How to overcome and what to do if there are signs of severe stress, symptoms, consequences and illnesses

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Stress is a state of psychological and physical tension in response to external influences. It can be caused by difficult situations, monotonous activities and emotional factors. Stress helps you adapt to a changing environment, but can cause negative health consequences. Is stress beneficial or not?

Short-term one-time stress has a positive effect. In response to the stimulus, the body produces three hormones: cortisone, adrenaline, norepinephrine and activates the cells of the immune system.

Thanks to this, for a short period of time a person has:

memory improves;
the level of immunity increases;
the rate of tissue regeneration increases;
intellectual abilities are activated;
the endurance of the nervous system increases;
the functioning of the sense organs improves.

If a person is systematically exposed to a stress factor, all his organs and systems work hard. As a result, the body intensively wastes energy, going through three stages of the process.

The first stage comes into force at the moment of exposure to a stress factor and lasts several minutes. It is followed by a second, lasting from several hours to several days, during which the person searches for a solution to the problem or a safe way out of the situation.

If the effect of the factor continues, the body depletes its adaptive capacity and ceases to minimize the harmful effects of the stressor. It is at the stage of distress that a person experiences overload, psychological disorders, and signs of somatic diseases.

Causes of stress

There are systemic and mental types of exposure to stress factors. The systemic type is the body’s response to an infectious disease, inflammation, injury, light, high or low temperature. Mental type - manifests itself on the emotional and mental sphere, then on the biological level.

The group of mental causes of stress includes:

professional activities associated with increased responsibility;
difficult relationships in the family;
conflicts, phobias, communication problems, threats of various types, intractable problems, dysfunctional social relationships in the team;
unfulfilled needs, low self-esteem, perfectionism;
change of place of residence or work, monotonous activity, divorce, death of a loved one;
information overload;
lack of rest sufficient to restore the psyche;
psycho-emotional tension caused by risk, time pressure, increased workload, novelty of the situation or its uncertainty.

The consequences of long-term stress are the same for men and women - depression and somatic diseases. Therefore, it is important to promptly note the signs of psychophysical stress, identify its causes and eliminate it.

Signs of stress

Prolonged exposure to a stress factor causes serious tension in the entire body, significantly worsening a person’s overall mood and well-being.

Frequent symptoms of developing stress:

Muscle tension in the head, neck, shoulders, back.
Increased anxiety.
Irritability at the slightest provocation.
Reduced performance.
Depression, apathy.
Sleep disorders.
Absent-mindedness, deterioration of memory and ability to concentrate, slowing down the pace of thought processes.
Chronic fatigue, pessimism, desire to distance oneself from society.
Headache, unexplained chest pain.
Appetite disorder, digestive dysfunction.

Often a person acquires an obsessive habit, for example, biting his lips, turning his neck, straightening his hair. He begins to be bothered by pain in the abdomen, rapid heartbeat, itchy skin or other negative manifestations.

Therapy for stress

The idea that stress does not require treatment is a dangerous misconception. A chronic state of tension can lead to depression, post-traumatic syndrome, neurosis, neurodermatitis, peptic ulcers of the gastrointestinal tract, and bronchial asthma.

If you are worried about emotional discomfort, the severity of your symptoms is increasing, and moreover, somatic reactions have appeared, make an appointment with a psychotherapist. The doctor will determine the stage of stress, help you find unconscious stress factors, and select a method of successful treatment that will protect you from serious complications.

The consequences of severe stress and its stages

The most dangerous thing about stress is that it is clearly noticeable, only at the beginning and at the end, and in the middle of the process, the body mobilizes all its strength and works in what would seem to be the same mode, and sometimes more efficiently than usual. In fact, burnout is already happening inside, which threatens with serious consequences for the psyche and the body as a whole.

