Many times we become chronically stressed (cycling, reoccurring, overwhelming feelings and thoughts) because of the systemic barriers: financial, social, and physical. Chronic stress is not something to be ashamed about. We might become chronically stressed because we were never taught how to move through emotions. Or maybe we haven’t learned how to really complete the stress cycle. It’s the result of the system we are in. Let’s work together to reduce the weight of the stress.

When we experience a stressor, such as a change in our environment, relationships, energy level, or resources, we often take all of the feelings we have and stuff them into the deepest closet we can find. But we aren’t completing the stress cycle. We say we’re okay, we react with neutrality, and we move on. But the thing that just happened to us was worth the reaction.

When we actually get to complete the stress cycle, we are taking the energy of disappointment, sadness, anger, disgust, and even happiness and actually doing something about it. We sigh, we cry, we rage, we rant, and we move our bodies in ways that represent how we are truly feeling. Because we don’t do well when our emotions are closeted. Truly nothing goes well in a closet besides that sweater you can never let go of.

It sounds like something that we might give a name to, but no, there is not a disorder around chronic stress. Chronic stress is a symptom that many people across disorders and spectrums have experienced, including but not limited to PTSD, CPTSD, OCD, Anxiety, Depression, Panic Disorder, Autism, ADHD, Bipolar Disorder, BPD, Schizophrenia spectrum disorders, Dissociative spectrum disorders, and more. At the same time, just because you experience chronic stress does not mean that this must be pathologized or that it is a problem.

Yes, chronic stress is often what people come to me for, before naming their stress as identity stress, traumatic stress, or relational stress. Maybe you’re experiencing all three. We might examine what parts of life feel most overwhelming, identify what parts are within our control, and what tangible actions you can take to live a life that feels more balanced.