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How Stress Affects Your Brain (and Even Your Genes)

A soft, watercolor-style infographic titled “How Stress Affects Your Brain (and Even Your Genes).” It shows a human head with a highlighted brain (amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex) and explains that ongoing stress can increase anxiety, make it harder to focus, and disrupt emotional regulation. A side illustration of a pregnant person notes that stress can begin affecting brain development before birth and may influence gene expression. The bottom section emphasizes hope, stating that the brain is always changing and healing is possible, and includes simple stress-management strategies such as rest, going outside, deep breathing, reaching out to others, and talking to a therapist. The handle @calmcollectivetherapy appears in the bottom right corner.
A graphic depicting the many ways that stress can affect the body.

Stress is a normal part of being human. In small doses, it can help us stay alert, focused, and motivated. But when stress becomes chronic, it doesn’t just affect how we feel, it can actually change how the brain functions, and even how our genes are expressed.


What Stress Does to the Brain


When you experience stress, your body activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, releasing stress hormones like cortisol. This response is designed to protect you in the short term, but over time, it can take a toll.


Chronic stress has been linked to:

  • Changes in brain structure, particularly in areas like the hippocampus (memory) and prefrontal cortex (decision-making)

  • Increased activity in the amygdala, the brain’s fear center

  • Reduced ability to regulate emotions and attention


Research suggests that prolonged exposure to stress hormones can disrupt neural connections and alter how the brain processes information and emotion. Over time, this may increase vulnerability to anxiety, depression, and cognitive difficulties (McEwen, 2007; Lupien et al., 2009).


Stress Can Shape the Brain - Even Before Birth


Stress doesn’t only affect us after we’re born, it can begin shaping the brain during pregnancy.


Studies show that maternal stress can influence fetal brain development through biological pathways such as stress hormones and inflammation. When a pregnant person experiences chronic stress, cortisol can cross the placenta and affect the developing fetus (Van den Bergh et al., 2017). This exposure has been associated with differences in emotional regulation, attention, and stress reactivity in children later in life (O’Donnell & Meaney, 2017)


One of the key ways this happens is through something called epigenetics. Epigenetics doesn’t change your DNA itself. Instead, it affects how certain genes are turned “on” or “off” - almost like adjusting a set of biological switches based on the environment.


Research suggests that stress during pregnancy can lead to these kinds of changes in genes involved in the body’s stress response (Meaney, 2010; Monk et al., 2016). For example, stress can influence how genes related to cortisol are regulated, which may shape how reactive or sensitive someone’s stress system becomes over time.


In this way, stress can leave lasting biological “imprints” on the developing brain and body. These changes aren’t permanent or deterministic, but they can influence how someone experiences and responds to stress across their lifespan.


What To Do To Manage Stress


Even though stress can shape the brain, the brain is always capable of change. Even when stress begins early, supportive environments, stable relationships, and therapeutic interventions can help buffer its effects and promote resilience (Shonkoff et al., 2012).


Here are a few small, yet meaningful ways to support your nervous system:


  • Get consistent, quality sleep when you can

  • Practice slow breathing or grounding exercises

  • Stay connected to safe, supportive people

  • Reach out for professional support if needed


Often times, we end up becoming frustrated with ourselves when we feel stressed out, overwhelmed, reactive, or exhausted. Here's a friendly reminder from us to you that your brain, and the parts of you that are expressing all of this overwhelm and exhaustion, isn't working against you.


It’s trying to protect you.


And with time, support, and patience, these parts of you can learn a new way to feel safe again.



References


  • McEwen, B. S. (2007). Physiology and neurobiology of stress and adaptation. Physiological Reviews, 87(3), 873–904.

  • Lupien, S. J., et al. (2009). Effects of stress throughout the lifespan on the brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 10(6), 434–445.

  • Van den Bergh, B. R. H., et al. (2017). Prenatal developmental origins of behavior and mental health. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 117, 26–64.

  • O’Donnell, K. J., & Meaney, M. J. (2017). Fetal origins of mental health. American Journal of Psychiatry, 174(4), 319–328.

  • Meaney, M. J. (2010). Epigenetics and the biological definition of gene × environment interactions. Child Development, 81(1), 41–79.

  • Monk, C., et al. (2016). Epigenetic mechanisms underlying the effects of stress during pregnancy. Neuropsychopharmacology, 41(1), 181–189.

  • Shonkoff, J. P., et al. (2012). The lifelong effects of early childhood adversity and toxic stress. Pediatrics, 129(1), e232–e246.

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