Kinds of Stress
It seems like stress is just an unavoidable part of today’s fast-paced, competitive world. But is it really? Stress is the body’s instinctive response to external environmental cues, as well as to one’s inner thoughts and feelings. It is how you react to perceived danger — the “fight or flight” response, for example. But you do have some control over how stress operates in your life. Below.
Types of Stress
1. Distress
1.1 Episodic Acute stress Stress which affects those who suffer from Acute stress frequently. People that suffer from this tend to always be in a rush. They take too much on and can’t organise themselves to deal with the demands and pressures. Episodic Acute stress affects interpersonal skills and can make sufferers hostile towards others causing rapid deterioration of relationships especially in the workplace. Its symptoms include prolonged over stimulation, persistent tension, headaches or migraines, hypertension, chest pains and even heart disease. This type of stress can be helped with lifestyle changes but professional help may be needed before chronic problems develop.
1.2Chronic stress Stress that wears sufferers down. It grinds away at them, making them feel burned out every day, every week, every year. It’s the stress that someone can feel when they can’t see a way out of the demands and/or pressures that make them feel depressed, miserable and disheartened on a constant basis. The stress of feeling trapped in an unhappy marriage or in a career they despise can both be factors. Chronic stress is associated with ill health, alcohol excess, violence and even suicide. Chronic stress can be helped with professional and medical help such as special forms of counselling or targeted behavioural therapy
1.3 Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Stress associated with frightening or distressing events. For example, these can be traumatic experiences from someone’s childhood, wars, poverty, sexual or violent abuse. Sufferers tend to feel on edge and relive traumatic events through nightmares and flashbacks. They struggle with concentration and trouble sleeping. Sufferers can have strong feelings of guilt, emotional numbness, constant worry and depression. Symptoms associated with PTSD can often be very severe and have a huge negative impact on a person’s day to day life. (Through the depletion of physical and mental attrition)
2. Eustress
2.1 Acute stress The most common form of stress and is associated with things to do with our everyday lives such as losing bills, rushing to meetings or making deadlines or even incidents regarding your car or your child’s school. These kinds of demands and pressures tend to be short term stress related issues that don’t have time to do the damage that long term stress could. Acute stress is actually exciting and thrilling but too much can make you feel exhausted. Symptoms can include emotional anguish, headaches, back pains and general muscular problems. They may also include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), dizziness, and shortness of breath, chest pains and heart palpitations. Acute stress can affect anyone and crop up in anyone’s life, but it is very manageable.
Stress is not always bad nor is it the same for everyone. There can be different symptoms for different people all of which should be addressed early on. If you’re beginning to feel stressed, it’s good to try and make adjustments to your lifestyle such as designating times to be active, becoming more social and safeguarding relaxation time.
- PHYSICAL: intense exertion, manual labor, lack of sleep, travel
- CHEMICAL: drugs, alcohol, caffeine, nicotine and environmental pollutants such as cleaning chemicals or pesticides
- MENTAL: perfectionism, worry, anxiety, long work hours
- EMOTIONAL: anger, guilt, loneliness, sadness, fear
- NUTRITIONAL: food allergies, vitamin and mineral deficiency
- TRAUMATIC: injuries or burns, surgery, illness, infections, extreme temperatures
- PSYCHO-SPIRITUAL: troubled relationships, financial or career pressures, challenges with life goals, spiritual alignment and general state of happiness
Types of Stress
1. Distress
1.1 Episodic Acute stress Stress which affects those who suffer from Acute stress frequently. People that suffer from this tend to always be in a rush. They take too much on and can’t organise themselves to deal with the demands and pressures. Episodic Acute stress affects interpersonal skills and can make sufferers hostile towards others causing rapid deterioration of relationships especially in the workplace. Its symptoms include prolonged over stimulation, persistent tension, headaches or migraines, hypertension, chest pains and even heart disease. This type of stress can be helped with lifestyle changes but professional help may be needed before chronic problems develop.
1.2Chronic stress Stress that wears sufferers down. It grinds away at them, making them feel burned out every day, every week, every year. It’s the stress that someone can feel when they can’t see a way out of the demands and/or pressures that make them feel depressed, miserable and disheartened on a constant basis. The stress of feeling trapped in an unhappy marriage or in a career they despise can both be factors. Chronic stress is associated with ill health, alcohol excess, violence and even suicide. Chronic stress can be helped with professional and medical help such as special forms of counselling or targeted behavioural therapy
1.3 Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Stress associated with frightening or distressing events. For example, these can be traumatic experiences from someone’s childhood, wars, poverty, sexual or violent abuse. Sufferers tend to feel on edge and relive traumatic events through nightmares and flashbacks. They struggle with concentration and trouble sleeping. Sufferers can have strong feelings of guilt, emotional numbness, constant worry and depression. Symptoms associated with PTSD can often be very severe and have a huge negative impact on a person’s day to day life. (Through the depletion of physical and mental attrition)
2. Eustress
2.1 Acute stress The most common form of stress and is associated with things to do with our everyday lives such as losing bills, rushing to meetings or making deadlines or even incidents regarding your car or your child’s school. These kinds of demands and pressures tend to be short term stress related issues that don’t have time to do the damage that long term stress could. Acute stress is actually exciting and thrilling but too much can make you feel exhausted. Symptoms can include emotional anguish, headaches, back pains and general muscular problems. They may also include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), dizziness, and shortness of breath, chest pains and heart palpitations. Acute stress can affect anyone and crop up in anyone’s life, but it is very manageable.
Stress is not always bad nor is it the same for everyone. There can be different symptoms for different people all of which should be addressed early on. If you’re beginning to feel stressed, it’s good to try and make adjustments to your lifestyle such as designating times to be active, becoming more social and safeguarding relaxation time.