Stress isn’t pleasant and can come from multiple situations: a crisis at work, a fight with a loved one, a missed or approaching assignment deadline.
Stress is the body’s response to an individual’s perception of something possibly threatening that happens in the environment. For example, a woman sees a man running toward her and perceives he could be trying to hurt her, so stress is the result. This can include increased heart rate and energy and racing thoughts. It’s not always a bad thing and can be helpful, but not in high amounts and over a long period of time.
A recent study from a researcher in Canada demonstrates how stress can be detrimental in some cases. In the study, the author is researching a link between higher levels of daily stress in adolescence and development of mood disorders in adulthood. The higher levels of daily stress were found in adolescents in at-risk families, including those who have parents with mood disorders. The researcher believes that stress could be the reasoning behind an increase in depression over the years, especially at a younger age.
An article from Concordia University states:
“Previous studies have shown that kids from at-risk families are at higher risk of having a psychiatric disorder in their lifetime,” said lead researcher Mark Ellenbogen. “We know that they’re not just inheriting these traits but they are also being raised in environment that is stressful, chaotic and lacking in structure. Our goal is to tease out how this type of environment influences these children’s mental health in adolescence and adulthood.”
Although the study is still ongoing and there is no solid link or causal relationship, this is an important consideration for mental health professionals. It seems at-risk children and adolescents are already targeted in many mental health programs, but this could improve how mental health professionals go about understanding and preventing at least mood disorders.
For example, therapists, psychologists and social workers might be able to focus on getting help for parents as well as adolescents, teaching proper parenting techniques and reinforcing a more structured environment for the adolescents, as well as alleviating stress and providing coping techniques.
Alan Kazdin, a psychology and child psychiatry professor at Yale University, suggested some caution when interpreting the research findings.
“Be cautious in looking for a ‘cause’ of mood disorders,” Kazdin said in an e-mail. “There are multiple influences (risk factors) and multiple paths. With depression, stress can precipitate an episode but is not likely to be the cause. There are individual vulnerabilities that differ greatly.”
He said in adolescence, gender differences also become more noticeable.
“Girls increase much greater than boys in suicidality (ideation and attempt) and depression,” Kazdin said.
Some treatments he suggests for depression are cognitive therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy, as well as medication.
In my own experience, high amounts of stress quite possibly was a factor in my depression today. My mother has bipolar disorder and my father possibly has ADHD or ADD. My mother has also battled alcoholism and an eating disorder, which negatively affected me as a child and teenager. It’s understandable that a chaotic environment at home and not knowing what your parent is going to do next can leave a lasting impact that reaches to adulthood.
Anxiety could also play a part – if you don’t know what to expect and negative consequences always seem to happen, you might starting fearing these situations and become anxious over the unexpected. If you’re too busy worrying about these stressful home situations, that can take all focus from other areas of life, like school and friends. For example, dealing with a stressful home situation and eventually having anxiety over those recurring events can take away from studying, which in turn creates anxiety when thinking about failing a test, and then creates stress while taking the test and afterward. It’s a vicious cycle.
However, some people are also more resilient than others, so it depends on the individual. Genetics and other environmental factors, including how much support is provided to an individual, need to be considered as well.
What about you? Do you think it's possible that high levels of stress in adolescence can be linked to mood disorders in adulthood? Did you experience stressful situations in adolescence and are now suffering from mental health issues or even a mood disorder? Share your thoughts.
Sources:
http://now.concordia.ca/what-we-do/research/20101101/does-stress-in-adolescence-lead-to-mood-disorders-in-adulthood.php