What are the main symptoms of stress? How to avoid stress? Stress - types, causes, symptoms and treatment How stress manifests itself in a person

Update: October 2018

Stress can be called such a reaction when, after processing by consciousness some external or internal circumstance, a special state of the nervous system arose, which changed the functioning of all internal organs. Each person may have their own such factor: external - moving, changing jobs or death of a loved one, internal - some kind of personal illness that spoils the quality of life. Stress occurs only when the impact of this circumstance has exceeded the personal stress tolerance threshold.

Stress can be acute, developing as a single impact, the consequences of which in some cases can disappear spontaneously. It is programmed by nature to fight or run away from danger. More often in the modern world, chronic stress occurs when traumatic circumstances are “layered” on top of one another. This process is the cause of many chronic diseases.

Why is stress dangerous?

Scientists say: more than 150 thousand people from 142 countries now have health problems precisely because of stress. The most common of them are heart diseases (angina pectoris, hypertension, myocardial infarction). Thus, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences, after the Soviet Union ceased to exist, over 13 years the number of patients with cardiovascular diseases increased from 617 to 900 people per 100 thousand population.

At the same time, the number of smokers, people who regularly drink alcohol, people with obesity and high cholesterol levels - that is, those reasons due to which pathologies of the heart and blood vessels develop - remained within the previous values. Then scientists seriously thought about the influence of psycho-emotional state on health.

In second place are the consequences of living in constant stress are mental illnesses, and in third place is obesity. Chronic stress does not bypass the organs of the digestive and genitourinary systems, but the changes occurring in them are not so fatal. In addition, a person living in constant psycho-emotional stress greatly reduces his own immunity, becoming defenseless in the face of many diseases.

How stress develops

For the first time, the processes that occur after a person encounters a psychotraumatic situation were described by psychologist Cannon in 1932. A broad discussion of this issue, as well as the term “stress” itself, appeared only in 1936, after an article by the previously unknown physiologist Hans Selye, who called stress “a syndrome that develops as a result of exposure to various damaging agents.”

Selye found that when the psyche is affected by an agent that exceeds the adaptive resources of the body of this person (in other words, exceeding the stress resistance threshold), the following reactions develop:

the adrenal cortex increases, where the “stress hormone” is produced, the main glucocorticoid hormone cortisol;
the number of lipid granules in the adrenal medulla decreases, the main task of which is to release adrenaline and norepinephrine into the blood;
the volume of lymphatic tissue, which is responsible for immunity, decreases: the thymus (the central organ of immunity), the spleen, and lymph nodes develop back;
The mucous membranes of the stomach and duodenum are damaged until ulcers form on them (stress ulcers).

Under the influence of the hormones cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine, not only stress ulcers occur on the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines, but also:

the level of glucose in the blood increases and at the same time the sensitivity of tissues to insulin decreases (that is, due to chronic stress, you can “earn” type 2 diabetes);
blood pressure increases;
heartbeat becomes more frequent;
the deposition of adipose tissue in the subcutaneous tissue increases;
tissue proteins break down and glucose is formed from them;
sodium is retained, and with it water in the tissues, and potassium, necessary for the functioning of the heart and nerves, is excreted faster than necessary;

Due to a decrease in the volume of lymphatic tissue, overall immunity decreases. As a result, the body's resistance to infections decreases, and any virus can cause severe illness and be complicated by bacterial infections.

The threshold for stress resistance is individual for each person. It depends on:

the type of nervous system (is it one of two strong or two weak), which is determined by the speed of reactions and decision-making, the severity and nature of a person’s emotions;
a person's life experience;
mental stability to the influence of unfavorable factors.

Thus, choleric and melancholic people are easily exposed to stress, a balanced sanguine person - less, a phlegmatic person - even less (he needs a greater strength of the stress factor).

Classification

Stress is the general name for the reactions described above, when the adrenal glands are activated under the influence of the psyche. He can be:

positive. This is eustress. It is caused by sudden joy, for example, from meeting an old friend or from an unexpected gift, inspiration, or a thirst for competition. Does not have a negative impact on health. It was in a state of eustress that records were set, discoveries and exploits were made;
negative, which is called distress. We will talk about it further, as it can destroy health.

According to the nature of the impact, stress, or more precisely, distress, can be:

Neuropsychic or psychological. This is the main type, which is divided into 2 types:
- information stress, which occurs due to an overabundance of information. Typically develops in people whose work involves constantly processing large amounts of information;
- psycho-emotional stress that occurs due to intense anger, resentment or hatred.
Physical, which is divided into:
- temperature (for example, in response to exposure to heat or cold);
- food (during hunger or forced feeding on foods that cause disgust;
- painful (due to pain, injury);
- light (if a person is forced to be in an illuminated space all the time: at work, while lying in a hospital, if he finds himself in polar day conditions).

Distress can be caused by extreme conditions (war, hurricanes, floods, landslides) or extremely strong psychological events (the death of a relative, a breakup, passing an exam).

There is also a classification of stress factor (stressor). It may include:

Life Event– a long-term event: moving, business trip, divorce, death of a loved one.
Catastrophe. These include trauma, accident, war, death of a friend.
Chronic emotional stress. It arises as a result of unresolved constant conflicts with family members or colleagues.
Minor life difficulties, which, accumulating like a “snowball”, can destroy normal relationships in the family.

These stressors are the causes of distress.

How stress occurs

Hans Selye identified three stages in the body's response to any stress. The speed of their occurrence depends on the strength of the stressor and the state of the central nervous system of a particular person:

Alarm stage. A person ceases to control his thoughts and actions, and the preconditions are created for the weakening of the body. Behavior becomes the opposite of that which is characteristic of this person.
Resistance stage. The body's resistance increases so that a person can make a decision and cope with the situation that has arisen.
Exhaustion stage. It develops under prolonged stress, when the body is “no longer able” to maintain the stage of resistance. It is at this stage that damage to internal organs develops - it is different for everyone.

There is also a more extended description of the stages, made after Selye’s work. There are 4 stages here:

Mobilization: a person’s attention and activity increases; energy is still spent sparingly. If at this stage the process fades, then it only hardens and does not destroy the person.
Stenic (active) negative emotion. Anger, aggression, rage arise. To achieve the goal, forces begin to be spent uneconomically, and the body takes the path of exhaustion
Asthenic (i.e. passive) negative emotion. It arises as a result of excessive expenditure of one’s own forces at the previous stage. The person is sad, does not believe in his own strength and that this situation can be resolved. He may become depressed.
Complete demoralization. It occurs when the stressor continues to affect the body. The person resigns himself to defeat, becomes indifferent, and does not want to solve either the stressor task or any others. A person at this stage of distress is said to be “broken.”

