Contents
Stress is a psychological, emotional and physical overload. The fact that each person experiences stress differently makes it difficult to classify and unify the disorder. Its sources can be both external and internal factors, and the reaction to stress is determined by the personal qualities of a person, his state of health, life experience, the ability to adapt and resist conflict situations.
The effects of stress can be very different. From a weakened immune system to an exacerbation of the symptoms of autoimmune diseases, the development of ulcers, diabetes and many other ailments. Sometimes shocks are even beneficial for a person, but if such a state drags on for a long time, one should be prepared for the consequences. So what is stress, how to protect yourself from it, and should we always be afraid of it?
What is stress
Stress is a natural psychological reaction to the negative impact of external and / or internal factors. When we talk about stress today, we usually mean its negative impact on the body. Nevertheless, any events that occur in a person’s life are not always bad. In the course of evolution, it was they who helped the ancient man to survive.
During a stressful situation, adrenaline and norepinephrine are released in our bodies, which accelerates the pulse and breathing rate, pupils dilate, and muscles fill with oxygen-enriched blood. Simply put, the body is rebuilt in a defensive mode in seconds. In this state, a person is in maximum readiness to fight or to escape from a source of threat. That is, stress helped primitive people to cope with dangerous situations more easily. Depending on the level of danger, stress can manifest itself in different intensity: from mild with almost imperceptible symptoms to very strong, when the reactions of the body can be more serious.
For a modern person, stress can also be beneficial. As in ancient times, a stressful situation helps to cope with dangers and quickly, almost instinctively, find a way out of the “impasse”. In addition, stress makes our life more interesting. Such situations motivate to action. As an example of the benefits of stress, an exam can be cited when, in a state of shock, the student recalls everything that has been studied recently.
The effect of stress is also used by people for entertainment. Think of the amusement parks and the great crowd of people who want to experience the thrill of bungee, roller coaster or skydiving. All these entertainments would lose their peculiarity if it were not for the body’s reaction to stress.
But in the course of evolution, not only the person has changed, but also the factors that cause emotional overstrain. Nowadays, most stressful situations do not arise from sudden external threats, but as a result of long-term negative effects on the human psyche that we experience in everyday life. In modern stress, external and internal factors are closely related. More precisely, this is how we perceive the situation, because our modern life is often accompanied by emotional exhaustion, when there is chronic fatigue, an unhealthy lifestyle, bad habits, etc. Most of the problems of a modern person are related to work, study, family, health and other difficult situations, which, in fact, do not constitute a direct physical threat, however, keep us in suspense for a long time. Such a state can drag on for days, weeks and months, and our body, despite all the evolutionary changes, has not been able to adapt to such prolonged stress, which experts call chronic. And it is chronic stress that is the most dangerous, as it often causes irreparable damage to health.
Phases of stress
It is customary to distinguish 3 phases of voltage.
The first or initial phase is anxiety. It is manifested by surprise and anxiety caused by a new situation for a person. This phase takes place in two stages. The first is shock, when a person realizes his inability to withstand a new situation. The second step is to resist the shock. At this time, a person makes the first efforts to defend himself, using methods known to him.
The second phase of a stressful situation is adaptation. At this stage, the body has already learned how to cope with stress effectively without undue consequences for itself.
The third phase is exhaustion. It occurs if the stressful situation is still ongoing, moreover, it is accompanied by constant negative emotions and complete disappointment. In this phase, a person reaches a peak point and loses the ability to resist the stressor, begins to show destructive behavior. At this stage, the physiological failure of the body begins (psychosomatic diseases may occur), emotional compensation is lost when the world appears in gray colors. A person concentrates only on the problem, does not see a way out of the situation, perception narrows.
stress symptoms
The fact that a person is in a stressful state can be recognized by different symptoms – everyone has their own. But there is a certain set of signs that appear most often. Some of these symptoms are visible at the initial stage of shock, others are the consequences of chronic stress.
Physiological reactions:
- low immunity;
- increased sensitivity to stimuli;
- chills;
- allergic manifestations;
- problems with the digestive system (nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation);
- arthritis;
- muscle pain;
- migraine;
- cardiovascular disorders (tachycardia, arrhythmia, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack);
- disorders of the respiratory system (shortness of breath, cough).
