How Stress Changes Your Personality: The Hidden Psychological Effects of Chronic Stress

Stress is a natural aspect of everyday life, experienced by everyone -- students before exams, parents attempting to juggle an abundance of responsibilities, customers facing time constraints and deadlines. However, when someone is faced with chronic stress, something deeper within them begins to change.

Stress impacts:

Your mood.
Your ability to sleep.
Your personality can change slowly over time.

If you experience any of the following questions, know that you’re not alone in this process of investigating your experiences:

Why am I becoming more irritable than before?
Why am I not enjoying things as much as I used to enjoy them?
Why am I feeling a complete lack of emotion?
Why am I reacting so strongly when small problems arise?

This guide will explore, in detail:

The psychology of personality
The change of perspective that stress can create in your brain
Temporary versus finding long term changes of personality.
The long term effects of chronic stress.
How stress impacts relationships.
The science around stress and personality.
Will my personality return to normal?
How to protect yourself from stress and your identity from being damaged by stress.

Let’s go.

What is Personality?

Your personality is made up of:

Thoughts/ideas
Feelings/emotions
Actions or behaviors
Beliefs/attitude
Patterns of reaction

People in psychology describe personality through the five major classifications of traits called the “Big Five.”

Openness
Conscientiousness
Extroversion
Agreeableness
Neuroticism

Although personality traits are not completely constant and will change over time, they are typically stable. External factors such as an environment, a traumatic experience, and especially chronic stress can cause changes in a person’s personality.

What Are the Different Types of Stress?

Before looking at how stress alters personality, we first need to understand the different types of stress.

1. Acute Stress:

Short-term, temporary and brought on by specific events; acute stress usually goes away after the event has passed (e.g., job interview, exam, public speaking).

2. Chronic Stress:

Long-term, persistent and feels ongoing (may last for months or years); chronic stress can also be caused by the following examples:

Financial difficulties
Conflict in relationships
Continuous pressure from your job
Long-term illness

Personality changes occur from chronic stress.

How Stress Affects Our Brain

To understand how our brain is changed because of stress, we need to look at how stress impacts our brain.

Chronic Stress Impacts The Following Areas Of The Brain:

Amygdala (Fear Center)
Prefrontal Cortex (Decision Making)
Hippocampus (Memory & Learning)

Chronic stress leads to an excess of cortisol, the primary hormone responsible for handling stress, being produced by the body.

Studies conducted by Harvard University show that high cortisol levels for long periods of time will:

Decrease the size of brain structures
Decrease emotional regulation
Increase fear responses
Decrease rational thinking

These changes impact personality traits.

Stress Affects Your Mood

Chronic stress changes how we react to the world around us. One of the first changes we experience is more irritable and quickly angered (short temper and snapping at loved ones, overreacting to small things, and being annoyed all the time)

Stress causes your body to stay in "fight/flight" mode by keeping your nervous system alert and prepare to protect yourself from an actual threat. Small problems would feel like a threat to your corporeal well-being.

Ultimately, an overall state of hyper-vigilance can change an individual who is generally calm to an aggressive person who has low levels for tolerating unacceptable behaviors should they occur.

1. Stress Reduces Your Patience and Your Capacity for Empathy

When you are in chronic stress mode, it takes away any thoughts other than what you need to do to survive.

When an individual becomes overwhelmed with stress, their brain's function prioritizes:

Protecting Yourself
Managing Threats To Yourself or Others
Reducing Discomfort

Due to the focused thoughts on survival, it is difficult to:

Listen Carefully
Have Empathy
Be Emotionally Present

Individuals that were warm and caring may appear distant due to the fact that they no longer have the mental energy available to be present emotionally.

Also, this does not mean that individuals care; it simply means that they are out of gas, or they cannot be aroused until they have rested and been able to re-energise.

Chronic Stress Creates Higher Overall Anxiety and Increased Levels of Neuroticism

2. Neuroticism pertains to emotional instability. Chronic stress correlates to an increase in:

Worry
Fear
Over-thinking
Sensitivity to Criticism
Mood Swings

According to the studies conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health, people that have been exposed to chronic stress for extended periods of time will be more likely to develop traits associated with anxiety.

You may find yourself becoming concerned with:

The Worst-Case Scenario
Constantly Questioning Your Ability
Easily Overwhelmed

Over an extended period of time, your anxiety becomes part of your personality disposition.

4. Lack of motivation and enthusiasm:

Dopamine is the neurotransmitter responsible for motivation, and chronic stress diminishes the amount of dopamine produced.

Examples of these behaviors would be:

Losing interest in your hobbies;
Not being excited about anything;
Losing ambition, or;
Feeling apathetic.

This is common amongst individuals that are going through burnout.

For example, an ambitious person may no longer care about their job, whereas a creative person may feel blocked.

Chronic Stress takes away the mental resources necessary for inspiration.

5. Social Withdrawal/Introvertedness:

Stress can also cause someone to isolate themselves from others.

The reason is that socialising takes energy from us emotionally.

When someone experiences chronic stress for an extended period of time, they may:

Stop seeing their friends;
Cancel on plans;
Prefer to be by themselves;
Feel disconnected from people, etc...

This can also lead to an apparent change in personality (for example, someone's extroverted personality will become withdrawn).

However, the above statement is usually a sign of protective behaviour.

Your body's nervous system has gone into survival mode and is attempting to save as much energy as possible.

6. Increased Control/Perfectionism:

Some people will respond to stress by becoming more controlling.

