to your post.
They are really convincing and will definitely work.
Still, the posts are very brief for beginners.
May you please prolong them a bit from subsequent time?
Thank you for the post.
I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own blog and was wondering what
all is needed to get set up? I’m assuming
having a blog like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not very web savvy so I’m not 100% certain. Any recommendations or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Great post. I was checking constantly this blog and I am impressed!
Extremely useful info specially the last part 🙂 I care for such info a lot.
I was seeking this particular information for a very long time.
Thank you and good luck.
Woah! I’m really loving the template/theme of this site.
It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s very difficult
to get that “perfect balance” between superb usability and visual appeal.
I must say you’ve done a fantastic job with this.
In addition, the blog loads very quick for me on Opera.
Excellent Blog!
Remarkable! Its really remarkable article, I have got much clear idea concerning from this paragraph.
Thanks for the auspicious writeup. It in reality was once
a entertainment account it. Look complicated to more delivered agreeable from you!
By the way, how can we be in contact?
Hi there, its fastidious post regarding media print, we
all be aware of media is a wonderful source of data.
Superb, what a webpage it is! This blog presents valuable facts to us, keep it up.
Good day! I just want to offer you a big thumbs up for your great info you’ve got here on this post. I’ll be coming back to your website for more soon.
Hi there, just wanted to tell you, I enjoyed this article.
It was helpful. Keep on posting!
I pay a visit day-to-day some web sites and blogs to read articles, however this blog gives feature based articles.
Thank you, I’ve just been looking for information approximately this topic for a long time and yours is the best I have came upon till
now. However, what in regards to the conclusion?
Are you positive concerning the supply?
Pretty great post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to mention that I’ve really loved surfing around your
blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and
I am hoping you write once more very soon!
Wow, incredible blog structure! How lengthy have you ever been running a blog for?
you made blogging glance easy. The whole glance of your
web site is magnificent, let alone the content!
I think what you posted was very reasonable.
But, what about this? what if you were to create a awesome post title?
I mean, I don’t wish to tell you how to run your website, but suppose you added a title that grabbed folk’s attention? I mean The Link
Between Stress and Depression – ruffeodrive is a little boring.
You could look at Yahoo’s front page and note how
they write post titles to get people to click. You might add a related video or a related picture or two to get
readers excited about what you’ve got to say. Just my opinion, it could bring your website a little
livelier.
I was recommended this blog by my cousin. I’m not sure whether this post is written by him as
nobody else know such detailed about my difficulty. You’re
incredible! Thanks!
wonderful put up, very informative. I’m wondering why
the opposite experts of this sector don’t understand this.
You should continue your writing. I am confident, you’ve a great readers’ base already!
If some one wishes expert view concerning blogging and site-building after that i propose him/her
to visit this blog, Keep up the good job.
Hello there I am so happy I found your weblog, I really found you by error, while I was looking on Yahoo for something else,
Regardless I am here now and would just like to say thank
you for a marvelous post and a all round enjoyable blog (I also love the theme/design), I
don’t have time to read through it all at the moment but I have saved it and also included your RSS feeds, so when I have
time I will be back to read much more, Please
do keep up the superb job.
Hi, i think that i saw you visited my blog so i came to “return the favor”.I am attempting to find things to improve my web site!I
suppose its ok to use a few of your ideas!!
This information is invaluable. Where can I
find out more?
Hello, just wanted to tell you, I liked this post.
It was practical. Keep on posting!
I could not refrain from commenting. Very well written!
I’d like to thank you for the efforts you’ve put in penning this website.
I really hope to check out the same high-grade blog posts by you in the future as well.
In truth, your creative writing abilities has inspired me to get my own blog now 😉
Hi to all, how is the whole thing, I think every one is getting
more from this web page, and your views are fastidious designed for new users.
This post is worth everyone’s attention. When can I find out more?
Thank you for the auspicious writeup. It actually used to be
a enjoyment account it. Look advanced to more brought agreeable
from you! However, how can we be in contact?
Oh my goodness! Amazing article dude! Many thanks, However I am having difficulties with your RSS.
I don’t know why I am unable to subscribe to it.
Is there anybody else getting identical RSS issues? Anyone who knows the
answer will you kindly respond? Thanks!!
Hi there, yeah this piece of writing is truly good and
I have learned lot of things from it about blogging.
thanks.
I constantly emailed this weblog post page to all my
associates, as if like to read it next my links will too.
Greetings! Very useful advice within this post!
It is the little changes which will make the largest changes.
Thanks a lot for sharing!
magnificent post, very informative. I ponder why the other experts of this sector
do not notice this. You should continue your writing.
I am sure, you have a great readers’ base already!
Hi there! This article couldn’t be written much better! Looking through this article
reminds me of my previous roommate! He always kept preaching about
this. I most certainly will forward this post to him.
Pretty sure he’s going to have a good read. I appreciate you
for sharing!
It is really a great and useful piece of information. I’m happy that you simply shared this helpful information with us.
Please stay us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
In truth, the well-liked casino table game dates
back to 18th-century France, where it was invented by the mathematician Blaise Pascal.