Emotional and behavioral reactions:
- fear;
- anxiety;
- disappointment;
- mistrust;
- irritability;
- impatience;
- apathy;
- low self-esteem;
- emotional instability;
- pessimism;
- tearfulness;
- anger and unmotivated aggression;
- impulsiveness;
- stuttering;
- silence or talkativeness;
- sleep disturbance;
- nervous tics;
- emotional chill.
Cognitive reactions:
- violation of concentration;
- memory problems;
- lack of coordination;
- fear of making decisions;
- feeling of helplessness;
- clouding of consciousness;
- irrational thinking.
Impact of stress
As mentioned above, stress can also be positive, motivating a person to take active and effective actions. However, its prolonged influence has negative consequences both on the psyche and on the functioning of the body as a whole. The impact of stress on the human body can be of several types.
Temporary impact is short-term and usually reversible stress. It can cause mild discomfort. As a rule, under the influence of short-term stress, a person’s pulse accelerates, the skin of the face turns red, sweating appears, the muscles of the neck and face tighten, and the jaws tighten.
Long-term influence is when the tension, although moderate, continues for a long time. As a result, this leads to the depletion of the body’s resources. And already in this case, the work of the hormonal, cardiovascular and nervous systems is disrupted. Often, pathological changes are found in the results of laboratory and instrumental studies. For example, a violation of fat and carbohydrate metabolism, a hormonal shift in sex hormones, thyroid hormones and adrenal glands.
Why is chronic stress dangerous?
Each person reacts differently to emotional stress. Some people, against the background of increased psychological sensitivity, experience sleep disturbances, memory impairment and a decrease in concentration, the work of the cardiovascular system and the gastrointestinal tract is disrupted. But sometimes there may be unexpressed and non-specific symptoms – loss of appetite, mood instability, irritability increases. Don’t underestimate them either. Moreover, at this stage it is still quite possible to help yourself. If you allow stress to become part of your habitual life, then sooner or later psychosomatic illnesses will begin and the quality of life will decrease. Sometimes stress requires payment immediately, sometimes after a few years.
Researchers say that approximately 80% of the diseases that arose against the background of stressful situations affect the immune system. The reason is that in a state of chronic tension in the body, the hormone cortisol is almost continuously produced, while the number of white blood cells decreases. Subsequently, this weakens the body’s ability to produce antibodies. Long-term production of cortisol leads to a decrease in the body’s sensitivity to this hormone. In such cases, the immune system does not receive danger signals, and therefore does not respond. However, the body feels in danger and begins to unconsciously fight with its own cells.
People who have problems at work or in the family are more likely to suffer from various viral, bacterial or fungal infections. In addition, their body reacts worse to vaccination. More and more modern research confirms that people in a state of chronic stress are more prone to cancer. For example, Swedish researchers have shown that stress increases the risk of developing breast cancer.
Chronic stress also often triggers or exacerbates the symptoms of autoimmune diseases. Against the background of chronic emotional overstrain, diabetes mellitus, autoimmune thyroid diseases, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, eczema, and rheumatoid arthritis often occur.
Stress is a very insidious condition. Physiological changes in this pathological condition occur in those organs and systems of the body that are most sensitive to high levels of stress hormones. For many, it is the cardiovascular system. Doctors say they are increasingly being diagnosed with so-called broken heart syndrome. Its symptoms are very similar to a heart attack (even the ECG looks identical in both cases), although these are two different conditions. Unlike infarction, these patients do not have stenosis or occlusion of the coronary artery. But this condition is very dangerous. As a rule, relief for patients with a “broken heart” comes within a few days, although such a shock does not always end without consequences for the cardiosystem. In a state of stress, a huge amount of adrenaline enters the bloodstream, sometimes in a 30-fold amount (this happens, for example, due to the death of a loved one, an accident, a robbery, etc.). In this state, the flow of calcium into the cells of the heart muscle is blocked and in this area it stops contracting. After the stressor is eliminated, the patient’s condition improves. But there are times when strong tension ends in a heart attack with a fatal outcome.
Sources of Chronic Stress
Chronic stress is caused by a series of situations that build up one on another, or long-term troubles that cause irritation and nervousness. So what are the most common causes of chronic stress?
