Stress can very much impact how well medications work and often changes how a body responds to drugs. Here is an anatomy of some of the fundamentals of how stress may undermine the efficacy of medication:
Hormonal Responses: At a stress response level, cortisol and adrenaline are released in all persons who are under stress. This hormone improves the hyperacute phase; it causes over-excitation and interaction of multiple tissues and cell organs. These stress hormones in particular can interfere with the liver’s metabolism on drugs, leading to reduced medication effectiveness or an increase in side effects. Thus, a drug, which would otherwise cause a desirable effect, may become ineffective under chronically stressful conditions.
Digestion: Stress can disrupt gut function and absorption of oral medications. Stress can slow down or otherwise disrupt the digestive system, and when it’s not functioning optimally, medication might not be absorbed as efficiently.
Adherence to Medications: Stress can blur a person’s mind and make them forgetful or less motivated. This can sometimes make it difficult for your patient to remember to take their medication, which then results in “non-adherence”, or failure to take medication as prescribed, and ultimately missed doses. This inconsistency may cause an inconvenience to the scheduled treatment and can interfere with the potential positive effects of the medicine and aggravate health maintenance.
Lifestyle alterations: Chronic stress can lead to negative lifestyle habits, which may negatively influence health and medication effectiveness. For example, stress can take its psychological toll, causing people to comfort-eat, reduce how much they exercise or drink more alcohol. Each of these changes in behavior can ripple through to have the potential to make medications that support well-being and stability less effective.
Mental Health Impact: Chronic stress can worsen your pre-existing mental health problems, increasing anxiety and depression, in turn creating its own set of symptoms. Just when people need psychiatric medications to work the most, they can become more variable or less predictable, and many psychiatrists have to walk a difficult tightrope while trying to stabilize patients affected by the pandemic. You might have previously been doing well on your medicines, but the drugs appear not to be as effective as stress gains the upper hand.
Stress management is key to preventing these effects. Healthy ways of coping — such as regular exercise, mind-body techniques such as those found in meditation, therapy, or social connection — can have incredibly powerful effects on your well-being. Dealing with stress is not just good for mental health; it can also make drugs work better. There’s certainly a significant relationship between stress and medication, and dealing with a healthcare professional is critical for personalized coaching and support.
Sources:
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/stress
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-is-cortisol
https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/how-calm-anxious-stomach-brain-gut-connection
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/protect-your-brain-from-stress
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_eating
https://ccaps.umn.edu/story/11-ways-too-much-stress-can-impact-your-health
https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/healthtips/7-tips-to-avoid-stress/
https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/stress-management
https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/body
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22173744/