Stress
Stress is the body’s natural reaction to changes in an environment or difficult experiences. When a person experiences a stressful situation, their body’s “fight-or-flight” system activates and increases the production of cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones increase brain activity, alertness, and productivity, but also cause excessive sweating and jitters. Everyone gets stressed sometimes, so having a moderate amount of stress is normal; it only becomes an issue when stress is chronic and stressful situations are constant. Chronic stress comes with all sorts of negative physical and mental health effects, including poor sleep, headaches, frequent nausea, chest pains, anxiety and depression.
Stress is often conceptualized as a pure negative given how uncomfortable it is to feel stressed out. However, there is such a thing as good stress, or rather, situations where stress can be a good thing. Good stress has the same physical effects as bad stress with an actual goal to channel the excess adrenaline and cortisol towards. This is the type of stress that allows people to work extra hard to meet a deadline or study for an exam.
Stroke
A stroke occurs when blood is prevented from reaching the brain, depriving it of oxygen and essential nutrients. There are two main types of strokes: ischemic and hemorrhagic. Ischemic strokes account for around 85% of all recorded strokes, and they happen when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel in the brain. This stops blood from passing through the vessel and deprives the brain of oxygen as a result. Hemorrhagic strokes occur when a blood vessel in the brain bursts. The resulting blood can put undue pressure on the areas surrounding the vessel, damaging the entire brain as a result.
Strokes are the second leading cause of death in the world, but even if they don’t kill, they can have lasting consequences. Only a couple of minutes without oxygen in the brain can lead to permanent brain damage or loss of feeling in the limbs. With how dangerous strokes can be, it is extremely important to seek medical attention if there is any indication that a loved one is experiencing one. Signs of a stroke include sudden lateral numbness in face, limbs, and body, partial or complete blindness, difficulty speaking, loss of coordination, and intense headaches with no known origin.
Substance
A substance is anything that can be consumed, injected, inhaled, or otherwise absorbed into the body that has psychoactive (affecting a person’s mood, behavior, or thought patterns) effects. Substances can be legal or illicit, natural or synthesized. Common substances include caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, amphetamines, and opioids. Substances are not necessarily drugs even though the terms are often used synonymously, as there are other things that have psychoactive effects on the brain.
Substance Abuse Disorder
Substance use disorder (SUD), formerly known as drug addiction, is characterized by the inability to self-regulate substance use. Substances that can be responsible for SUD include caffeine, alcohol, stimulants, and opioids. Of these substances, alcohol is the most common cause of SUD due to its legality, and opioids are the most fatal given the high mortality rate of opioid overdoses.
Many substances that can cause substance use disorder work by forcing the release of dopamine, the brain’s feel-good chemical. The feeling granted by releasing dopamine only lasts a short while, which incentivizes the frequent use of the feel-good substance. This results in a cycle of taking substances to chase the dopamine releases, and then taking more to avoid the discomfort of the comedown. People caught in this cycle will often begin deprioritizing their health, relationships, and finances to get more of the substance they’re addicted to.