Here are the stages of stress identified by psychologists:

Anxiety. At this stage, all the accompanying symptoms develop - tremors, palpitations, refusal to eat, etc. Adrenaline and norepinephrine are off the charts. The body's defenses are sharply reduced and a person can easily get sick, but at the same time analytical abilities often become sharper. This phase does not last long. If the source of stress disappears, all body systems return to normal mode and everything becomes fine, but if not, the second stage begins:
Adaptation. At this stage, everything seems to be normal, the body functions as usual, but since the source of stress has not gone away, the activity of all systems is increased and the body works to the limit of its capabilities. Our consciousness, as a rule, does not receive a report about this, and does not take any action to save its condition.
Exhaustion. Strength and resources are running out. If you do not take any action in the second and especially the third phase, a state of illness begins, which one will depend on the weak points of the body.

An important question remains: how can you help yourself and what to do if the source of severe stress cannot be eliminated without consequences.

Causes of stress in women

The reasons that lead to stress can be very different, and stress can be regular, temporary or permanent. Stress can also develop in a woman against the background of negative events, or as a result of an excess of emotions against the background of festive events or other positive events in life. That is why we will highlight the main reasons that most often provoke stress in women:

Death of a loved one, children. Miscarriages.
Divorce.
Postpartum period.
Dismissal, loss of ability to work.
Wedding, birth of children, grandchildren (depending on the age of the child).

Modern women strive for career growth, so both promotion and defeat can provoke a state of stress.

What to do if you are under extreme stress?

Do not bring yourself to a state of severe exhaustion, be sure to monitor your condition and try to minimize the consequences. Even if it seems to you that nothing is happening to you, it is possible, and even most likely, happening.

People can fall into a state of severe emotional stress under different circumstances, it could be some kind of personal difficult problem or an unpleasant situation in life, or general panic against the backdrop of world cataclysms, and no matter how hard we try to avoid stress in such a situation, we still social creatures and even if it seems to you that there is nothing terrible, and the epidemic is not the first and the financial crisis, especially for us Russians, is already like family, the influence of the group is very strong and difficult to ignore, and the group is in severe panic. Moreover, the whole group is called Earthlings. Here's what you can do so that, on the one hand, you don't get stuck in your individual stress, or minimize its consequences, and on the other hand, you don't succumb to the strong influence of the crowd in cases where the source of your stress is a common problem:

Turn off all news, leave one source of information that you trust. If among your friends there are those who panic a lot, overthink and escalate (this is their way of coping with the situation), turn them off too - this affects you, whether you like it or not, now there is somewhere to put psychic energy, besides consoling panickers and cleansing your own thoughts from their fears.
Calculate all the situations that you can influence and those that you cannot. Do everything in your power; whatever you can’t influence, forget about it.
Physical activity is just like medicine: it utilizes cortisol and promotes the production of endorphins - they are very needed now.
Food. You ate dumplings and buns in the first days of your stress and that’s enough, go back to proper nutrition, reduce your intake of simple carbohydrates first.
Dream. It is very important. We did such a funny study. 150 volunteers had the influenza virus injected into their noses. Then, as usual, they began to monitor them, namely how much each one slept. The analysis showed that of those who slept 5 hours or less, 50% got sick; Of those who slept 7 or more -18%, these are the consequences of lack of sleep:
Meditation, we talk about it all the time, but it really works, just 10 minutes a day will allow you to significantly reduce stress, calm your mind, and in the future perceive information more calmly, without allowing other people’s emotions and panic to drag you into the funnel of anxiety.
If the above does not help you get rid of the symptoms of stress, then in order to avoid the consequences, it is recommended to talk to a psychologist; as a rule, in such a situation, 1-2 sessions calm the person down, and he learns to cope with his emotions. If necessary, on our website you can do this online from the comfort of your home, through correspondence in an online chat or using an online video session.

