“Doing something that is productive is a great way to alleviate emotional stress. Get your mind doing something that is productive.” —Ziggy Marley.
DEFINITION
Stress is any uncomfortable “emotional experience accompanied by predictable biochemical, physiological and behavioural changes.”.Some stress can be beneficial at times, producing a boost that provides the drive and energy to help people get through situations like exams or work deadlines. However, an extreme amount of stress can have health consequences and adversely affect the immune, cardiovascular, neuroendocrine and central nervous systems.Stress means different things to different people. What causes stress in one person may be of little concern to another. Some people are better able to handle stress than others. And, not all stress is bad. In small doses, stress can help you accomplish tasks and prevent you from getting hurt. Our bodies are designed to handle small doses of stress. But, we are not equipped to handle long-term, chronic stress without ill consequences.
How stress harms your health:
An extreme amount of stress can take a severe emotional toll. While people can overcome minor episodes of stress by tapping into their body’s natural defences to adapt to changing situations, excessive chronic stress, which is constant and persists over an extended period of time, can be psychologically and physically debilitating.Unlike everyday stressors, which can be managed with healthy stress management behaviours, untreated chronic stress can result in serious health conditions including anxiety, insomnia, muscle pain, high blood pressure and a weakened immune system. Research shows that stress can contribute to the development of major illnesses, such as heart disease, depression and obesity. Some studies have even suggested that unhealthy chronic stress management, such as overeating “comfort” foods, has contributed to the growing obesity epidemic.Chronic stress can occur in response to everday stressors that are ignored or poorly managed, as well as to exposure to traumatic events. The consequences of chronic stress are serious, particularly as it contributes to anxiety and depression. People who suffer from depression and anxiety are at twice the risk for heart disease than people without these conditions. Additionally, research has shown that there is an association between both acute and chronic stress and a person’s abuse of addictive substances.
Scenario:About 89% of the population in India say they are suffering from stress compared to the global average of 86%. Nearly 75% of respondents here do not feel comfortable talking to a medical professional about their stress and cite cost as one of the barrier,
Symptoms of stress:Stress can affect all aspects of your life, including your emotions, behaviors, thinking ability, and physical health. No part of the body is immune. But, because people handle stress differently, symptoms of stress can vary.Its broadly classified in to 3 zones.
1.Emotional symptoms of stress include:
Becoming easily agitated, frustrated, and moody
Feeling overwhelmed, like you are losing control or need to take control
Having difficulty relaxing and quieting your mind
Feeling bad about yourself (low self-esteem), lonely, worthless, and depressed
Avoiding others
2,Physical symptoms of stress include:
Low energy
headache
upset stomach, including and nausea
Aches, pains, and tense muscles
Chest pain and rapid heartbeat
insominia
Frequent cold and infections
Loss of sexual desire and/or ability
Nervousness and shaking,ringing of ears cold or sweaty hands and feet
Dry mouth and difficulty swallowing
Clenched jaw and grinding teeth
3.Cognitive symptoms of stress include:
Constant worrying.
Racing thoughts
Forgetfulness and disorganization
Inability to focus
Poor judgment
Being pessimistic or seeing only the negative side.
Coping Mechanisim:
Susan Folkman and Richard Lazarus define coping as “constantly changing cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as taxing”. coping is an activity we do to seek and apply solutions to stressful situations or problems that emerge because of our stressors. Actually, the term “coping” is more associated with “reactive coping”, because in general, we see coping as a response to a stressor. On the other hand, there’s also what we call “proactive coping”, wherein the coping response is aimed at preventing a possible encounter with a future stressor coping mechanism are brought about by a person’s conscious minds, it doesn’t mean that all of them bring about positive coping; there are some types of coping mechanisms which are maladaptive. Other psychologists say that maladaptive coping is also synonymous to “non-coping”, since a person who responds to a stressor using a coping mechanism but isn’t able to positively ward off the stressor or solve the stressful situation hasn’t coped with the stress at all.
Types of Coping Strategies: psychologists and researchers have identified about 400 to 600 coping strategies, and yet there are so many other potential coping strategies that are still under research.
One of the recognized groupings of coping strategies is that which was written in the psychology textbook by Weiten, which includes
1.The appraisal-focused strategies are those coping mechanisms which involve the change of mindset or a revision of thoughts. Denial is the most common coping mechanism under this category.
2.The problem-focused strategies are those that modify the behaviour of the person. A good example of this is learning how to cook a family dinner upon knowing that your spouse’s family would come over your house this weekend.
3.The emotion-focused strategies include the alteration of one’s emotions to tolerate or eliminate the stress. Examples include distraction, meditation, and relaxation techniques.
Many psychologists also contributed in the study of coping mechanisms by grouping mechanisms or strategies according to their manifestations and purposes. In general, here are the general classifications of coping mechanisms:
Defenses – the unconscious ways of coping stress. Examples: reaction formation, regression
Adaptive -tolerates the stress. Examples: altruism, symbolization
Avoidance -keeps self away from the stress. Examples: denial, dissociation, fantasy, passive aggression, reaction formation.
Attack – diverts one’s consciousness to a person or group of individuals other than the stressor or the stressful situation. Examples: displacement, emotionality, projection.
Behavioural – modifies the way we act in order to minimize or eradicate the stress. Examples: compensation, sublimation, undoing.
Cognitive – alters the way we think so that stress is reduced or removed. Examples: compartmentalization, intellectualization, rationalization, repression, suppression.
Self-harm – intends to harm self as a response to stress. Examples: introjections, self-harming
Conversion – changes one thought, behaviour or emotion into another. Example: somatisation.
Improving lifestyle and behavioural choices are essential steps toward increasing overall health and avoiding chronic stress. The key to managing stress is recognizing and changing the behaviour that cause it, but changing your behaviour can be challenging.Taking one small step to reduce your stress and improve your emotional health, such as going on a daily walk, can have a beneficial effect. Being active is a small but powerful change you can make to manage stress. Physical activity increases your body’s production of feel-good endorphins, a type of neurotransmitter in the brain, and helps in treating mild forms of depression and anxiety. In addition, eating a healthy diet and enhancing both the amount and quality of your sleep may be beneficial. But remember, if a high stress level continues for a long period of time, or if potential problems from stress continue to interfere with activities of daily living, it is important to reach out to a mental health professional, such as a psychologist. Research has shown that chronic stress can be treated with appropriate interventions such as lifestyle and behaviour change, therapy, and in some situations, medication. A psychologist can help you overcome the barriers that are stopping you from living a healthy life, manage stress effectively and help identify behaviours and situations that are contributing to your consistently high stress level….
Stress is the trash of modern life we all generate it but if you don’t dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life. – Danzae Pace