What can cause stress

What causes stress in an adult has already been discussed above. These include injuries, moving, separation/divorce, death of a loved one, money problems, constant lack of time to complete work on time, and illness - your own or a loved one's. Women experience stress during the birth of a child, even if they thought that they had prepared for this in 9 months (women in labor who had a difficult pregnancy, suffered a breakup with a loved one, or had constant conflicts during this period) are especially vulnerable to stress.

Factors that increase the chance of developing stress are chronic illnesses, lack of sleep, lack of a friendly environment or friends. People who are true to their beliefs and their word are more vulnerable to stress.

The causes of stress in children may not be so obvious:

hypothermia;
problem with treatment in kindergarten;
problem communicating with peers;
change of place of residence;
increased workload at school or in the last year of kindergarten;
communication problems;
parents imposing hobbies;
lack of someone with whom you can discuss your problems;
sending to sanatoriums or pioneer camps without parents;
frequent stays in the hospital without parents;
initial sexual experience;
dysfunctional family situation;
loss of a pet;
sudden change in daily routine;
time zone change;
content of a cartoon, film, computer game (scenes of murders, violence, erotic nature);
accidental observation of intimate communication between parents or strangers;
sudden change in weather conditions.

How to tell if someone is stressed

There are acute and chronic stress. They manifest themselves in different ways, and we will examine them in detail later.

There is also a diagnosis of Acute Stress Reaction. This is the name of a disorder that occurs in a mentally healthy person in response to a very strong psychological and/or physical stressor, when there was a direct threat to the life of this person or a loved one. It can be noted after:

natural disaster (hurricane, tsunami, flood);
fire in the house;
rape, especially if it was particularly brutal;
death of children;
car accidents;
how a person was taken hostage in a terrorist attack;
participation in hostilities, especially bloody ones.

Such severe stress is a short-term disorder, lasting several hours or 1-2 days. After it, urgent help (within the first 48 hours) from a competent psychiatrist or psychotherapist is necessary, otherwise the stress will either end in a suicide attempt or become chronic with all the ensuing consequences.

People are at higher risk of developing a reaction to severe stress:

exhausted after illness or hard work;
having a brain disease;
who are over 50 years old;
who do not see outside help;
for whom what happened was a complete surprise;
when other people are dying around.

An acute reaction to stress is indicated by symptoms that begin a few minutes after the event (less often, tens of minutes):

This is a clouding of consciousness when a person ceases to navigate what is happening, but can pay attention to small details around. Because of this, a person can perform strange, senseless actions, as a result of which others may think that he has gone crazy.
The person may express delusional ideas, talk about non-existent events, or talk to someone who is not nearby. This behavior lasts a short period of time and can end abruptly.
A person with an acute reaction does not understand or poorly understands speech addressed to him, does not fulfill requests or does it incorrectly.
Extreme inhibition of both speech and movement. It can be expressed to such an extent that a person freezes in one position and answers questions only with some kind of sound. Less commonly, there may be a reverse reaction: a stream of words that is difficult to stop, as well as severe motor restlessness. There may even be a stampede or attempts to seriously injure oneself.
Reactions from the autonomic nervous system: dilated pupils, pale or reddened skin, vomiting, diarrhea. There may even be such a sharp drop in blood pressure that a person dies.
Often there are symptoms of stress such as: confusion, inability to answer (with full understanding of speech), aggressiveness, despair.

If a person with an unhealthy psyche (but not a mentally ill person) finds himself in a similar situation, the body’s acute reaction to stress may not be the same as described above.

If these symptoms persist for more than 2-3 days, it is not an acute stress reaction. You need to urgently contact a neurologist, infectious disease specialist, psychiatrist or narcologist to find the real cause of this condition.

After suffering an acute reaction, the memory of such behavior disappears partially or completely. At the same time, the person remains tense for some time, his sleep and behavior are disturbed. For 2-3 weeks he is exhausted, he has no desire to do anything, and even the will to live. He can go to work and do it mechanically.

Acute stress

The fact that there has been stress in a person’s life is indicated by the following symptoms that occur immediately or a short time after encountering a stressor:

emotional “explosion”, which is combined either with a feeling of uncontrollable anxiety or fear, or with excitement close to aggression;
nausea, maybe one-time vomiting (we are often shown this in films);
feeling of tightness, discomfort in the chest;
cardiopalmus;
sweating;
rapid breathing, which may be accompanied by a feeling of shortness of breath;
chills or feeling hot;
abdominal pain;
numbness, feeling of “cotton” limbs; stress urinary incontinence.

If the stress was strong, but did not reach a critical level (when there was a threat to life, after which an acute reaction to stress usually develops), in addition to the signs listed above, a person may have:

convulsions (muscle contractions) without loss of consciousness;
skin rash identical to urticaria, which occurs in response to the entry of an allergen into the body;
headache;
painful urge to have a bowel movement, followed by loose stools;
pronounced feeling of hopelessness, despair

Chronic stress

This condition is much more common in modern people with a fast pace of life. The symptoms of chronic stress are not as pronounced as those of an acute stress response, so it is often attributed to fatigue and ignored until it leads to the development of various diseases. When the latter appear, a person turns to doctors and begins treatment, which does not lead to proper results because the cause - living in chronic stress - remains unresolved.

The fact that a person suffers from chronic stress will be indicated by signs that can be divided into several groups:

Associated with changes in human physiology

Due to stress, a person can experience quite physical suffering, which forces him to look for the cause, visit doctors of various specialties, and take a large number of medications. But the presence of the following symptoms, when they develop in a person experiencing frequent or constant stress, does not mean that he does not have a peptic ulcer or angina. Therefore, we will list them, and you will know that if you find some of them in yourself, you are examined, but the doctor says that he finds nothing in you, these are signs of a stress disorder, and they should be treated accordingly.