Author: Editorial staff of the Help-Point.net portal

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The dangers of stress at a young age

Difficult relationships with others, fear of building relationships with the opposite sex, dissatisfaction with life and at the same time an almost animal fear of change - problems, alas, are far from rare in modern society. Often people attribute them to the characteristics of their character and upbringing, to negative environmental factors. However, this is only partly true. Complexes, fears, and depression do not appear out of nowhere and do not develop overnight - in most cases they are provoked by some unresolved situation from the distant past, which resulted in childhood psychological trauma. Unfortunately, many parents underestimate its influence on the development of their child. But in vain

photo pixabay.com A problem that a reasonable adult sees as a significant, but completely surmountable obstacle in life, is perceived by children as a global catastrophe, which seriously affects their perception of reality and the further development of their personality.
That is why it is important to recognize alarm bells in time and be able to competently support a child or teenager during a difficult period. “Research conducted by psychologists among children and adolescents allowed us to identify the most significant difficult-to-tolerate events for a child,”
says
psychotherapist at the Minsk City Clinical Psychiatric Dispensary Veronika Maslovskaya .
- First of all, this is, of course, the death of a close relative: the baby can withdraw into himself, which will lead to irreparable consequences in the future. Often children are extremely negatively disposed towards closed, unsociable, aloof peers, which results in bullying - bullying that depresses the psyche and general condition of an already unhappy child. Complexes and self-dislike gradually form, and this is a direct path to further depression, loneliness, and dissatisfaction with life.

In adolescence, psychological trauma from childhood can lead to alcoholism, drug addiction, alienation from society, a tendency to violence, and violations of the law. Complexes can drive a teenager to a suicidal state

In second place in terms of impact is physical, psychological or sexual violence from adults.
The consequences of such an attitude can develop a number of complexes and fears in a boy or girl: the child will be uncommunicative, intimidated, or, conversely, aggressive. A serious illness suffered in childhood can also have a serious impact. In this case, the child feels weak, does not understand why this is happening, and fears that his condition will never improve. In adulthood, such a person will constantly listen to his body and look for a catch, expect the appearance of diseases, injuries and other pathologies.

Another important point is betrayal by adults. This could be a divorce of parents, unfair treatment of household members, long-term (weeks or months) ignoring a child for educational purposes. As a rule, growing up, such children perceive any serious relationship negatively, expect betrayal from their partner and cannot trust him.

Lack of proper attention from parents also does not have the best effect: when a child in childhood does not feel maternal and paternal care, affection, protection and attention, he is left to himself and his experiences. This creates vulnerability and mistrust of people. Subsequently, such a person becomes uncomfortable in society.

To identify characteristic manifestations of childhood psychotrauma, pay attention to the child’s behavior: a depressed state, lack of appetite, changeable mood, and avoidance of peers should be of serious concern. Of course, the alarm should be sounded if damage is noticeable on the child’s body, if the child suddenly becomes hysterical, aggressive, uncontrollable, and his academic performance drops sharply. In this case, it is better to seek help from a psychologist or psychotherapist who will develop an individual treatment plan.

— There are a number of general tips for adults that will help cope with unhealed childhood traumas: you need to communicate with people more often, spend less time alone, —

says Veronica Maslovskaya
.
— Train yourself to periodically speak out in front of relatives or friends, because heart-to-heart conversations help reduce psychological pressure. Try to avoid stressful and conflict situations, read about positive thinking and try to put the acquired knowledge into practice. Under no circumstances focus on failures, and be sure to praise yourself for every victory, even a small one. It is very important to do what you love: if for some reason you don’t like your job, and you can’t change it, find time for a hobby: sports, travel, reading books, doing crosswords, learning foreign languages, dancing - whatever brings you pleasure will benefit your psychological state. WHAT DO CHILDHOOD PSYCHOTRAUMAS GIVE TO ADULTS

• Diffidence. It is considered the first sign of progression of neglected childhood fears. A person does not feel confident in any endeavor, despises and reproaches himself for any failure.

• Fears that may be associated with various areas of life. They begin to control a person and provoke him to carry out unconscious actions. Gradually, he withdraws into himself due to fear of the world around him.

• Panic attacks occur in difficult situations and are very unsettling.

