Stress is a condition characterized by symptoms of mental and physical tension or strain, that can result from the body's reaction to changes or a situation in which a person feels emotional or physical threats, or reaction to forces from the outside world impinging on the individual. A disturbed family life, problems in relationships and work pressure are some of the causes of stress. Work and domestic pressures often culminate into stress.
We generally use the word "stress" when we feel that everything seems to have become too much - we are overloaded and wonder whether we really can cope with the pressures placed upon us. Anything that poses a challenge or a threat to our well-being is a stress. However, when the stresses undermine both our mental and physical health they are bad.
Symptoms of stress often build up gradually before you start noticing them. Stress can affect how you feel, how you think, how you behave and how your body works. It affects people in different ways but if you are stressed you may have some of the following symptoms:
You may feel:
irritable
anxious
low in self-esteem
have a low mood
You may find that you:
have racing thoughts
worry constantly
imagining the worst
go over and over things
You may notice you're:
having temper outbursts
drinking more
smoking more
on the go all the time
talking more or faster
changing your eating habits
being forgetful or clumsy
being unreasonable
struggling to concentrate
You may be suffering from:
headaches
muscle tension and pain
stomach problems
sweating
feeling dizzy
bowel or bladder problems
breathlessness
dry mouth
It is important to learn how stress affects you as this will help you figure out what coping techniques work best for you. It will also help you avoid resorting to unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking and comfort-eating.
Stress testing provides information about how your heart works during physical stress. Some heart problems are easier to diagnose when your heart is working hard and beating fast. During stress testing, you exercise (walk or run on a treadmill or pedal a stationary bike) to make your heart work hard and beat fast. Tests are done on your heart while you exercise.
You might have arthritis or another medical problem that prevents you from exercising during a stress test. If so, your doctor may give you medicine to make your heart work hard, as it would during exercise. This is called a pharmacological stress test.
Doctors usually use stress testing to help diagnose coronary heart disease (CHD). They also use stress testing to find out the severity of CHD. CHD is a disease in which a waxy substance called plaque builds up in the coronary arteries. These arteries supply oxygen-rich blood to your heart.
Plaque narrows the arteries and reduces blood flow to your heart muscle. The buildup of plaque also makes it more likely that blood clots will form in your arteries. Blood clots can mostly or completely block blood flow through an artery. This can lead to chest pain called angina or a heart attack.
You may not have any signs or symptoms of CHD when your heart is at rest. But when your heart has to work harder during exercise, it needs more blood and oxygen. Narrow arteries can't supply enough blood for your heart to work well. As a result, signs and symptoms of CHD may occur only during exercise.
A stress test can detect the following problems, which may suggest that your heart isn't getting enough blood during exercise:
Abnormal changes in your heart rate or blood pressure
Symptoms such as shortness of breath or chest pain, especially if they occur at low levels of exercise
Abnormal changes in your heart's rhythm or electrical activity
During a stress test, if you can't exercise for as long as what is considered normal for someone your age, it may be a sign that not enough blood is flowing to your heart. However, other factors besides CHD can prevent you from exercising long enough (for example, lung disease, anemia, or poor general fitness).
Doctors also may use stress testing to assess other problems, such as heart valve disease or heart failure.
Stress management is a large family of techniques which can be used to help people cope with stress. These techniques range from methods to reduce the occurrence of stress to techniques which can be used by people who feel overwhelmed by stress. Learning to deal effectively with stress can be very important for people in a wide range of situations, ranging from astronauts to stay at home mothers.
Dealing with stress is not just about learning to perform well in stressful situations, or learning to reduce overall stress to improve job performance or to work better in school. Several studies have suggested that stress can contribute to poor physical or psychological health. People who are constantly stressed out may experience a variety of physical issues, such as high blood pressure, excessive sweating, and headaches, in addition to psychological issues like a short temper, depression, or behavioral problems. Thus, stress management can improve physical health.
Stress management training can be offered by a physician or psychologist as part of a patient's overall treatment, and people can also attend independent workshops and classes which teach stress management tools. People who work in high pressure jobs, for example, may opt to take stress management classes to help themselves at work. These classes can also include support groups, which may be an important part of someone's stress management plan.
Some techniques for managing stress include optimizing personal schedules, learning to prioritize, improving personal efficiency, support groups, and developing psychological skills which allow people to decline duties gracefully, or which encourage people to reach out for help when they need assistance. They can also include structured activities which include stressful scenarios to give people an opportunity to practice, along with the use of medications or therapy to address psychological concerns.
People may be referred to stress management if the people around them feel that they could benefit from learning some tips and techniques, and it is also possible to seek out stress management independently. People who want to recommend seeking professional help to a friend, colleague, student, family member, or anyone else should try to approach the recommendation in a friendly, relaxed way which does not put pressure on the stressed individual.
Stress can come in a wide variety of forms. People should not be ashamed of seeking help with stress management. Sometimes just confiding in someone about stress can make a stressed individual feel better, and actively seeking help with stress management will make someone happier, more confident, and more productive.
The first step in successful stress relief is deciding to make a change in how you manage stress. The next step is identifying your stress triggers. Some causes of stress are obvious — job pressures or financial difficulties. Other things can also contribute to your stress level. While negative events in general are more stressful, be sure to also assess positive changes in your life.
Once you've identified your stress triggers, you can start thinking about strategies for dealing with them. For example, when you can't avoid a stressful situation, try brainstorming ways to reduce the irritation factor. And don't feel like you have to figure it out all on your own. Seek help and support from family and friends. You may want to ask them what stress-relief techniques have worked well for them. And many people benefit from daily practice of stress reduction techniques.
Stress won't disappear from your life. And stress management isn't an overnight cure. But with practice, you can learn to manage your stress level and increase your ability to cope with life's challenges.
The situations and pressures that cause stress are known as stressors. We usually think of stressors as being negative, such as an exhausting work schedule. However, anything that puts high demands on you or forces you to adjust can be stressful. This includes events such as getting married or buying a house. What causes stress depends, at least in part, on your perception of it. Something that's stressful to you may not faze someone else; they may even enjoy it. For example, your morning commute may make you anxious and tense because you worry that traffic will make you late. Others, however, may find the trip relaxing.
Not all stress is caused by external factors. Stress can also be self-generated:
Major life changes
Work
Relationship difficulties
Financial problems
Being too busy
Children and family
Not all stress is caused by external factors. Stress can also be self-generated:
Inability to accept uncertainty
Pessimism
Unrealistic expectations
Lack of assertiveness