Physiological symptoms of chronic stress include:

heartburn;
belching;
nausea;
pain in the stomach;
bruxism (grinding teeth during sleep);
chest pain;
frequent urination;
stuttering;
tinnitus;
dry mouth;
cold hands;
difficulty swallowing;
periodic muscle spasms: arm muscle spasms, incomprehensible and moving muscle pain;
“twisting” of joints;
hot flashes, facial redness;
frequent infectious diseases of the respiratory tract, accompanied by cough, runny nose;
decreased appetite;
weight loss or gain;
headache;
backache;
during the next stress, the temperature may rise by several tens;
"jumps" in blood pressure;
increased sweating;
severe trembling of the upper extremities;
tics and obsessive movements;
a rash in the form of red spots or blisters that appeared “out of nowhere”;
erectile dysfunction, decreased libido.

Symptoms related to emotions

The presence of chronic stress in a person is indicated by changes in a person’s character when a previously balanced person develops:

low self-esteem;
moodiness;
irritability;
anxiety;
tearfulness;
outbursts of anger;
impulsive actions;
hostility towards others;
suspicion;
deceit;
disappearance of goals, incentives, interests in life;
guilt;
constant criticism of loved ones;
pessimism;
a feeling of unreality of what is happening;
touchiness;
concentration on unpleasant events;
lowering the threshold for anxiety;
tendency to shout commands;
a feeling of loneliness, hopelessness, inexpressible melancholy;
the appearance of thoughts of suicide;
change in sleep length and disturbance in its quality (nightmares);
increased sensitivity to loud noises, bright or flashing lights;
memory impairment;
Even the slightest trouble can cause panic, anxiety or aggression.

Social-behavioral symptoms

The fact that a person has chronic stress will be indicated by changes in his behavior and communication. This:

inattention;
loss of interest in appearance;
loss of previous interests: work, hobbies;
nervous laughter;
tendency to use alcohol, drugs, medications;
trying to be isolated;
constant lack of time;
workaholism and constant stress at work and at home as an independent attempt to “escape” the situation;
the person becomes conflicted;
makes many small mistakes in his usual work;
while driving he often behaves inappropriately, speaking rudely towards surrounding drivers.

Intelligent traits

These include:

memory impairment: a person remembers poorly and quickly forgets; there may be memory lapses;
difficulties with analyzing new information;
repeating what was said before;
obsessive thoughts, often negative;
viscosity of speech;
difficulty making a decision.

Features of stress in women

Women are more vulnerable to stress. In addition, in an attempt to be an ideal wife and mother, they try not to talk about their experiences, but “accumulate” them within themselves. This causes the appearance of certain symptoms, most of which are described above, no different from “male” ones. Of these, if you do not pay attention to it in time, gynecological, cardiac, endocrine disease or obesity may “grow”.

Signs of stress in women, from which it is not always possible to guess that she is stressed, are:

headache (most often felt in half of the head);
joint pain;
“failure” of the monthly cycle;
sudden mood swings, not previously typical for a woman;
eyelid twitching in one eye that lasts several minutes;
back pain;
the appearance of “incomprehensible” red elements of the rash and/or ulcers;
spasms accompanied by pain, now in one or another part of the abdomen;
panic attacks;
stomach pain;
deterioration of coordination;
addiction to certain types of food (often sweets and dairy products) and alcohol;
according to the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a sign of stress that develops under the influence of cortisol can be frequently recurring vaginal thrush;
hair loss (it may not occur immediately, but 3-6 months after stress);
“noise”, “whistle”, “clicking” in the ears;
decreased performance;
decreased instinct of self-preservation;
thoughts of suicide;
irritability;
change in attitude towards yourself and loved ones (guilt, emotional coldness).

You especially need to pay attention to these (mainly the last 4) symptoms after childbirth. They indicate that postpartum depression or the more dangerous postpartum psychosis may begin.

Features of stress in children

Signs of stress in a child are also not particularly noticeable, especially if the baby is not yet of a conscious age.

If the child is less than 2 years old, refusal to eat, tearfulness and irritability will indicate that he has suffered stress. The same symptoms will develop with any inflammatory or non-inflammatory process, so they need to be excluded first.

A child 2-5 years old “declares” the shock he has suffered by the return of old habits: thumb sucking, pacifiers, refusal to feed himself, urinary or fecal incontinence. The baby may begin to cry under changing circumstances (for example, from being woken up to go to the toilet at night) or when new people appear. He may also start to stutter.

Stress in a 2-5 year old child will be indicated by hyperactivity or, conversely, decreased activity, causeless short-term increases in temperature, vomiting, frequent mood swings, and the appearance of many fears (darkness, loneliness, dogs or people of certain professions). A stressed baby has trouble falling asleep.

In a 5-9 year old child, stress manifests itself with the following symptoms:

fatigue;
decline in academic performance;
nightmares;
behavior similar to that of younger children (the child begins to lisp, cuddle, and become like a baby);
aggression;
unreasonable fears, anxieties;
attempts to run away from home or, conversely, the child tries not to leave the house, avoids other children, does not want to attend school;
increase or, conversely, decrease in appetite;
nausea and even vomiting;
headache;
chest pain;
seizures in the corners of the mouth;
splitting of nails;
the child may partially forget stressful events;
nervous tics or the development of habits of biting nails or other objects (rulers, erasers, pens), pulling out hair, picking your nose, scratching your skin;
challenging behavior for several days;
if a child begins to lie, this may also be a sign of stress.

What symptoms indicate stress?

The main symptoms after stress indicate exhaustion of the body. This:

the appearance of heat intolerance;
causeless nausea;
fatigue that appears faster than before may not go away even after a long rest;
insomnia at night, drowsiness during the day, but the patient may be constantly drowsy;
decreased appetite;
decreased libido;
indifference to one's own appearance;
deterioration of attention, memory;
indecision;
difficulty concentrating;
negative thoughts;
the person becomes hot-tempered, irritable;
pulse is increased, blood pressure is either increased or decreased, increased sweating, headaches, sweating.

