A groundbreaking study has shed new light on how mental disorders and stress are interlinked.
Published in the Psychological Bulletin, this research has found that people with mental health issues are more likely to encounter stressful situations that they unintentionally contribute to.
This finding is based on a comprehensive review of 95 studies involving over 38,000 participants and spanning three decades of research.
Angela Santee, a graduate student at the University of Rochester, and Katerina Rnic, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of British Columbia, co-led this extensive study.
They discovered that people with mental health conditions, like depression, are more prone to experience ‘dependent’ stressful events.
These are situations partly caused by a person’s actions or characteristics, such as relationship issues or job problems, unlike ‘independent’ stressors that happen regardless of what a person does, like natural disasters.
This idea isn’t entirely new. It was first proposed in 1991 by Constance Hammen from the University of California, Los Angeles, in her stress generation model. This model suggests that certain people, due to their behavior or traits, contribute to the occurrence of stressful events.
However, this new study takes Hammen’s concept further by showing that it’s not just limited to depression but applies across a wide range of mental health disorders.
The team found that people with depression, for instance, might be more prone to arguments or procrastination, leading to more stress in various life areas.
But significantly, this stress generation isn’t just limited to depression. It’s seen across disorders like anxiety, personality disorders, and substance use.
One key takeaway from this research is the realization that we have some control over the stress we face. According to Santee, understanding that we can influence our stress levels could be empowering. We have the ability to shape our worlds to some extent.
The study also points out that dependent stressors can worsen mental health symptoms over time, potentially leading to chronic conditions like persistent depression. This is a crucial finding as it highlights how stress can maintain and exacerbate mental health issues.
So, how can someone break this cycle? The research team embarked on a second meta-analysis to answer this question. They looked at 70 studies to identify risk factors and protective elements in stress generation.
They found that certain personal traits, ineffective emotional regulation, repetitive negative thinking, high personal standards, and a tendency to avoid challenges predict stress generation.
Addressing these factors could be key in treatment strategies, potentially breaking the cycle of stress and mental illness.
This research is a major step forward in understanding the complex relationship between mental health and stress. By identifying these patterns, we can better target interventions to reduce the personal and economic impacts of mental disorders.
The findings suggest that a multi-faceted approach might be necessary, considering the variety of factors contributing to stress generation. It’s a promising direction for future research and treatment in mental health.
If you care about depression, please read studies about how dairy foods may influence depression risk, and B vitamins could help prevent depression and anxiety.
For more information about mental health, please see recent studies that ultra-processed foods may make you feel depressed, and extra-virgin olive oil could reduce depression symptoms.
The research findings can be found in the Psychological Bulletin.
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