What is Stress - Stress Management Techniques
May 01, 2024
Stress is common. Today, everyone, whether a child or an adult, is dealing with some sort of stress. At some point, we need to cope with our stress so that it does not harm us.
At Michelle Silver Lining Mental Health Counseling in Flushing, New York, experienced licensed mental health counselor Michelle Ilyayev, LMHC, can help guide you on your journey through stress.
As defined by Hans Selye, stress is the nonspecific response of a body to a demand. Stress changes any person's physical, psychological, and mental health. It is always different for everyone.
For instance, if a person is feeling stressed regarding this exam but the next person is very chill about his exam, here's the difference: stress is different for every person, every mind.
Every person has a different perspective regarding stress. If a situation feels stressful for one person, it is not possible that the other person would react in the same stressful way. Everybody's brain cells do not act the same way in the same situation, so everyone perceives stress differently.
Lazarus defines another concept of stress. He divides stressors' variance into harm, threat, and challenge. Harm is any psychological damage that has already been done, like an irreversible loss of anything or anyone.
The threat is what has not yet happened, but an inbuilt fear that could happen exists in the conscious level of the mind. A challenge is a difficult demand that requires full strength to overcome or coping resources.
According to Selye, some stress is favorable and others unfavorable. Stress is differentiated into two classes: distress and eustress. Distress is unpleasant, and eustress is pleasant.
Stress can be pleasant if defined in a way, like if a student is stressed about his exams, studying daily at the proper time, and preparing well. This is eustress.
This type of stress does not harm the student's mental or physical health; otherwise, it can bring about a good change in his report card. Good stress is required by students for motivation in their lives and an exemplary academic journey. Otherwise, their interest can be lost.
Distress is more common. As we can see, most of today's society is experiencing different kinds of stress. Students experience stress from studies, adults experience stress from jobs or relationships, parents experience stress from family issues, and everyone of any age faces some kind of stress.
Chronic stress can lead to weight gain, heart disease, strokes, insomnia, memory, and concentration loss. Cardiovascular problems are widespread in people in their 40s and above.
If individuals fail to employ effective stress coping mechanisms to handle the stressful situation, their feelings of stress can persist over time and, in turn, become at a higher risk of developing severe physical and mental problems.
The causes of stress might not be the same for everyone. Negative stressors for one person can be a positive enjoyable task for another. For example, if you cannot speak in front of a crowd or do not face the screen, Doing this gives you negative stress. But for others, debate competitions or facing crowds is their dream.
Several phobias can also give anyone negative stress. Some persons have height phobia others have water phobia. These are so severe sometimes that can be dreadful for these people.
Stress among students is related to academic and financial problems, career opportunities, and related matters. The adolescent stage is also a dangerous age for adults.
They confront many social, personal, and emotional changes and grow according to them. Habits once built in this age persist throughout life and are hard to break. Stress and its impact on the body are sometimes disastrous.
Stress cannot be specified; you can feel stress from any major incident or single minor incident. The following are some of the causes that can lead any person to stress.
It can be hard to think about the causes of stress as they are different for different persons but here sum of the causes of stress are described below,
A lot of work at the office can cause stress, and a person without a job can feel stressed. A damaged car, loss of money, loss of phone, etc. are all daily stressors a person can perceive throughout his day.
Causes of emotional stress can be related to any emotional damage, the death of a loved one, any lousy incident, or heartbreak.
A person can experience stress if he or she,
Stress can harm a person in various ways,
Emotionally - depression, anxiety, anger, hate, separation.
Way of thinking - over-consumed, confusion, poor concentration, overthinking, lost mind.
Change in behavior- insomnia, laziness, oversleeping, rudeness, alcoholism, drug overuse.
Your body always tells you with different signs and symptoms if something is wrong internally, but people mostly ignore them. Following are some of the significant signs and symptoms that your body showed up with,
Headache: Pain that cannot be relieved by any medicine and lasts more than a day.
Vomiting or nausea: some people feel nauseous and uncomfortable while perceiving any external stress.
Heart palpitations: a person can look okay but due to his anxiety or depression he is feeling restlessness and heart palpitation. In this case, you may need to look for a cardiologist.
Fatigue and restlessness: anxiety or stress can make you tired and restless.
Generalized pain: Stress affects the muscles and body, so you can feel the pain all over your body. Some people feel increased pain in the shoulders, temporomandibular joint, or Jaws while perceiving stress.
If stress remains untreated and cannot be identified it can cause severe anxiety disorders. Some of them are generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, various kinds of phobias, and social anxiety disorder.
If a person can feel any kind of the above disorder he may contact any mental health counsellor for the treatment.
99% of the people in the world are suffering from stress but no one talks about it. Stress is everyday but prolonged and chronic types of stress can harm our physical as well as mental health badly.
We must emphasize stress management and coping strategies to let people know how they can easily cope with their stress.
Physical activity or exercise can help boost your mood and reduce stress. If you are facing any kind of anxiety or depression, you must do a little exercise to reduce your stress levels by yourself.
A healthy diet is also a significant contributor to relieving stress. If you want to reduce your stress levels, try eating a healthy diet. A healthy diet includes fruits, vegetables, protein, juices, nuts, etc.
Good sleep is also necessary to reduce stress. Eight to ten hours of sleep is recommended for teenagers, and seven hours is a must for adults.
A healthy environment including chit chat with friends and going outside for entertainment can also reduce half of your stress.
Deep breathing exercises are one of the best ways to relieve stress and comfort the body.
Writing and listening are the best ways to reduce stress in anyone's life. Write down what you feel and listen to what you like.
Stress cannot be managed in a single day, but it can take a month or even a year, depending on your condition. So, taking small steps is beneficial rather than expecting the whole thing in a day.
We face some stress daily, but some get bad in our minds and destroy our health. If you are suffering from any type of mental health disorder, anxiety or stress try to cope with it before it takes your life!
If you're experiencing grief and need support through the five stages, call Michelle Silver Lining Mental Health Counseling to make a telehealth appointment today with one of our experienced and compassionate counselors. Or, request one online.
Following are some ways to reduce stress or anxiety,
Take deep breaths, Enjoy talking to friends, Go outside, Eat your favorite healthy food, Go for a Morning walk, sleep well, etc.
Hans Selye defines stress as the nonspecific response of a body to a demand. Stress can change a person's physical, psychological, and mental health.