But if the stimulus was strong enough, then, if an acute reaction to stress does not develop, then after a few weeks or months (up to six months) a person may develop post-traumatic stress disorder syndrome. It manifests itself:

alienation from others;
distrust of others;
aggressiveness;
anxiety;
inadequate (usually very weak or complete absence) reaction to current events;
a person “lives” in his problem: during the day he thinks about the stressor, at night he dreams about it in the form of nightmares;
if it seems to a person that a traumatic situation followed a combination of some phenomena, then when they reoccur in his life, he becomes aggressive and experiences a panic attack;
panic attacks can occur on their own, they decrease when communicating with other people, so at such moments the patient willingly makes contact even with strangers;
a person may experience pain in the stomach, heart, or head. For this reason, he is sometimes examined, but nothing is found. This forces him to look for a “competent” doctor and turn to many specialists. If none of the medical workers correlates the symptoms with the stress they have experienced, the patient may lose faith in medicine, begin treatment on their own, and take alcohol or drugs “to calm down.”

Thus, symptoms caused by stress are very similar to diseases of the internal organs. You can suspect that this is stress based on the fact that the symptoms affect several body systems at once (for example, joint pain and heartburn occur). The diagnosis can only be clarified with the help of an examination: then with the help of instrumental (fibrogastroscopy, cardiogram, ultrasound of the heart, X-ray of the gastrointestinal tract) and laboratory (these are tests) studies, no changes will be detected or they will be minimal. The presence of stress will be confirmed by a psychotherapist or psychiatrist based on a conversation with the person and some oral tests. The stress response will also be indicated by blood levels of cortisol and the hormone ACTH.

But a complete description of the process, from a physiological point of view, was given by Hans Selye. Back in the 1920s, he noticed a general nonspecific reaction of patients to various types of stimuli; later, in his work on the general adaptive syndrome, Selye described a specific process. The term “stress” was directly linked to his work in 1946.

Stages of development

If we consider in detail the work of Hans Selye, the development of stress can be divided into three stages:

Anxiety stage. The body, reacting to a certain stimulus, starts the adaptation process.
Resistance stage. The period of response of the body to the influencing element.
Exhaustion stage. The supply of adaptive energy gradually runs out.

Initially, the stress reaction was considered exclusively as a negative process, but later a division into:

Eustress (the body's reaction to certain positive influences). A specific type is characterized by positive progression - memory improves, curiosity and performance increase.
Distress (reaction to negative factors). Often leads to negative reactions that reduce overall performance.

The importance of timely detection

Considering a stressful state as a medical problem, one can trace the relationship - the result of nervous overstrain is expressed in inappropriate behavior. Gradually, some negative consequences begin to appear: uncontrollable emotional states, aggression or excessive temper.

If certain signs and symptoms are missed, the stress reaction can gradually turn into various depressive states and, accordingly, more complex and dangerous reactions for a person may appear.

Depression often leads to decreased performance and lack of interest in life. May cause suicidal tendencies. Accordingly, such developments should be identified and avoided in a timely manner, responding promptly and adequately to the developing problem.

What kind of stress can it be?

The following types of stress are distinguished, according to the impact model:

Physical stress represents certain reactions of the body to various stimuli of a physical and physiological nature. Manifests itself as a reaction to: fatigue, temperature, thirst, pain, hunger. Short-term loads can also have a hardening effect, but the limit is individual for everyone.
Mental (emotional) stress is the primary reaction to emotional stimuli. A specific type manifests itself as a reaction to various unpleasant situations, but sometimes it is a consequence of some far-fetched factors.
Short-term stress manifests itself as hardening factors. Usually, it is the main psychophysical reaction to a non-standard situation. A particular example of short-term stress that causes a positive adaptive result is hardening with cold water.
Chronic stress refers to depressive response patterns. The body begins to be depressed in all its manifestations, a decline in immunity and a decrease in the activity of mental functions are possible. As a particular example, we can cite the reaction to the death of a loved one.

First signs of illness

Like any disease, stress has its own development factors and certain symptoms; it is natural that for each person and for each specific situation, the symptoms may vary, as well as the individual perception of the problem.

Common signs of stress include:

increased irritability and emotional decline;
constant insomnia;
pessimistic moods and indifference;
memory and concentration problems;
decreased or increased appetite;
headaches and fatigue.

If we take into consideration stressful conditions and certain signs inherent only to a specific type, we can clearly distinguish between male stress and female stress, which may have their own symptoms.

Women are vulnerable creatures...

Women are sensitive natures and it is quite easy to disrupt their spiritual harmony, but restoring peace is a more difficult task.

Solving a problem begins with its detection, and the following symptoms are characteristic of female stress:

weight destabilization;
anxiety and irritability;
insomnia and headaches;
skin rashes;
back pain and gastrointestinal dysfunction;
difficulty breathing and high blood pressure;
decreased concentration;
menstrual irregularities and decreased libido.

It's not easy for men either

Nervous stress affects men no less than women. Although the symptoms of stress in men are in many ways similar to the female version, there are some nuances:

aggressive behavior and irritability;
erectile dysfunction and decreased sexual desire;
high blood pressure and headaches;
reduced criticality of perception.

Manifestations in children

It's not just adults who can feel the negative effects of stressors. Cases of childhood stress are not uncommon; they may have the following symptoms:

nausea and colic;
aggressive reactions;
deceit;
attention and sleep disorder.

Typically, such conditions in children are caused by some difficulties in the process of learning and communicating with peers.

Stress symptoms have many points, but if we take some boundary models of stress, they may differ.

Acute form

Basically, it is customary to distinguish between acute stress and post-traumatic stress. However, some common roots can be seen in both variations of the human condition.

Each of the specific types of stress is distinguished by the fact that it is associated with a certain situation that led to a deep state. When highlighting symptomatic points of an acute stress process, you should indicate:

increased degree of anxiety;
feelings of unreality - both of the surrounding world and of one’s own personality;
irritability and acute attacks of aggression;
memory and sleep disturbances;
the desire to avoid reminding circumstances and objects.

If you pay attention to the differences in the given variations of the acute model of a stressful situation, the difference is that post-traumatic stress does not always go away in an aggravated version, which lasts no more than a month.

Sometimes, the post-traumatic type turns into long-term chronic stress, which has its own exceptional manifestations.

Chronic form

Looking at chronic stress in detail, we can clearly determine that it is a long-term process. In fact, this model is characterized by its duration and the fact that the next disorder and worsening of the situation can occur for completely insignificant reasons. Symptoms of chronic stress include:

increased sensitivity;
fixation on the root cause;
hypersensitivity to natural irritants (light, sound);
decreased concentration and activity of thinking;
long-term sleep disturbances;
disruptions in the autonomic nervous system;
disorders in reproductive systems.