They may exhibit behaviours, such as:

Obsessing over the smallest details;
Fearing making any mistakes;
Micromanaging others; and/or
Having a difficult time delegating.

The reason for this is because stress increases uncertainty in one's life.

To reduce feelings of anxiety, the brain tries to gain control over as many situations as possible.

7. Emotional Numbness:

In extreme & chronic illness/disease, the brain will decrease the intensity of its emotional level to protect itself.

Emotional numbness may involve things like:

Feeling empty;
Not having any emotional reactions to,
Feeling no joy
Detached from life.

Emotional numbness can also occur when someone has gone through a long period of trauma, severe burnout, etc...

8. Decreased Self-Esteem

Self Doubt Is Increased by Stress.

When Overwhelmed, You Might:

Doubt Yourself
Fear Failure Even More
Avoid Challenges.

The Pre-frontal Cortex is Deteriorated from Long-Term Stress, Which Affects Clear Thinking And Confidence.

Over Time, This Can Lead to a Personality Depression:

The Shift from Self-Confident to Self-Conscious.

Can Stress Cause Permanent Personality Changes?

This is a Very Important Question.

The Short Answer: It Depends.

If You are Experiencing Personality Changes due to Temporary Stress, You Will Likely Recover Once You Reduce the Stress.

But If You are Experiencing Long-Term Major (especially Traumatic) Stress, it is More Likely That You Will Experience Permanent or Irreversible Personality Changes.

Research Conducted by the American Psychological Association Shows That:

Chronic Stress Increases Neuroticism in the Long-Term
Traumatic Stress May Cause Permanent Harm to Emotional Regulation
Healing Through Intervention Is Possible.

The Brain is like Plastic and Can Heal.

However, for Healing to Occur, You Must Reduce Your Exposure to Stressful Situations.

Stress Impacts Relationships

Stress-Induced Personality Change Impact Relationships by Causing:

Increased Arguing.
Emotional Distance.
Decreased Intimacy.
Miscommunication and Misunderstandings.
Defensive Communication.

Partners Will Often Say Things Like "You Have Changed," The Hidden Problem Being Stress. When a Person Feels Unsafe on the Inside, They Have Trouble Displaying Warmth on the Outside.

Identity Crisis And Stress

Long-term stress can lead to the confusion of identity.

Some things you may say to yourself are:

I don’t recognize who I am anymore
I was happier
I don’t know who I am anymore.

What happens is behavior patterns are changed over time by stress.

When a behavior is repeated, it becomes part of your character.

When stress causes you to be defensive, withdrawn or anxious consistently, this becomes part of your identity.

Biological Processes That Cause Change In Personality

The long-term effects of stress on you include:

Hormones such as cortisol
Increased inflammation
Neurotransmitters and their effect on brain function
Sleep cycles
Health of the gut

When you are sleep-deprived, it affects you in the following ways:

Increased irritability
Decreased control over emotions
Increased level of anxiety

Stress also leads to increased levels of inflammation, which is correlated with symptoms of depression.

The way you think, feel, act and behave is influenced by the chemical levels in your brain.

Stress alters these chemical levels.

How Long Will It Take For Stress To Change Your Personality?

There is no time limit on this.

However, years of sustained and unmanaged stress can lead to the following:

Weeks of acute and severe stress → changes in mood
Months of chronic stress → changes in behavior
Years of unrelieved and unmanaged stress → changes in personality

The longer your stress is not managed, the deeper the resulting effects will be.

Signs Of Stress Changing You

Please be on the look out for:

Your reactions to people and things are different
You have been told you are different by the people you love
Feeling tense all the time
You are avoiding things you used to do
You are feeling emotionally disconnected from those you love
You are finding it hard to feel empathy with other people.

The first step to preventing stress from causing a change in personality is awareness of this situation.

Is It Possible for Our Personalities to Go Back to How They Used to Be?

Many people can get back to “normal” regardless of their past.

The Brain has the Ability to Heal it Self.

The brain is Neuroplastic, meaning that it Can:

Improve the Way that We Regulate Our Emotions
Reduce Anxiety/Increased Motivation
Rebuild Our Patience

In order to Recover from Stress You Need to:

Decrease Your Stress Levels
Develop Healthy Ways of Coping with Stress
Improve Your Quality of Sleep
Obtain Emotional Support/Purpose in Life

How to Protect Your Personality from Stress

1. Daily Regulation of Your Nervous System

Deep Breathing
Prayer/Meditation
Light Exercise
Being in Nature

2. Improve Your Sleep

Your brain needs Sleep to repair itself.

7-9 Hours of Sleep each night is a Good Goal.

3. Establish Boundaries

Minimize Your Exposure to Unnecessary Stressors.

4. Strengthen Your Support System

Having social connections will help to Lower Your Stress Level (Cortisol).

5. Seek Professional Help When Needed

Therapy can help prevent Long-Term Damage to Your Personality.

When Should You Seek Professional Help?

If the Following Types of Events Have Occurred, Contact A Mental Health Professional or Your Health care Provider for Professional Help.

Your Personality has Changed – Significantly
Experience Panic Attacks
Feeling Emotionally Numb
Your Relationships are Falling Apart
Experiencing Feelings of Hopelessness

A mental health professional can assist you with the Management and Reduction of your Stress Levels in a Safe Manner.

Stress causes Temporary Reshaping of:

The way you React
Your Mood
The way you Behave

However, Stress does not Define Your True Personality.

Your Personality is much Deeper than Your Reaction to Stress.

The sooner that Stress is Managed, The Easier it is become to Return to Balance.

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