National Stress Awareness Day: How Stress Shapes the Body and the Experience of Facial Pain
Understanding stress and why it matters
Today marks National Stress Awareness Day, a time to reflect on how deeply stress affects every part of our lives.
Stress is not only a feeling. It is a physical chain reaction that begins in the brain. When we experience threat or pressure, the body activates the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis, releasing adrenaline and cortisol.
In small doses, this response helps us stay alert and focused. But when stress is constant, it can start to damage the body.
Research published in Nature Reviews Neuroscience (Yuen et al., 2022) shows that long-term stress changes the structure of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex, regions that regulate fear and pain. Another study (McEwen, PNAS, 2020) found that chronic exposure to cortisol increases inflammatory chemicals such as IL-6 and TNF-α, which heighten pain sensitivity and exhaustion.
How stress affects people with trigeminal neuralgia and facial pain
For people living with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) or chronic facial pain, stress can turn discomfort into agony. TN is one of the most severe pain conditions known to medicine. It causes sudden, electric-shock pain across the face, often triggered by touch, wind or even a smile.
Stress does not cause TN, but it can make it far worse.
A 2023 study by Baghaei et al. found that people with TN experience significantly higher anxiety and depression scores than healthy controls. Another neuroimaging study (Zhang et al., NeuroImage, 2018) showed that chronic stress and chronic pain activate the same brain regions, including the insula and thalamus — areas that interpret threat and emotion.
This explains why so many patients describe a two-way loop between stress and pain.
As one TNA UK member put it:
“When I’m stressed, my TN is much worse. It feels like the pain lives off the tension.”
Another told us:
“The pain itself brings on anxiety and stress. It’s exhausting trying to hold it together.”
And another shared:
“Not being who I once was stresses me out. The drugs that help control the pain have taken so much of me away. I am stressed by this every day.”
These are not isolated experiences. They reflect what science confirms: when stress and pain combine, the brain’s alarm system remains switched on, leaving people trapped in a cycle of fear and fatigue.
Breaking the stress and pain cycle
On this National Stress Awareness Day, it is important to remember that managing stress is not self-indulgent; it is treatment.
A review in Frontiers in Neurology (2022) found that mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), controlled breathing and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) all reduce cortisol levels and calm overactive nerve pathways.
These practices do not remove TN, but they reduce flare-ups and give patients a greater sense of control.
At TNA UK, we hear from thousands of people who say the same: stress can make pain unbearable, but even small moments of calm can make a measurable difference. A short walk, mindful breathing, or listening to a relaxation recording can help quieten the body’s alarm system and bring back a sense of self.
A day to understand and act
National Stress Awareness Day is not just another awareness event. It is a call to action.
Every system in the body reacts to stress — from the heart and immune system to the nerves that carry pain. Recognising this link helps us replace misunderstanding with compassion.
For people living with trigeminal neuralgia and facial pain, awareness is essential. Managing stress can ease symptoms, improve sleep, and restore dignity. This is why stress management must be treated as a fundamental part of healthcare, not an optional extra.
Kindness as medicine
‘Stress is not a sign of weakness; it is the body’s signal that something needs care.
When we listen to that signal and act with compassion, we begin to heal more than nerves and tissue. We heal understanding.’ Aneeta Prem
So today, take a moment to breathe and pause.
Calm is not the absence of pressure; it is power under control.
And on this National Stress Awareness Day, that may be the most important lesson of all.
Key Takeaways
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Stress affects the body and brain through the HPA axis.
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People with trigeminal neuralgia and facial pain often experience more severe pain under stress.
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Mindfulness, CBT and breathing therapy can help to reduce symptoms.
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National Stress Awareness Day reminds us that stress management is essential to good health.