Diagnosis independently and from the outside

For each of the stressful conditions, it is possible to determine some signs, symptoms, behavioral nuances, and internal sensations.

Such a decline in mental strength cannot go unnoticed and it is not so difficult to notice it on your own.

A look from the inside

If you conduct some examination of your internal sensations, you can most likely diagnose your own stress disorder. Often, during periods of stress, a person experiences the following sensations:

life is steadily losing color;
positive emotions are not actually perceived;
lack of desire to communicate with others;
a general loss of strength is felt;
no interest in any type of activity.

View from the outside

It is also possible to notice the onset of stress in your own environment. If you look at a person in a similar state, you will notice similar symptoms and manifestations of mental imbalance:

decreased self-esteem;
inattention;
strange detachment from reality;
inadequate response to treatment.

Bordering states

Unfortunately, stress can develop into quite complex forms of mental disorders, and depression is just the tip of the iceberg. People in a state of advanced stress can move towards obsessive pathological states and neuroses. Typically, these are general ailments and obsessive thoughts of the following categories:

suicidal desires;
desires for reprisals;
loss of self-control;
paralysis of one's own position.

All these points allow you to timely detect a problem, both in yourself and in your loved ones. A clear definition of a stressful state, in turn, provides an opportunity to avoid its transition to prolonged depression and other mental pathologies.

Quite often, deep and acute levels of stress require urgent medical attention, and independent attempts to get rid of it are doomed to failure.

This section was created to take care of those who need a qualified specialist, without disturbing the usual rhythm of their own lives.

Noticeable and hidden signs of stress

The body's functioning mechanism is based primarily on survival, which causes the appearance of signs of stress. In fact, in any stressful situation, the human body produces adrenaline, the appearance of which is aimed at maintaining the body’s ability to survive. Of course, this mechanism, which includes physical and behavioral reactions, is quite natural, but it is worth learning to recognize the moment when stress gets out of control. It is important to identify this in time, since signs of stress may not appear and may not be too dangerous for health, while the attitude towards the situation itself may well lead to serious depression.

Symptoms in human behavior

First of all, the reaction is not physiological and other signs of stress, but the person’s behavior itself, which can be observed by his relatives and close people, his daily environment. It is behavior that is the first indicator of a deterioration in psychological state. Psychologists here draw an analogy with driving a car, describing three main psychological “combinations” that represent pronounced signs:

Foot on the gas. This state is very easy to determine by a person’s aggressiveness, his agitation, inability to sit in the same place even for a short time, and rather sharp reactions to any actions around him. Such behavior is a kind of defense mechanism from the outside world, and therefore is often accompanied by a bad mood, excessive pickiness and nervousness.
Foot on the brake. Signs of stress related to this “pedal” represent the opposite situation. Vivid symptoms in this case are passivity, unsociability, excessive silence, isolation and complete lack of desires, absolute passivity. Perhaps, such symptoms are also somewhat more dangerous than “explosiveness,” since a person in such a kind of melancholy or even serious depression is much more difficult to return back to reality - he is of little interest in even possible help in solving the problem that causes all this negativity.
Foot on the gas and brake. In this situation, the symptoms are already more combined; the entire reaction to stress is a complex and intricate mechanism, which, however, is very easy to determine. A person remains incredibly tense for a long time, but very constrained and uncommunicative, as if ready to explode at any moment. He looks like a paralyzed patient, a whole storm of fears, desires and images are raging in his thoughts, which make it impossible to somehow escape.

Types of signs

Signs of stress can be divided into several categories:

cognitive;
emotional;
behavioral;
physical.

All these are symptoms, it’s just that the mechanism of their occurrence is a very individual system and can differ significantly.

Cognitive symptoms are the least noticeable and include memory problems, inability to concentrate on one thing, anxious thoughts focused exclusively on the bad, and constant persistent anxiety. All of them, first of all, disrupt the entire mechanism of brain function and negatively affect the quality of any work performed.

Emotional signs of stress, including moodiness and irritability, excessive temper and aggressiveness, psychological inability to relax and a constant feeling of workload, feelings of loneliness, despondency, depression, in some cases, hysterics and sudden mood swings, can primarily be identified by close people. Constant complaints, causing depression, lack of strength and inspiration - this is a kind of mechanism for warning others about serious stress, which may well result in even more significant psychological problems.

Symptoms can also be behavioral. They include malnutrition or, on the contrary, excessive overeating, insomnia or constant drowsiness that does not disappear after rest, voluntary isolation from society, complete or partial neglect of one's responsibilities, excessive consumption of alcohol, cigarettes or even addiction to drugs, the manifestation of nervous habits (clicking). pen, tapping, stamping your foot and any others). Such signs of a stressful state are perhaps the most dangerous both for the person himself and for society, since they can become the cause of immoral behavior, which is a truly serious problem.

Physical symptoms manifest themselves in a common health disorder, the mechanism of their occurrence is clear, but it is impossible to get rid of them without getting rid of stress.

This group includes pain, most often headaches, diarrhea or, conversely, constipation, nausea and dizziness, general weakness, increased or decreased blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, complete loss of sexual desire, and too frequent colds. This is the cause of general deterioration in health and the development of a huge number of many other diseases.

Consequences of stress

Many of the easiest symptoms to identify are not directly related to stress. But they manifest themselves most clearly under the influence of stressful situations and a huge number of experiences. This is how the mechanism of the body works - where all its parts are dependent on each other's condition. Perhaps most of the health problems caused by stress are peculiar physical symptoms, but they still have a difference.

First of all, the consequences of stress can be expressed in the exacerbation of absolutely any chronic disease that has not caused problems for some time. The stress mechanism can trigger the emergence of other serious diseases that were not previously noticed. The list of the most common diseases includes:

Such complications are treated together with stress, comprehensively, otherwise the treatment may not bring results.

Symptoms and signs of stress are a way to avoid serious health problems and allow your body to rest. Any of the signs may well trigger a mechanism for more serious reactions. You should be as attentive as possible to your body, paying attention to all its reactions and general condition.

What are the main symptoms of stress? How to avoid stress?

Stress is the body’s reaction to a dangerous, traumatic situation, excessive physical or emotional stress, affecting all its systems

Having appeared as a defensive reaction of flight, stress has performed its functions perfectly for thousands of years. Meeting with danger required immediate active action. To achieve this, all body systems were put on “combat readiness.” Large amounts of stress hormones - adrenaline and norepinephrine - were released into the blood, causing increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, dilated pupils, and muscle tension.

