Does the hidden cost of stress leave a mark on us without us nodding?At least at first. Living stressed is almost like living life on a train that runs at high speed all the time.
At the beginning of the journey we acted naturally and even thanked for moving so fast, however little by little we realized that we could enjoy the view if we slowed down a little, our bodies and minds begin to feel resentment.
- Thich Nhat Hanh.
- A well-known Buddhist monk and author of books such as Paths to Inner Peace.
- Says our thoughts and emotions are like clouds coming and going on a windy day.
- It is clear that in the middle of a storm.
- It is harder to talk about balance.
- In a moment of calm regain control and allow the mind to function to the fullest.
It is not easy to manage these psychological states generated by stress and anxiety, now the problem is not having to go through a period of much stress, it is almost impossible to escape that today.
The real concern is that this time extends indefinitely over time, that’s where the aftermath appears, and it’s in this context that the hidden cost of stress appears.
We all know that a body undergoing a stressful environment or situation feels the consequences, muscle aches, digestive problems, changes in night sleep and many other factors that severely limit our quality of life.
However, there is another factor we cannot fail to observe: memory loss.
“Many calm rivers begin as a violent waterfall, but none flow when lost at sea. “Mikhail Lermontov.
When someone suffers from stress, they feel that the world, everything that happens outside of themselves, goes too fast, however, internally, printing is quite the opposite.
Decreases cognitive performance. It is very difficult to focus your attention, start a task, etc. Besides, if that’s not enough, the mind boycotts us with fears, doubts and threats (you won’t be able to finish this installment, you won’t have any money at the end of the month, are you wrong?).
This may seem redundant, but one of the darkest features of stress is that it creates more stress, so while we often complain of headaches, nausea or the damn insomnia that causes this psychological state, we don’t realize its emotional and cognitive state. Impact.
Discomfort, low motivation, discouragement and memory loss are associated elements to consider.
As we said at the beginning, timely and time-limited stress has few consequences, in addition, in most cases, this internal activation facilitates the achievement of certain objectives, facilitates the overcoming of challenges and advancement as human beings in a more or less complex context.
Now, as this activation lasts for weeks or months, the hidden cost of stress arises.
Research by Dr. Jannine Wirkner of the University of Greifswald in Germany has shown something very important: experiencing acute stress, temporarily and briefly, strengthens memory, something that can certainly benefit us in testing or certain tasks.
On the other hand, chronic stress, in which the release of stress hormone, cortisol, is constant, hinders our ability to form new memories.
Stress acts as interference in all memory treatments, i. e. it stops encoding, consolidating and recovering all phases of this cognitive process.
Research by Dr. Kim Jeasonkok of the University of Florida in the United States has also revealed something very interesting: when cortisol levels are very high, the hippocampus undergoes a change in morphology; this brain structure linked to memory and emotions reduces its size under the effect of stress hormones.
In addition, as if that were not enough, there is another hidden cost of chronic stress: this state of constant activation and alertness causes the amygdala to inhibit the activity of the prefrontal cortex.
Something like this creates, for example, difficulties in thinking more logically, making it difficult to think and make decisions.
The hidden cost of stress can be more complex than we think, we know that when stress is chronic, when we spend months worried and submerged in states of very high pressure, memory fails.
However, in case of post-traumatic stress, some memories last longer and are more intense than normal.
Faced with all this, we cannot deny how complex our brain can be, but despite these circumstances, despite the traumas and the impact of chronic stress, there is still a fact that we cannot lose sight of: the brain is plastic, changes and can reverse all these effects.
Exercise, psychotherapy, meditation, better stress management and good lifestyle habits are aspects that can help us improve our well-being and brain plasticity, it may be time to include these activities in your daily life.