What is Stress

What is Stress

Stress is a condition that affects the body and mental state, negatively affects the quality of life and leads to the formation of future disorders and is a part of life and is divided into three groups; it can cause differences in breathing, pulse and decrease the immune system. Stress has physical, mental, emotional and social symptoms.

Stress is known as a natural human reaction that every person can experience in everyday life. It is also a part of life. Stress keeps a person alert and motivated. It makes one ready to protect oneself from possible risks. The human body takes on the task of experiencing and reacting to stress. When differences or challenges occur, the body reacts mentally and physically. Stress reactions help the body to adapt to new situations. For example, if you have an important exam coming up, stress allows you to work more concentrated.

Why does stress happen?

This can be caused by many different reasons. A big event can cause stress, as well as many small events that accumulate at certain times. Therefore, it can be difficult to identify the situation that causes stress in an individual or to express it to someone else. Although the causes of stress vary from individual to individual, there are certain situations that usually lead to this situation, some of these situations are as follows;

  • Feeling oppressed
  • Confronting big differences
  • Worrying about a situation
  • Having little control over an event
  • Taking on overwhelming responsibilities
  • Being subjected to discrimination, racism or harassment
  • Losing a loved one
  • Experiencing situations such as divorce or separation
  • Increased financial problems
  • Suffering from a serious illness
  • Having livelihood problems

What are the Types of Stress?

In order to manage this situation in a healthy way, it is necessary to better understand stress and its impact on the individual. There are three different types of stress ;

Acute stress: It is a type of stress that can occur in the past and future time interval. It differs according to the time zone, time and place. Depending on the actions exhibited, it can lead to happiness at some times and sadness at others. Another characteristic of acute stress is that it can be seen, controlled and treated in every person.

Episodic acute stress: All the responsibilities in the life of the person experiencing stress are personal. They tend to work intensively all the time. Therefore, they overreact to every problem that occurs. They cannot control what they feel because they have difficulty in keeping it under control. Episodic stress also leads to worrying. People who experience it are unhappy and pessimistic towards the people around them.

Chronic stress: It differs from the other type of stress, acute stress, in its characteristics. The reason is the negative situations it creates on the person at an advanced level. It can cause mental and physical problems. Chronic stress can occur spontaneously while looking for ways to combat the negative situations that occur.

Physical Symptoms of Stress

Stress has many effects on the human body and mind; it has physical symptoms as well as mental, emotional and social symptoms. The physical symptoms of stress are as follows;

  • In case of stress, the individual's breathing accelerates first.
  • Heart palpitations can be seen.
  • Dryness in the mouth and swallowing problems may occur due to this situation.
  • There may be problems in sexual performance.
  • Body temperature increases, hot flashes may occur.
  • Shaking hands and sweating may occur.
  • Tension in the muscles, pain or soreness in the muscles due to tension.
  • Problems in the digestive system such as nausea or heartburn, difficulty digesting, constipation, diarrhea.
  • There may be fatigue in the body.
  • Involuntary clenching of teeth may occur in daily life, resulting in headaches.
  • Sleep problems may occur.
  • People's immune system may weaken during this period and they may get sick frequently.

Psychological Symptoms of Stress

People have trouble focusing when they are experiencing stress. Common psychological stress symptoms when a person is anxious are feelings of anxiety or restlessness. These are accompanied by problems such as forgetfulness and absent-mindedness. The person feels sad, angry, under pressure and unhappy. Other psychological symptoms can be listed as follows;

  • People have trouble focusing in times of stress.
  • Problems such as forgetfulness and absent-mindedness are constantly encountered.
  • They feel irritable and anxious in daily life.
  • The individual feels sad, angry or under pressure.

Which Diseases Does Stress Cause?

There are some diseases that may occur over time in people who experience intense stress. It is inevitable to see diseases in individuals whose anxiety in their lives gradually increases. Skin disorders are the leading cause of stress-related diseases. It can lead to psoriasis, eczema, acne and similar skin diseases. If this situation progresses, it can cause major damage to the skin. Weight problems are another stress-related problem. Stress-related overfeeding is a disease that many people complain about today. Weight loss is also seen in many people. There is a strong relationship between sleep problems and stress. Insomnia, sleepiness during the day and many other sleep problems can be caused by these negative situations. Another disease caused by stress is cardiovascular diseases. The effects of stress on the heart can reach an important point. However, stress is among the risk factors in heart diseases, and it is healthy to remove stress from our lives.

How is Stress Diagnosed?

The stress experienced by each person is unique. Only the individual experiencing this situation can determine the severity of the stress they experience. Health professionals can refer to questionnaires prepared by experts to understand how stress affects your life. If chronic stress is present, the health professional can observe the symptoms of stress. For example, symptoms such as hypertension, nausea, headaches, digestive problems can be diagnosed and treated.

How to Deal with Stress?

Some personal differences play an important role in combating stress. Reviewing certain individual habits can help reduce the physical and psychological factors of this negative condition. New habits and changing the daily routine are important in controlling the damaging effects of stress. Stress can be reduced through sports, meditation, breathing exercises, social activities and similar activities. Paying attention to diet, reducing or completely eliminating the use of alcohol and tobacco can be effective in combating stress. It is a healthy step to create conditions that an individual can control in his/her life. Therefore, seeing oneself successful by realizing certain activities makes it easier to combat stress. At this point, it is possible to learn the source of stress and how to protect oneself from stress with the help of an expert.

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Updated At05 March 2024
Created At13 December 2022
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