Stress (stress) can worsen psychiatric disorders such as depression and may also increase the risk of dementia, suggesting that there may be common mechanisms for the development of stress-induced emotional and cognitive impairment. Recently, Canadian scholars published a review to explore whether anxiety damages the brain and to elaborate on potential mechanisms underlying the association between stress and neuropsychiatric disorders. Recent studies have shown that anxiety disorders are associated with altered neural circuits of fear, such as amplified “bottom-up” response pathways in the amygdala used to cope with threat, and impaired modulation of these pathways in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus. Similarly, chronic stress enhances amygdala function and alters fear neural circuits, while causing degeneration of PFC and hippocampal structures, thereby inhibiting PFC/hippocampal control of the stress response. Medications (e.g., antidepressants) and non-pharmacological interventions (cognitive behavioral therapy, exercise) may partially reverse stress-induced brain damage. Mood stabilizer lithium, antidepressant medication and physical exercise all increase hippocampal neurogenesis. Integrators of functional amygdala-PFC connections may be normalized after treatment of depression with antidepressants. Application of selective 5-hydroxytryptamine reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) in elderly patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) increases functional connectivity between attention-related dorsolateral prefrontal (dlPFC), ventral lateral prefrontal (vlPFC) and parietal regions. In addition, cognitive-behavioral treatment of anxiety disorders decreases amygdala reactivity and increases activity in PFC regions. Positive thinking training for patients with GAD can alter amygdala-PFC connections; simple cognitive coaching for children with math anxiety not only reduces anxiety but also decreases amygdala reactivity. In conclusion, chronic stress increases the risk of developing serious mental illnesses (e.g., depression) and has recently been linked to the onset of dementia. The underlying mechanism may be that stress increases amygdala activity, but stress also causes structural degeneration of the hippocampus and PFC, which in turn leads to impaired emotion regulation and cognition. It is clear that pathological anxiety or stress can damage the brain, but this damage may be (partially) reversed with pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. Whether anxiolytic interventions reduce the risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders needs to be verified in longitudinal studies.