• Distrust of others. Because of this, a person will not be able to make normal friends or find a loved one.

• Insensitivity, cruelty, cold-bloodedness. Terrible consequences that are extremely difficult to correct. As a child grows up, he or she may not show empathy for other people or pets.

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Consequences of stress in women

If stress is not treated, women may develop persistent health problems, which will be expressed in the exacerbation of chronic diseases, or in the development of inflammatory and degenerative processes. The main types of consequences and complications of stress in women include:

Eating behavior disorders (anorexia, bulimia).
Changes in emotional mood. Due to constant or regular stress, women become more whiny, touchy, and vulnerable.
Sleep disorders. Persistent states of insomnia, or intermittent sleep, or, on the contrary, drowsiness, may be observed. Often women complain that they sleep and do not get enough sleep.
Stomach ache. Due to stress, women either overeat, or eat little, or not regularly. As a result, digestive disorders develop.
Heart diseases. Stress has a negative impact on the entire cardiovascular system, so it leads to arterial hypertension, heart attacks, and strokes.
Decreased immunity.
Impaired brain activity, which is reflected in decreased concentration.
Libido. Often women become frigid due to their experiences.

Stressful conditions can even lead to cancer, and some scientific studies have already confirmed the existence of a relationship between these phenomena in the lives of women.

Symptoms and signs of stress

There are a number of symptoms that
appear in most people who find themselves in a state of stress. Physiologically this manifests itself in:

a sharp drop or, conversely, an increase in pressure;
attacks of chills or fever;
increased sweating;
dizziness;
digestive disorders;
significant weight gain or loss;
muscle hypertonicity and tremor (shaking).

Headaches, pain in the stomach and back often occur, and rashes similar to allergic ones may appear. Stress is accompanied by loss of sleep and appetite .

If all else fails

But what to do if you signed up for fitness, walk the dog for a long time every evening, go to bed no later than 23.00 and are seriously interested in knitting, but you still can’t cope with stress? First of all, don’t despair
and don’t get depressed.
If you don't know how to change a faucet, you call a plumber, right? It’s the same with stress: if you couldn’t resolve the issue on your own, contact a psychotherapy specialist .
psychotherapeutic techniques are used to combat stress ,

so you will have the opportunity to choose what suits you:

Cognitive-behavioral therapy – psychological training that allows you to identify negative thoughts, analyze them, change your behavior pattern, attitude towards a specific situation;
art therapy – the so-called “art treatment”, which allows you to throw out emotions and understand yourself;
auto-training – training in methods of controlling breathing and muscle tone, changing internal attitudes.

There are a lot of such methods; an experienced specialist will definitely help you choose the most suitable and effective option.

Prevention and methods of control

As a preventative measure, it is recommended to establish a work and rest schedule, which will reduce the stress on the body. However, this method does not always work in unforeseen situations when negative or positive events occur in life. This is why in most cases you already have to deal with stress. In this case, the following methods are used:

Attention from loved ones.
The ability to control your feelings and emotions.
Look at life situations positively.
Studying the problem of stress before it occurs. When a woman is aware of the symptoms and consequences of stress, she has the opportunity to prevent its occurrence.
Sports activities lift your spirits and allow you to take your mind off negative thoughts.
Life values. Women are advised to set their priorities correctly, choosing the most important moments in life. It is women who have to combine work life with caring for a child and maintaining a home.
Relaxation techniques. Massage, breathing exercises, yoga.

If a woman understands that the listed methods do not bring the expected result, and sleeping pills become permanent attributes of the first aid kit, while they are taken regularly, it is necessary to consult a doctor and take a course of appropriate medications to balance emotions. You may need to consult a psychotherapist.

You should not delay your visit to a specialist, as the effects of stress on a woman’s body can cause serious damage. At the same time, the quality of life deteriorates, as a result of which a woman may feel lonely, losing the whole meaning of her existence. A competent approach to treating stress allows you to return to a normal, active life as soon as possible.

Read about the characteristics of depression in men in this article.