How to Manage Psychological Stress?

Introduction:

Lately, everyone has been talking about stress. This shows how prevalent stress is among people worldwide. A multitude of situations can cause stress. It can be something as simple as being stuck in a jam-packed road while heading to the office to a serious relationship or workplace problems. Whether the situation is intense or not, the kind of stress that develops in individuals under pressure does become detrimental over time. This article aims to make you clear of stressors, their adverse effects on you, and how you can overcome them to prevent harmful levels of stress.

What Is Psychological Stress?

Firstly, stress is a normal or physiological response to stressors that all living beings exhibit and undergo. Stressors are any situation, incident, place, or people surrounding you or happening to you to which you get stressed as a response. It is put in our genes to get stressed in conditions and situations that cause stress in order to escape danger. We may consider it as one of the survival instincts. Though this is a protective mechanism, the amount and frequency of stress and how the individual perceives and reacts to it determine whether stress is protective or destructive. Excessive stress causes strain on one’s body and emotions. Humans exhibit feelings of frustration, anger, sadness, nervousness, etc., while under stress.

What Is Eustress?

Eustress is positive stress that brings motivation, excitement, thrill, and positive feelings that actually drive you crazy to achieve your goals. It is indeed beneficial, but a person experiencing it does not feel as good as eustress means. Even while under eustress, the person feels nervous and under pressure but with confidence and hope to overcome or face the situation. Its fruit is always sweet.

It is a type of good stress. The type of pressure it gives to an individual and the individual’s capacity and capability to overcome the hurdles and reach the targets make them succeed, satisfy, and fulfill their goals, wishes, and interests. Following are some situations in which a person experiences eustress or positive stress that builds them into a happy, better, productive, or successful person.

• Doing adventurous activities like trekking, bungee jumping, roller coaster rides, surfing, paragliding, etc.

• Voluntarily watching a scary movie.

• New job.

• Shifting to a new place or change of environment.

• Meeting new people.

• Going on a first date.

• Setting targets and working out to achieve the expected physique.

• Right before an examination or sporting event.

• Realistic and challenging deadlines at work or school.

• Traveling and exploring new places.

What Is Distress?

Distress is the straight opposite of eustress. It is negative or bad stress that produces nothing more than undesirable results and a disturbed state of mind. The stressors that cause distress are categorized as negative stressors as most of the human population apprehend them to be demotivating, discouraging, and depleting their minds and energy levels. Above all, the distress affects both the physical and mental well-being. Some of the situations that cause distress in people include,

• Debt.

• Financial loss.

• Overburdening responsibilities beyond capability.

• Separation of the loved ones.

• Death of near and dear.

• Divorce.

• Unemployment.

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• A chronically diseased state of oneself or a family member.

• Bullying.

• Cheating beloved ones and broken promises.

What Are Other Types of Stress?

Apart from eustress and distress, there are three more types of stress.

• Acute Stress - This may also be regarded as short-term stress that most people encounter in their daily life. This can either be eustress or distress.

• Episodic Stress - It is a type of acute stress that runs hand-in-hand with our everyday lives and activities, chores, and work. These are small distress that we face every day but are of a brief time period. These are not big enough to disturb one’s life or emotions.

• Chronic Stress - Chronic stress is the worst type of stress that a person can experience. In this type of stress, a person facing it is unable to overcome or find a solution to the situation causing stress. Hence, the person continues to lead a life along with stress. This can be mentally and physically deteriorating.

How To Identify Stress?

Identifying stress is not so easy until it begins to affect one’s physical health. Here we have jotted down some signs of stress.

Physical Signs -

• Weight changes (weight gain or loss).

• High blood pressure.

• Headache.

• Hair loss.

• Muscle tension.

• Shortness of breath.

• Rapid heart rate.

• Bloating.

• Nausea.

• Mouth ulcers.

• Feeling drained.

• Diarrhea or constipation.

• Decreased sex drive.

• Frequent infections.

• Menstrual cycle disorders.

• Fatigue.

Mental Signs -

• Anger.

• Irritation.

• Frustration.

• Concentration difficulties.

• Anxiety.

• Poor memory.

• Feeling vexed.

Behavioral Signs -

• Alcoholism.

• Drug use.

• Self-neglect.

• Not making time for things you enjoy.

• Social withdrawal.

What Causes Stress?

As said earlier, stress is a response to stressors. The stressors can be anything; they can be related to work, finance, relationships, parenting, commutation, etc. Whenever life puts a threat or challenge in front of us, our body reacts to it through the HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis).

