The Connection Between Stress and Anxiety: 6 Surprising Effects It May Have on Your Cognitive Function
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Stress and anxiety are similar emotional states with similar biological components. Both can affect your ability to think and complete tasks in different situations. In general, increased anxiety is linked with decreases in cognitive function. With stress, there’s a bit more variation in effects. The right type of stress and the right amount can actually improve cognition. Too much stress or too little can negatively affect performance. There are many other factors that affect your experience, including your age and the task you’re working on.

In this article, we’ll talk about the connection between stress and anxiety and share six ways these states may impact your cognitive function.

The science behind stress, anxiety and cognition 

There are some important differences between stress and anxiety. Stress is often a response to something external, but it can also be anticipatory. Anxiety is a state of worry or vigilance that comes with heightened sensitivity. When a person is anxious, they’re more likely to focus their attention on what’s happening around them. This can take resources away from processes like working memory, which is used in several cognitive tasks. 

Stress can work the same way when there is a potential threat. Day-to-day stress has an overall negative effect on learning and making new neural connections. However, certain types of acute or task-related stress can motivate people to do their best. In terms of stress, there seems to be more of a range of effects depending on personal characteristics like age or sex and the source of stress. 

If you’re feeling frustrated, you should know that it’s not just you. We’re not wired to think clearly when we’re stressed. Fortunately, you can learn strategies to reduce and cope with stress and anxiety.

Both stress and anxiety can come along with symptoms such as irritability, fatigue, indigestion, tension, insomnia and difficulty concentrating. The amygdala is the part of the brain that identifies threats and sets off a cascade of mental, emotional and physical responses to anxiety and stress. It’s often referred to as the brain’s “alarm system.” People who have anxiety pay more attention to these negative signals. When we’re stressed or anxious, the endocrine system releases hormones that send us into our fight, flight, freeze and fawn states. These include epinephrine (adrenaline), norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and cortisol. 

6 surprising effects stress and anxiety may have on cognitive function 

Stress hormones prepare the body to defend itself. The heart beats faster and blood is directed to large muscles. The parts of the brain that organize sensory input and manage learning based on rewards and negative experiences are engaged. The part of the brain that deals with more complex decision-making becomes less active. These effects are temporary and typically improve when your stress or anxiety is relieved.

The brain and body’s stress responses aren’t meant to be long-term solutions. When stress becomes a chronic issue, it can result in health problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease. Untreated anxiety can have similar effects. 

The following are six ways anxiety and stress can affect cognitive function:

  • Decision-making capacity and risk assessment — Anxiety and stress can limit your ability to make wise decisions and assess risks accurately. It also becomes more difficult to switch between tasks or change strategy mid-task.
  • Memory formation and retrieval — Memories based on rewards and punishments take precedence under stress and anxiety. However, you may have trouble forming memories of other details and retrieving memories.
  • Information processing speed — Because the prefrontal cortex is less active when you’re stressed or anxious, you may have trouble processing information or doing more complex tasks.
  • Attention filtering and focus — When you’re stressed or anxious, it may be harder to block out distractions and focus on the task at hand.
  • Spatial reasoning and navigation — Feeling anxious or stressed before a challenge like navigating a maze can negatively impact your ability to find your way around. This depends partly on whether you’re navigating in reference to yourself or external objects and landmarks and the type of learning or reasoning.
  • Verbal fluency and communication — When you’re stressed or anxious, it can be harder to say exactly what you mean. You may tend to use simpler words and sentences, but having effective coping skills can help.

Strategies for reducing and coping with stress and anxiety

Constant stress and anxiety can create a vicious cycle that keeps you struggling to get through the day. If you’re feeling frustrated, you should know that it’s not just you. We’re not wired to think clearly when we’re stressed. Fortunately, you can learn strategies to reduce and cope with stress and anxiety. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a clinically proven method for reducing stress that involves meditation.

Here are a few examples:

  • Meditation — Meditation can be as simple as closing your eyes and focusing on what you can feel in your body. You don’t have to completely pause your thoughts. Coming back to the present moment after a distraction is therapeutic.
  • Breathing techniques — Slowing down your breathing can help signal to your brain that you’re safe. Try this box breathing exercise: Count to four as you breathe in, hold your breath for a count of four, exhale for four and then count to four before you start again.
  • Grounding techniques — Grounding is another way of focusing on the here and now. Try to focus on the feeling of your chair or the floor underneath you for a few minutes.
  • Moving your body — Getting some movement can help you release feelings of stress and tension in your body. Try going for a quick walk.

At Lightfully, we help our clients understand what drives their stress and anxiety and develop coping skills that really help. Our Precision Care Model (PCM) focuses on four core processes to help you manage your mental health more effectively: your thoughts, feelings, behaviors and relationships. 

Are you looking for a new approach to managing stress and anxiety beyond regular outpatient therapy? We can help. Reach out to our Admissions Concierge Team today.

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