In modern conditions, life has become incomparably safer, and the need for immediate escape arises extremely rarely. But the body’s reaction has not changed at all. And in response to a reprimand from our boss, we release the same adrenaline as when meeting a predator millions of years ago. Alas, the natural reaction of flight is impossible. With repeated stressful situations, changes caused by adrenaline accumulate. They are the ones that cause the characteristic manifestations of stress.

Symptoms of stress

The effect of stress hormones is manifested not only in changes in physiological parameters. The emotional and intellectual spheres are also affected. There are also characteristic behavioral symptoms of stress.

Physiological changes during stress are aimed at maximizing the mobilization of the body's reserves. With prolonged or frequently repeated release of adrenaline in the body, the following changes occur:

From the cardiovascular system. Changes in blood pressure, even in those who were not previously bothered by them. Hypertension often begins with stressful situations. Palpitations and heart rhythm disturbances, sometimes so pronounced that a person feels them without special tests. Interruptions in heart function are one of the most common reasons for visiting a doctor for people with chronic stress. One of the manifestations of high blood pressure and vascular pathology can be tinnitus.
From the digestive system. The most common symptoms of stress are decreased or complete absence of appetite. A person under stress suddenly loses weight. The opposite situation is much less common - increased appetite under stress. In addition, severe abdominal pain can also be a manifestation of stress. Various dyspeptic symptoms occur - heartburn, belching, nausea and vomiting, a feeling of heaviness in the stomach, stool disorders.
Disturbances in the respiratory system are manifested by a feeling of lack of air, the inability to take a deep breath, shortness of breath, and occasionally attacks of suffocation. Colds are becoming more frequent.
In the musculoskeletal system, under the influence of adrenaline, muscle spasms become more frequent, convulsions are possible, muscles are constantly in good shape. Back pain often occurs.
Various types of rashes appear on the skin, even very pronounced ones. Even in the absence of allergic manifestations in the past, allergic reactions occur, especially skin reactions. Sweating increases and constantly wet palms bother you.
Nervous system involvement results in mental and intellectual symptoms. Physical manifestations include headaches. This group also includes general asthenia of the body, its lower resistance to stress. Temperature under stress is often lowered. Episodes of its increase are possible, often up to subfebrile (37-37.5) numbers. Short-term increases to higher numbers are not accompanied by inflammatory changes.
On the part of the reproductive system, there is a decrease in libido.

Intellectual symptoms of stress are especially noticeable in pupils and students during periods of increased stress. These include:

Memory loss.
Absent-mindedness, difficulty concentrating, disorganization, tardiness.
Intrusive thoughts, especially with a negative connotation.
Inability to make a decision.

Emotional symptoms, unlike previous groups of symptoms, can be regulated by the individual to some extent. With pronounced stress, the following changes in the emotional sphere may be observed:

Restlessness, anxiety, feeling of impending disaster. Panic attacks occur for no apparent reason.
Irritability, moodiness, also for no apparent reason.
Constantly reduced emotional background. Frequent attacks of melancholy, sadness, even depression and suicidal tendencies. Women are especially prone to tearfulness.
Low self-esteem combined with inflated demands on oneself.
Passivity and disappearance of interests in life.
Constant tension makes it extremely difficult for a person under stress to relax.

Changes in behavior are external, behavioral manifestations of stress that are especially important to be aware of. A person under stress does not always pay enough attention to his health. Diagnosis of stress is greatly facilitated by knowledge of the main external manifestations of this condition. You will be able to take steps in time to normalize the condition of your loved one, preventing the occurrence of somatic diseases.

There are frequent attempts to reduce stress with alcohol or cigarettes. A sharp increase in their consumption by an apparently prosperous person is an alarming sign.
Another option for avoiding stress is workaholism. Immersion in work at the expense of family, friends, and sometimes health should alert you.
Inattention, absent-mindedness, including in appearance. In work, this is manifested by a deterioration in labor results and an increase in the number of errors.
An unstable emotional state leads to a large number of conflicts, both at home and at work.

Types of stress

Despite the negative connotations inherent in the word “stress,” this reaction of the body can be beneficial. Most of mankind's great achievements were accomplished under stress. Athletes, climbers, outstanding warriors, scientists performed their feats and achievements, set records and conquered peaks precisely thanks to the highest mobilization of forces in a state of stress. Additionally, extremely intense positive emotions can also cause stress. Such mobilizing stress that subsequently passes without a trace is called eustress. Its opposite, the stress that causes numerous negative symptoms, is called distress.

In addition, there are psychological and physiological forms of stress.

Physiological stress is caused by direct effects on the body. Stress factors can be hypothermia or overheating, physical overload, injury and pain.
Psychological stress occurs as a reaction to socially significant events. It is usually divided into informational and emotional. The first is caused by excessive information load. Stress especially often occurs when a person is highly interested in combined with information overload. This state is very typical for workers in heuristic professions that require analysis of a large amount of information and constant generation of ideas. The opposite situation is also possible - the occurrence of stress due to monotonous work.

Emotional stress occurs after intense or repeated episodes of negative emotions - resentment, hatred, anger. The carrier and transmitter of these emotions is the speech of the opponent.

The importance of the emotional component of stress is so great that a special term has appeared - psycho-emotional stress. It is this form of stress that leads to chronic diseases and severe physiological disorders. The reason is the impossibility of implementing the stress reaction provided by nature in the case of emotional stimuli.

How to avoid stress?

Obviously, the recommendation not to get into stressful situations or to react to them less emotionally is impossible to implement. Therefore, it is important to learn how to get out of such situations with minimal losses. Various relaxation psychotechnics and banal physical activity will help with this. During physical work, the natural pathway of adrenaline metabolism is realized. It does not accumulate, and, accordingly, physiological changes accompanying stress do not occur.

Therefore, in the case of chronic stress, banal recommendations that we are accustomed to ignoring since childhood are the most effective. Morning exercises, running, walking, working out in the gym are the best prevention of stress.

The dangers of stress to health

The adverse effects of stress on health may include:

hopelessness or uncertainty of a situation to which it is difficult to adapt (natural disasters and wars, loss of loved ones);

high intensity or duration of stress reaction, resulting in depletion of adaptive reserves;

personal or biological characteristics that determine the weakness of anti-stress defense;

use of techniques that are dangerous to health and life to protect against stress.

