Chronic stress is stress that keeps going for weeks or months, so your body stays on alert instead of settling back to rest. Over time, it can affect your muscles, digestion, sleep, mood, and heart health. It's linked to a higher risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. It's common, and it often improves with steady changes to daily habits and with talk therapy.
Last reviewed October 2026
Maybe you've been telling yourself it's just a busy season. But the busy season started last year, the headaches are now a weekly thing, and you can't remember the last time you felt rested. This article can help you sort out where everyday stress ends and chronic stress begins.
Everyday stress comes and goes. A deadline, a traffic jam, or a hard conversation makes your heart beat faster and your muscles tense. Once it passes, your body settles back to normal (American Psychological Association).
Chronic stress doesn't settle. When stress keeps going for a long time, your muscles stay guarded and your stress hormones stay high, and that wears on your body. Small doses of stress can help you meet a deadline. Long-term stress raises the risk of anxiety, depression, sleep problems, headaches, stomach problems, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke (CAMH).
You're far from alone. In 2023, 22.4% of adults in Canada said most of their days were quite a bit or extremely stressful (Statistics Canada).
Chronic stress often shows up first in your body, then in your mood, thinking, and habits.
If several of these sound familiar and have lasted for weeks, take them seriously. At Trillium, our stress therapists are Registered Social Workers (RSWs) and Registered Psychotherapists (RPs) who help people understand what's driving their stress and find ways to ease it. You can meet them on our stress therapy page.
So if it's this common, why is it so easy to miss?
Chronic stress builds slowly, and your body adapts to it. In what researchers call the resistance stage, you keep going, just with less patience, less focus, and less sleep (StatPearls).
Because you're still getting things done, it's easy to assume you're fine. Many people only notice when they reach the exhaustion stage. That's when fatigue, low mood, anxiety, and a lower tolerance for stress take over (StatPearls).
Waiting has a cost, too. The health risks of long-term stress build over time. That's not a reason to panic, but it is a reason not to brush it off.
Chronic stress overlaps with several other problems, and you can have more than one at the same time.
Only a doctor, nurse practitioner, psychiatrist, or psychologist can diagnose an anxiety disorder or depression. You don't need a label to get support, though.
Not sure if it's stress, anxiety, or burnout? In a free 20-minute consultation, you can share what's been going on, and we'll help you find a therapist who feels like a good fit.
Book a free matching consultSmall, steady changes can lower your everyday stress level. These come from the National Institute of Mental Health's coping guidance (NIMH):
Try one or two for a few weeks before you judge whether they help. Small changes add up.
It may be time to talk to a professional if you're struggling to cope, if your symptoms won't go away, or if stress is getting in the way of everyday life (NIMH). It's also a good time to reach out if you keep feeling overwhelmed, feel hopeless, or have trouble getting through your daily routine (American Psychological Association). Here's a simple way to sort it out:
It can help to bring a few questions to your appointment:
Therapy helps you change both the stress and the way your body and mind respond to it. A review of 29 studies with more than 2,600 healthy adults found that mindfulness-based stress reduction had a large effect on stress. It also had moderate effects on anxiety and depression (Khoury et al., 2015).
You don't need to wait until you're falling apart. Many people start therapy while they're still managing day to day but running on empty. In stress therapy, you'll usually:
Our therapists are Registered Social Workers (RSWs) and Registered Psychotherapists (RPs) who work with long-running stress from work, family, school, and big life changes. When you contact us, our intake team will listen to what you're looking for and help match you with a therapist who feels like a good fit.
You can meet in person in Waterloo or connect online from anywhere in Ontario. You'll find details about fees, insurance, our current team, and what to expect in your first sessions on our stress therapy page.
There's no single official cutoff. Stress is usually called chronic when it keeps going for weeks or months instead of easing once a stressful event passes. What matters most is how long it has lasted and how much it's affecting your health, sleep, work, and relationships.
+ What are the most common symptoms of chronic stress?Common signs include tension headaches, sore muscles, stomach problems, poor sleep, irritability, worry, trouble concentrating, and feeling tired all the time. Many people also notice habit changes, like leaning on caffeine or alcohol or dropping exercise and time with friends.
+ Can chronic stress cause physical symptoms?Yes. Stress affects nearly every system in the body. Chronic stress can lead to muscle pain, trouble sleeping, high blood pressure, and a weaker immune system (American Psychological Association). Ongoing muscle tension is linked to tension headaches, and stress can make stomach pain and bloating worse. Over time, long-term stress raises the risk of heart disease and stroke. See your doctor for new or worsening physical symptoms.
+ What does chronic stress do to cortisol?When you're stressed, your brain signals your adrenal glands to make more cortisol, often called the stress hormone. It gives your body extra energy to deal with a challenge. With chronic stress, the link between your immune system and this stress-hormone system can stop working well. That has been linked to chronic fatigue, metabolic disorders, depression, and immune disorders.
+ Can chronic stress go away on its own?Sometimes it eases when the source of the stress ends, such as after a deadline or a move. If the source isn't going away, or your symptoms continue even when life calms down, it's a good time to make changes and talk to someone.
+ Should I see a doctor or a therapist for chronic stress?Often both. A doctor or nurse practitioner can check for physical causes and treat physical symptoms. A therapist can help you understand what's driving your stress and change the habits and thought patterns that keep it going.
If stress has stopped feeling temporary, you don't have to wait for it to get worse. A therapist can help you understand what's keeping your stress switched on and find steadier ways to cope.
Book a Free ConsultationLearn more about stress therapy at Trillium Counselling →
Call or text 9-8-8, Canada’s Suicide Crisis Helpline. It is free, confidential and open 24 hours a day, every day. In Waterloo Wellington, Here 24/7 answers around the clock at 1-844-437-3247. If someone is in immediate physical danger, call 9-1-1.
Trillium Counselling does not provide crisis services. For non-urgent support, book a free consultation or call 226-752-8857.
About the reviewer — Devon Jorge, MSW, RSW, Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist — Devon is the Clinical Director at Trillium Counselling and a Registered Social Worker who provides psychotherapy to clients. She reviews Trillium's educational articles to help ensure they remain accurate and responsible. Last reviewed in October 2026.
About this article — This article is intended for general education about mental health and the therapy process. It is not a substitute for professional diagnosis, treatment, or individualized mental health advice. If you have concerns about your mental health, please speak with a qualified health professional or contact local crisis services in an emergency.