Symptoms Of Chronic Stress example essay topic

1,141 words
... est doesn't overwhelm them. Another myth is that stress is always bad for a person. This is not rue because managed stress makes people productive and happy. Some people think that only the major symptoms of stress require attention. The minor symptoms are the early warnings that a better job of managing stress is needed. There are four types of stress.

There is acute stress, episodic acute stress, chronic stress, and traumatic stress. Each type of stress has its own characteristics, symptoms, duration, and treatments. Acute stress is the most common type of stress. Acute stress comes from demands and pressures of the recent past and anticipated demands and pressures of the near future. Acute stress can lead to psychological distress, tension headaches, upset stomach, and other symptoms. Some examples of stressor's that can cause acute stress are, an auto accident that crumpled the car fender, the loss of an important contract, a child's occasional problems at school and so on.

Acute stress doesn't have enough have enough time to do the extensive damage associated with long term stress. Some of the most common symptoms of stress are emotional distress, muscular problems, stomach problems, and transient over arousal. Emotional distress includes anger, irritability, and anxiety. Muscular problems such as tension headaches, upper and lower back pain, and jaw pain are also symptoms of stress.

Other symptoms are stomach, gut and bowel problems. Heartburn, acidic stomach, ulcers, flatulence, diarrhoea, constipation, and irritable bowel syndrome are examples of these problems. Transient over arousal is another symptom of stress which leads to elevation in blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, and sweaty palms. Heart palpitations, dizziness, and migraine headaches can also result from transient over arousal. Symptoms like cold hands or feet, shortness of breath, and chest pain are also common. Episodic acute stress is common in people who suffer from acute stress.

These people's lives are so un organised that they are constantly in a state of chaos and crisis. They are always in a hurry, but they are always late. If something can go wrong in their life it usually does. Often these people describe themselves as having a lot of 'nervous energy. ' ; Another form of episodic acute stress comes from non stop worry, they are always worried about something going wrong. The symptoms of episodic acute stress are persistent tension headaches, migraines, hypertension, chest pain and heart disease.

The treatment of episodic acute stress requires intervention on a number of levels, generally requires professional help, and may take many months. Sufferers are usually resistant to any kind of change. Chronic stress is the grinding stress that wears people away day after day after day. It destroys minds, bodies, and lives. Chronic stress comes from when a person doesn't see a way out of a miserable situation.

The worst part of chronic stress is that people get used to it and forget that it's there. Chronic stress kills by means of suicide, violence, heart attack, stroke and cancer. The symptoms of chronic stress are hard to treat and could require a lot of medical and behaviour al treatment, therapy, and stress management. Traumatic stress is a special kind of chronic stress, known as post-traumatic stress disorder. It is caused by trauma that is not handled correctly.

Some examples of traumatic experiences are, accidents, rape, abuse of any kind, natural disaster, and the death of a loved one. The symptoms of PTSD are flashbacks, over arousal, emotional numbness, and emotional outbursts. People with PTSD suffer from problems with concentration, controlling impulses, and decision making. The long term consequences of PTSD are depression, anxiety, behaviour al disorders, multiple personality disorders, and suicide. Dealing with Stress There are three basic strategies for dealing with stress at the source. The first strategy is altering situations to make them less stressful.

Avoiding stressful situations is the next strategy. Accepting stressful situations is the other basic strategy in dealing with stress at the source. Each strategy has it's disadvantages and it's advantages. It's up to every person to decide which one to use with which situation. The tougher a person's resistance to stress is, the more stress they can take. There is a lot people can do to maximis e their resistance to stress.

People have resources to help them handle stress, these resources include familial and financial resources, social and spiritual resources, as well as personal resources. They can also develop good health habits and get rid of bad health habits to help build up a resistance. Following these guidelines in a person's life is a good way to increase their resistance to stress. Eat at least one hot balanced meal per day. Improving a person's nutritional habits makes them less susceptible to stress. Limiting a person to less than three caffeinated drinks per day helps to improve their health and their susceptibility to stress.

Give and receive affection regularly. Research shows that people who give and receive affection regularly, live longer and are healthier. Have at least one relative within fifty miles. Family is one of the best ways of reducing stress.

Regularly attend social activities. Friends a person meets can provide a support network for good and bad times. Have a network of friends and acquaintances. A strong social network helps fight off feelings of loneliness, isolation, and despair. Have one or more friends to confide in about personal matters.

Close friends boost a persons mental health just by being there. Exercise the point of perspiration at least three times a week. Exercise leads to fitness and people who are fit handle stress better. Being the appropriate weight is important not only for health reasons but for self esteem as well. Be in good health is important because a person's health is their first line of defence against stress.

Get seven to eight hours sleep as often as possible. Lack of sleep leads to exhaustion that harms a person's health and productivity. Do something fun at least once a week. Doing something just for the fun of it improves a person's resistance to stress because it takes your mind off your problems. Speak openly about your feelings when you are angry or worried. As one can see, stress is a combination of feelings that have different effects on peoples' health, and also there are many different ways to build resistance to it so it will not ruin your life.