Can stress cause you to lose your mind?

Question

Is it permanent?

Answer 1

There are various kinds of stress. Eustress, for example, is unlikely to lead to "losing one's mind." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eustress

The negative type of stress, however, is a causal factor in the development of mental and physical illness; this is a clinically supported fact. There are affective (mood) disorders and anxiety disorders (for example, post-traumatic stress disorder). Mood disorders such as depression involve a clinically significant excess of distress, whereas others such as bipolar disorder involve excessive mood instability.

Mental illness often results from the interaction between genetic predisposition and environmental stressors. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diathesis-stress_model

Mental illness can be treated by psychiatrists and psychologists. Also, persons can obtain stress management counselling to prevent the development of mental illness. Neither mental illness nor stress are necessarily permanent, but they can be. It depends on whether the person has a disorder and what the disorder is.

Answer 2

Stress can certainly make you feel like you're losing your mind! Stress can cause so many different illnesses as well as depression and anxiety. I think if you already have a mental illness, stress could certainly push you over the edge but I don't think it would be permanent. We live in a very stressful world and everyone needs to find a way to destress daily to stay sane and healthy.

Answer 3

It caused me to lose my appetite which led to several health problems, some effects of which are permanent. I can also attribute stress to some of my drinking problem, which before treatment, caused some serious non repairable damage. Some people would say you have lost your mind when you won't eat and drink too much. I can't blame it all on stress but changing my lifestyle to a less stressful one has helped me deal with the eating disorder and my drinking problem.

Answer 4

Stress can cause you to lose your mind and your health too. It is probably not permanent, but you need to figure out how to reduce the stress in your life if you are worried about losing your mind.

Answer 5

These are words, stress and losing your mind are phrases which don't really grasp mental landscapes.

I don't think stress will make you crazy, I think someone who's spiritually ill due to a lack of following Divine Law will slip into painful head spaces.

I believe Divine Law is sort of about love... and being helpful, being selfless and praying for help from the heavens. Emotional health is spiritual health.

Answer 6

Too much stress can cause you to lose your mind, but most of the time it's temporary. The person needs to get a chance to relax after the nervous breakdown.

Answer 7

It can be permanent. If you don't learn how to control that stress, it can get even worse than that. Some stress is good for you, then there is the stress that is not. This type of stress, you mention here is not.

Answer 8

I'm not sure if it can cause you to lose your mind, but prolonged stress over a long period of time can cause a nervous breakdown.

Answer 9

No,but it can cause you to lose your hair. I guess if someone is so stressed it could cause them to lose their mind.

Answer 10

Yes..and it depends on how stressed out you are.