Adverse effects on human health are inherent in physical and, even more often, psycho-emotional stress. Thus, noise, which in itself is not associated with any danger to humans, can nevertheless cause a state of anxiety and, like other stressors, inhibit the activity of the stomach, disrupt digestion in general and cause neuroses.

Emotional signs of chronic stress include:

increased anxiety and antipathy towards people,

the appearance of irritability, fatigue and absent-mindedness.

Behavioral manifestations of chronic stress include:

overeating or loss of appetite,

decreased quality of work and increased absenteeism,

increase in accidents,

more frequent smoking and drinking alcohol.

Somatic signs of stress include:

cardiac arrhythmias and palpitations,

pain and feeling of chest compression,

abdominal pain and diarrhea,

decreased libido and impotence,

menstrual irregularities,

tingling in the arms and legs,

pain in the head, neck, back, lower back,

feeling of a “lump” in the throat,

double vision,

blurred vision, skin rashes.

Assessing the diagnostic role of these phenomena, it is noted that fatigue, hopelessness, depression are more often than chest pain prognostic symptoms of sudden death. The above phenomena, however, most often form the picture of neuroses.

Women usually experience acute stress more easily than men; they adapt to stress factors more economically physiologically, but at the same time experience greater mental discomfort than men. Women suffer from neuroses more often than men. Some acquired personality traits also matter. Personal “type A”, characterized by a 3-7 times greater tendency to stress and the development of coronary artery disease in connection with this, compared to the parameters of “type B”. Type A people are characterized by a high pace of life, competitiveness, persistent desire for recognition from others, aggressiveness, and leadership qualities.

People are divided into externalities And internals.

Externals characterized by avoidance of difficult situations, blaming other people or “fate” for one’s difficulties, low achievement motivation, and the desire to obey other people.

Internals they prefer constructive strategies for coping with difficulties, trying to see their source in themselves. (A Chinese proverb says: a wise man looks for faults in himself, a foolish man looks for faults in others). Internals are confident in their abilities, are highly responsible and resistant to stress. They view any event as an incentive to develop their own capabilities. This type is formed in childhood under two conditions:

a) the presence of an object of imitation;

b) parents providing independence in solving life problems.

The type of adequate strategy in stressful situations is obviously determined by strength, mobility, balance of nervous processes and other properties of the body. In people, psychological methods are often used to assess the tendency to stress, for example, assessing anxiety on the Spielberger and Hanin scale, analyzing color preferences - the Luscher test.

Causes and signs of stress

Stress is characterized by a person’s psychological state, in which mental and physical activity is strongly felt. This condition occurs as a reaction of the body to internal and external stimuli, which can be both positive and negative. Most often, external stimuli include monotonous bustle, overstrain, great joy or negative emotions. A slight periodic state of stress will benefit anyone, as it forces you to think about solutions to a problem, and life without stress will quickly become boring. Stress helps a person acquire new qualities necessary for him to fight for existence, just as the human body, having had an infection, acquires immunity to it.

Main signs of stress

Stress in any person can be identified by the same signs that accompany this condition:

Irritability and depression for no particular reason;

Inability to concentrate on any activity;

Slowed thinking process, memory problems and frequent mistakes;

Chronic fatigue syndrome, apathy, reluctance to do anything;

Loss of appetite or, on the contrary, an insatiable feeling of hunger;

Increased sensitivity or nervous excitability;

Tearfulness, self-pity, constant desire to cry;

Loss of sense of humor;

Abuse of bad habits;

Frequent headaches and stomach cramps that are not related to any disease.

Symptoms of stress can appear individually or several at once, gradually causing a nervous breakdown.

Types of stress

According to emotional coloring, stress is divided into two types:

Eustress is positive stress, in which the process of self-knowledge, memory is activated and comprehension of reality occurs;

Distress is negative stress.

Causes of stress

Stress can occur in people, regardless of gender and age, but each organism has its own characteristics. To make it easier to cope with stress, doctors recommend identifying the causes of its occurrence. External causes of stress may include: change of place of residence or work, death of a loved one, germs and viruses, change in ambient temperature, and others. Internal causes of stress are the life beliefs and values of the person himself, as well as his personal self-esteem.

Consequences of stress

The effects of stress can be completely different or not observed at all, depending on the degree of stress, the person’s susceptibility to it and the reasons that caused the condition. If a person is exposed to stress for a long time, it can lead to stroke, sleep disturbances, weight loss, intimate disorders, as well as cause diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, heart, skin, and even provoke the development of cancer.

How to cope with stress

Some people try to relieve stress by becoming addicted to drugs, alcohol, or taking antidepressants. But these remedies, in addition to the last listed, create only the illusion of improvement, and only begin to aggravate the situation. Natural and beneficial methods of dealing with stress include:

Proper, healthy and regular nutrition;

Outdoor sports;

Breathing exercises and meditation;

Decoctions of soothing herbs, such as chamomile and lemon balm.

Treatment of depression: down with the blues

Midlife crisis in women

Midlife crisis: ways to overcome it

We live under stress, how to deal with it?!

In the modern world of industry, from the moment of birth, a person endures many types of stress, as it happens by nature. Everyday bustle, constant problems, worries, conflicts in various situations and difficulties do not add joy to us. What to do, how to deal with stress, bad situations and circumstances, anxiety and fatigue, depression, insomnia and overwork, nervous exhaustion?

There is no single recipe, each person is individual, what is suitable for one is unacceptable for another, it all depends on the desire to consciously manage one’s emotions and actions.

Constant public interest in this phenomenon, the development of new technologies in the development of means of getting rid of stress in modern life, methods of psychotherapy, leading an alternative lifestyle, and self-help books point to an “epidemic of stress” as a pathology that needs to be treated. However, knowing and taking into account the own psychological characteristics of a person who has suffered stress, increasing one’s own competence in this matter will reduce the risk of severe consequences in the occurrence and worsening of not only a wide variety of diseases, but also severe, life-threatening conditions and even suicide attempts.

Scientists suggest that the existence of stress is part of the evolutionary process because it is beneficial for survival. Specifically, stress temporarily improves brain function and physical performance.

