What is stress?
Life consists of expected or unexpected events. They can be pleasant or not. We respond to them depending on our needs and on the knowledge of the situation. In cases where there is enough information, we are able to react calmly. On the contrary, the lack of the necessary information makes us worry. But sometimes a person must be ready for an event that is too unexpected and important for him, about which he knows nothing or almost nothing. In this case, the reaction of the body can intensify to such an extent that serious disturbances occur both in physiological and psychological terms. Then the usual set of emotions gives way to worry or anxiety: the person is immersed in a stressful state.
The state of stress can be defined as the emergence of the need to resolve a conflict situation and adapt to new conditions. Therefore, marriage, divorce, remarriage can be classified as stressful situations. The same can be said about a flight to another time zone, a tennis match, a card game, promotion or decrease in service or job loss. Naturally, some of the stresses can be emotionally positive, while others are emotionally negative. Not all of them are dangerous to health, not all lead to depression.
The main differences between emotionally positive and negative stresses can be formulated as follows
Own choice. If the situation is personally chosen by you, defined, and you just need to gather all your strength into a fist and solve the problem, then your feelings can be called more “stimulation” than stress. Stress occurs when the task is not set by you, and the situation is imposed from the outside.
Own control. Stress can also occur when you are unable to control the situation and are forced to remain in the role of a passive observer. If you have to control a situation that you do not like and is imposed on you by force (by your boss, bandits, bureaucrats, the tax office, your children and their friends), then the stress increases many times over.
Anticipation and prevention of consequences. It is very difficult to adapt to a new situation and find a way out of it, even if the consequences are predictable in advance. But it is much more difficult to adapt to new conditions if subsequent events cannot be foreseen. The first situation can bore you to death, and the second – lead to stress, the consequences of which can be fatal for you
How to identify stress?
You cannot manage stress as it is beyond your control. But pay attention to its early signals – after all, the sooner you find them, the easier it will be to cope with the causes and consequences of a malfunction brewing in the body. Without a doubt, trying to understand yourself, you can qualitatively change your life, and a serious attitude to the early signals of impending danger will help you choose the right path that contributes to maintaining health and longevity.
Physical signals
You feel that your physical condition has changed.
Headache,
back pain,
heartburn,
chest pain,
nausea,
short and short breathing,
dizziness,
allergic reactions,
high blood pressure,
muscle spasm.
These are the signals that your tired body is giving you, it is important to notice them in time. Then you can handle them more easily.
Psychological signals
Depression
Typically, depression makes itself felt by the appearance of irritability. In stressful situations, people feel that they are losing control over certain aspects of their lives. Symptoms of deterioration of the physical condition of the body and changes in behavior can be amplified many times.
Disorganization
Stress absorbs attention and minimizes the ability to concentrate. This can result in sloppiness, distraction, or poor decision making.
Defensive position
The appearance of such a signal reflects the person’s inadequate demand for himself “to be strong”. He should not be weak, give in to the influence of stress. Sometimes such a position is nothing more than a game of public, and sometimes a conviction that leads to low self-esteem and self-flagellation. Many people try not to succumb to impending stress. In the simplest situations, they become despotic, any disagreement is taken as an attempt to humiliate their dignity and shake their authority.
Lack of independence
Some people, when under stress, lose the ability to perform their functions. The process of degradation begins: they would like to remain the same – self-confident and competent, therefore they are afraid to realize the appearance of this signal, and they are even more afraid that others will notice their lack of independence. Feeling guilty only increases stress.
Loss of business qualities
Difficulty making a decision and implementing a plan. Stress usually means loss of control, limitation of choice. In such conditions it is very difficult to make a decision, even the simplest one, and most importantly – to execute it.
If you have noted at least one of the listed signs or any combination of them, then it is time to intervene in your own life – to think calmly, discuss the situation (preferably with a loved one), try to find out and eliminate the reasons that caused your psychophysical overstrain. Yes, here’s another: alternate work and rest, do not allow imbalance in either direction – then you will have less stress. Remember – everything is in your hands!