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Chronic Stress Effects

Meaning

Chronic stress effects represent the enduring physiological and psychological adaptations that arise from prolonged activation of the body’s stress response systems, primarily involving the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic nervous system. This sustained engagement leads to a state of allostatic load, where the body’s efforts to adapt to chronic stressors result in cumulative wear and tear on various organ systems rather than a return to baseline.