Initially, when in a stressful situation, our sympathetic nervous system mediates the secretion of epinephrine and norepinephrine, the fight and flight hormone. Initial bodily changes like rapid heart rate, sweating, etc., occur. Ten seconds after this, the HPA axis gets stimulated, and the hypothalamus secretes corticotropin-releasing hormones (CRH). This CRH causes elevated heart rate and also signals the pituitary to secrete adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), which travels through the bloodstream to reach the adrenal gland. Finally, the adrenal glands start secreting cortisol, the stress hormone.

This cortisol helps in dealing with fight, flight, and fright situations. It provides the body with the energy required to face the challenge. It also causes increased blood pressure, sweating, reduced pain sensation, increased muscle tension, slowed digestion, etc.

What Adverse Effects Does Stress Cause To Our Health?

Every person on the planet deals with some amount of stress at some point in their life. And for some, stress is an integral part of life. However, dealing with constant stress without bouts of mental relaxation often puts the person in turmoil. It actually is detrimental to one’s health. Following are some of the serious adverse health effects that psychological stress could cause or worsen in people with preexisting diseases.

• Heart attack.

• Heart diseases.

• Atherosclerosis.

• Obesity.

• Depression.

• Endocrine disorders like thyroid disorders.

• Diabetes.

• Hypertension.

• Insomnia.

• Sexual dysfunction.

• Frequent and persistent infections.

• Asthmatic attacks.

• Stroke.

• Ulcers.

How To Manage Stress?

Stress is not a disease to be treated; it is just a body’s response or reaction to an action. Stress needs to be managed rather than treated because illnesses can be prevented, but stress can neither be prevented or controlled. But whenever you pass through a stressful phase, the following management methods can help you deal with stress like a lobster.

1. Learn To Cope With Stress -

Never neglect self-care in the phase of stress. Often people fail to take care of themselves when under a stressful phase. This can affect the quality of life, burdening the stress more. Regularly continue practicing self-care activities such as,

• Hitting the gym or exercising.

• Sticking to a healthy diet.

• Getting adequate hours of sound sleep.

• Spending time with your family and friends.

• Doing your favorite leisure activities.

2. Practice Mindfulness -

Relaxation techniques amidst pressurized life conditions definitely bring a marked change in the way you face stress. It helps develop a positive outlook on life and makes you sportive in dealing with a stressor. Mindfulness techniques such as meditation, Tai chi, focussed breathing, yoga, guided imagery, etc., are overlooked and underestimated as it is not so easy to develop such habits and practice consistently. But once you put your mind and body consistently with a belief in these relaxation techniques and with proper guidance, you will be surprised with the results.

3. Things To Do and Not To Do While Under Stress -

• Cut out on things that add fuel to your stress like facts or posts on social media, some television shows and exaggerating news channels, etc.

• Limit caffeine and alcohol. They worsen your mental state.

• Stop binging on junk foods. They may please you but only temporarily.

• Do not self-medicate with sleeping pills or other drugs to escape reality.

• Make a to-do list and prioritize your work. This can motivate you to finish your tasks with precise planning.

• Learn to say no whenever and wherever the situation demands. Blindly accepting to finish tasks or work with limited capability adds more stress.

• Indulge in stress-relieving and adventurous activities like trekking, hiking, or training in groups or outside your house rather than your regular physical activities. They bring a change of mind; you will feel refreshed and driven.

• Stop pondering over the past or the things that have already happened. Ask yourself, “what next?”

• Stay thankful for what you have, how you are, and for whatever is happening.

• Stop catastrophizing and be gentle with yourself. Develop the habit of having little positive self-talk daily.

• Build time for things you love to do the most, like art, dance, singing, reading books, listening to music, etc.

• Adopt pets. Pets are stress-relievers. There are a lot many positive things to learn from them.

4. Psychotherapy -

If you feel your stress is out of your hands and cannot find the above methods beneficial, you always have mental health professionals to help you out with your stress. Through cognitive-behavioral techniques, your mental health expert will identify how you think, feel, perceive things or act under stressful conditions and replace them with a more realistic and positive thought.

5. Medications -

Medications like anti-anxiety drugs, sleeping pills, antidepressants, etc., are commonly prescribed in addition to stress management methods to manage certain stress-induced physical and mental ailments.

Conclusion:

You cannot control what is happening to you, but you can control what you can do or how you respond. Not all the stressors or a speculated level of stress affects every person the same way. Different people react to different levels and types of stressors in different ways. Just know that stress is inevitable, and in whatever stressful phase you are, “this too shall pass.” If you need professional stress management support, you are just one click away.