Health problems
Prolonged or incurable illness is a significant source of stress. People who suffer from diabetes or cancer, for example, experience intense physical stress. But in addition, they have an emotional reaction even to minor life events, which further complicates their condition, as well as treatment and rehabilitation.
This group of problems, according to researchers, ranks second in the list of the most serious stressors of our time. For many, work brings physical and emotional exhaustion. The requirements of employers for subordinates all over the world are constantly growing, the time for rest is constantly being shortened. Often at work you have to communicate with people whom in ordinary life a person tries to avoid. Yes, and a friendly team is rather an exception to the rule, which also does not add to the pleasure of going to work. And meanwhile, it is in the team that you have to spend most of the day. Many people experience stress because of dissatisfaction with work, if it is boring or requires constant tension and increased concentration. As a result, even during non-working hours, it can be difficult for a person to relax, he continues to think about work, experience events and emotions transferred during working hours, and as a result, he falls into the trap of chronic stress.
By the way, European researchers have compiled a list of professions that most often lead to stress. They are a teacher, a doctor, a nurse, a journalist, a social worker, a driver, a police officer and a prison guard. And according to research conducted by Swedish scientists, heart attacks in the workplace most often occur on Mondays.
However, stress can arise not only because of too hard work, but also because of its absence. And as the researchers say, the stress due to unemployment with the same frequency happens both among residents of poor countries and fully developed ones.
Окружающая среда
Some people are forced to live in adverse conditions, and this fact also causes them chronic overexertion. First of all, this applies to residents of megacities. Very large cities are always noisy, the air is polluted, and crime rates tend to be very high. Because of these factors, a person is constantly in a state of increased stress. Even more stress is aggravated by the realization that you can’t influence the situation on your own.
Loneliness
Man is a social being, and most of us endure loneliness rather badly. Feelings of exclusion, lack of belonging and rapport are increasingly common causes of stress. In modern society, many live on the principle that you can only rely on yourself. Loneliness and the tension associated with it is becoming an increasingly serious social problem of our time.
Internal conflicts
In fact, it’s a pretty significant source of stress. If a person is forced to do something that is contrary to his beliefs, he experiences tension, and in most cases it is quite strong. It is often against the background of such stressors that people develop various psychological and physiological disorders.
Suppression of emotions
Another danger to the human body is long-term suppression of emotions. According to the observations of experts, the most severe stress occurs if you hold back anger, despair and guilt for a long time. And if we are already talking about emotional sources of overstrain, then we cannot fail to mention low self-esteem. This factor also often introduces people into a stressful state.
Long term worries
Long-term anxiety due to one’s own problems or constant anxiety about loved ones lead to the fact that a person falls into the trap of chronic stress. This can happen to anyone who tends to see the problems of loved ones exaggerated. In such situations, a person usually experiences helplessness: he sees the problem, for him it seems extremely serious, but he cannot do anything.
Life situation changes
Job change, moving, illness or death of a loved one, divorce, marriage or the birth of a child – all this also puts a person in a state of emotional stress. These and other events that affect the course of life are unsettling. Now a person must adapt to new conditions, build his life according to a new scheme, adapt to a new reality, and all this is usually accompanied by experiences and increased physical activity, that is, stress.
How to deal with stress
Modern life is such that it is impossible to completely protect yourself from stress. However, there are methods by which shocks can be mitigated. Experts advise people who are exposed to stressful situations to learn how to relax and rest more, play sports, sleep well, think positively and try to disengage from unpleasant thoughts, choose the most suitable relaxation methods for themselves. It can be yoga, music therapy, aromatherapy, breathing exercises or dancing. And psychologists advise to believe in yourself. This banal, at first glance, advice can bring many benefits and make a person more stress-resistant. And of course, do not ignore the help of people close to you. It is important to note that when the situation of stress drags on and you feel prolonged emotional discomfort, especially if psychosomatic reactions of the body have appeared, immediately consult a psychotherapist.
Sometimes it is enough just to talk to someone to calm down and look at the problem with different eyes.
Remember, stress happens to everyone. But it depends only on you how your struggle will end and who will win whom: stress – you or you – him. We prefer the second option. And you?