Mental Health Expert Colleen Marshall Reveals What Prolonged Stress Can Do to Your Body

We all feel stressed from time to time—tight deadlines, personal responsibilities, the occasional sleepless night. But when stress becomes a constant, unrelenting part of life, it doesn’t just mess with your mind—it can have profound effects on your body, too.

Mental health expert Colleen Marshall, a licensed marriage and family therapist based in California, recently explained how prolonged stress can wreak havoc on physical health in ways most of us never even consider.

We’re not just talking about the occasional pressure from a busy day. This is the kind of stress that lingers for days or even weeks, building up without giving your body a break. And once it takes hold, both you and the people around you may start to notice significant changes—some subtle, others more dramatic.

The Visible and Invisible Signs of Chronic Stress

Marshall notes that chronic stress manifests physically in a variety of ways. Among the most common symptoms are:

• Breakouts or worsening of skin conditions like acne

• Weight fluctuations—either loss or gain

• Frequent headaches

• Difficulty sleeping

• Mood swings and irritability

But there’s one unexpected effect of stress that might catch you by surprise: your hair turning grey—or even white.

Yes, you read that right.

How Stress Affects Your Hair

Marshall points out that high stress levels trigger the release of norepinephrine, a chemical associated with the body’s fight-or-flight response. This compound, along with stress hormones like cortisol, floods your system when you’re under constant pressure.

This hormonal surge can cause melanocyte stem cells—the cells responsible for giving your hair its color—to become depleted or damaged. Once these cells die and can’t regenerate, your hair may begin to turn grey or white, sometimes in a surprisingly short time frame.

You might think this transformation takes months or even years, but research suggests that changes at the cellular level can begin in as little as five days under intense stress.

What the Research Says

Recent studies, including experiments conducted on mice, reveal just how swiftly stress can impact hair pigmentation. In one study, researchers isolated mice and subjected them to extreme emotional distress. Within a matter of days, the mice’s fur began turning grey. This was due to a rapid loss of their pigment-producing stem cells.

Humans, of course, have a longer hair cycle than mice, so changes may not be noticeable right away. But the mechanism is the same, and depending on your age, health, genetics, and the severity of the stress, you might start to see strands of grey sooner than expected.

Other Physical Symptoms of Stress

Grey hair is far from the only unusual side effect of prolonged stress. According to Marshall, people may also experience:

• Flare-ups of eczema, psoriasis, or other skin issues

• Brittle nails that crack or peel easily

• Digestive problems or changes in appetite

• General feelings of fatigue or low energy

In more serious cases, stress can contribute to or exacerbate autoimmune conditions. For example, some individuals predisposed to alopecia (a condition causing hair loss) may experience sudden and noticeable hair shedding during or after intense periods of emotional turmoil.

One individual even shared how a single month of extreme stress led to patches of hair loss that they had never experienced before. Another reported noticing white hairs and significant changes in their appearance after living under chronic stress for several years.

Why It’s Important to Pay Attention

The takeaway? Stress isn’t just “in your head.” It’s a full-body experience that can alter your appearance, weaken your immune system, and disturb your overall well-being. It’s crucial to recognize the signs early and seek out healthy ways to manage and reduce stress, whether that’s through therapy, lifestyle changes, or even small daily habits like deep breathing, meditation, or simply getting outside for a walk.

Ignoring stress doesn’t make it go away—it just gives it more power to affect your body in ways you might not expect.