The first mention of stress is found in Homer's Iliad (8th century BC), when Achilles complains of a feeling of emotional decline and is visited by thoughts of suicide.

Stress (from the English stress - pressure, pressure, tension) is a nonspecific (general) reaction of the body to an impact (physical or psychological) that disrupts its homeostasis, as well as the corresponding state of the nervous system of the body (or the body as a whole).

The body's response to stress was first described in 1932 by psychologist Walter Cannon, who called stress the “fight or flight response.”

The term “stress” has been firmly established in the literature on medicine and psychology since 1936, after the appearance in the journal Nature of a short report by the unknown Canadian physiologist Hans Selye entitled “The syndrome caused by various damaging agents.”

G. Selye established a triad of stress: 1) an increase in the adrenal cortex and a decrease in its lipid granules; 2) involution of the thymus, spleen, lymph nodes; 3) stomach and duodenal ulcers.

Subsequently, three stages of stress were identified:

the first is an anxiety reaction, in which the body's resistance decreases;
the second - resistance, in which resistance increases, the body's resistance increases due to hypertrophy of the adrenal cortex;
the third is exhaustion, when, after long-term exposure to a stressor, death occurs as a result of depletion of the function of the adrenal cortex.

Selye distinguishes two types of stress: eustress, which causes positive emotions, and distress, which leads to pathology.

Stressor - an extreme or pathological stimulus of significant strength and duration; adverse effects causing stress. A stimulus becomes a stressor either due to the meaning a person assigns to it (cognitive interpretation), or through lower brain sensory mechanisms, through the mechanisms of digestion and metabolism.

Despite the fact that there are numerous works on the study of stress reactions, there is still no generally accepted classification of them. Many authors distinguish between physiological and pathological stress. Others subdivide forms of stress depending on the type of irritants and dysfunctions of the body.

Moreover, a new approach to studying the nature of stressors has emerged. In the work “Stress, coping and development” K. Aldwin proposed to classify stressors on two grounds:

strength - weakness of stress
duration of action.

Based on these criteria, four types of stressors are distinguished:

trauma (catastrophe, accident) - a phenomenon or event that is short in duration but strong in impact (war, death, unexpected divorce);
life event - an event that is longer lasting and has a great impact on future life and destiny (the appearance/departure of a family member, moving);
chronic role stressor (tension) - this includes, first of all, conflicts that accumulate and cannot be resolved during the performance of certain social roles (“breadwinner”, sexual partner, wife, mother-in-law, son-in-law, etc.);
life difficulties that arise during the daily interaction of the individual and the environment, or microstressors. These are mild stressors, the strength of which can increase, accumulate, and pose a greater difficulty for the family than any life event (for example, a constant lack of money, poor housing).

This interpretation reflects the current picture in the study of the problems of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. The relevance of this approach is due to the fact that in modern society the cause of stress is increasingly becoming life events that are declared the main stressors.

Stress develops according to certain patterns and goes through a number of stages:

The stage of mobilization, accompanied by increased attention and activity. This is a normal, working stage, in which forces are spent economically and expediently. Loads, even frequent ones, at this stage, lead to training the body and increasing its resistance to stress.
The stage of sthenic negative emotion occurs if the problem cannot be solved. There is an excess of negative emotions that are sthenic, active in nature: rage, anger, aggression. The body spends resources uneconomically, trying to achieve a goal at any cost, which leads to exhaustion of the body.
The stage of asthenic negative emotion occurs as a result of experiencing a series of negative emotions that are asthenic, passive and powerless in nature. A person is overcome by melancholy, despair, and disbelief in the possibility of getting out of a difficult situation.
If the stressor continues to act, neurosis, breakdown, complete demoralization, and resignation to defeat occur.

Further medical and psychological consequences of prolonged stress are also formed in stages, in order of increasing severity of disorders.

Mechanisms of stress

The body reacts to the action of a stressor by turning on physiological and psychological mechanisms, which we call defense mechanisms.

Mild stress manifests itself only in some excitement, which soon passes. If the stressor is too strong or the body's defenses are insufficient, the stress may result in mental or psychosomatic damage. However, in any case, a stressor is a certain external force, and stress is the body’s internal, physiological resistance to this force.

Do all people experience stress? Or is someone not exposed to any stressors? Does nationality, latitude, skin or hair color, gender, age play a role in this? The answer is universal - “it all depends on the individual characteristics of the person.” In stress theory, this translates into the concept of stress response.

Such a wide variety of character types, temperaments, nervous systems and other special human traits immediately leads to the simplest idea: people, in principle, cannot react in the same way to the same stressor. Every two people are different from each other and from the third. Therefore, choleric people are easily susceptible to stress, sanguine people - less easily, and phlegmatic and melancholic people, most likely, do not experience stress at all or experience it extremely rarely and as if “accidentally”.

Signs - symptoms of stress

Clinical signs and symptoms of stress in humans include, in particular, a sudden feeling of malaise, diffuse pain in the joints and muscles, gastrointestinal disorders with loss of appetite, and weight loss.

Physical signs and symptoms of stress include the following changes: increased heart rate; arrhythmia; increased blood pressure; sweaty palms; tension in the pectoral, neck, tongue and back muscles; headache; diarrhea (or constipation); urinary incontinence; trembling, twitching of limbs and eyelids; stuttering and other speech defects; nausea or vomiting; sleep disturbance; fatigue; shallow and rapid breathing; dry mouth or throat; susceptibility to minor illnesses, cold hands, itching; timidity.

Emotional signs and symptoms of stress: irritability, outbursts of resentment, hostility towards others, depression, renewed feelings of jealousy, impatience, preoccupation, limited initiative, feelings of unreality and excessive vigilance, deterioration in sociability, loss of interest in everything, tendency to shout, excessive criticality to the actions of household members and colleagues, self-judgment, nightmares, intolerance to what was previously tolerated, inadequate perception of positive experiences, obsessive thoughts, insomnia, sexual indifference, changes in eating habits, weakened reflexes to positive emotional reactions.

Cognitive and perceptual signs and symptoms of stress: forgetfulness, preoccupation, memory lapses, blurred vision, errors in judging distances, living with a diminished or heightened imagination, diminished creativity, withdrawal, inability to concentrate, thought disorder, decreased productivity, loss attention to detail, focus on the past, weakened psychomotor reactivity and coordination, lack of attention, weakened self-esteem, weakened sense of meaning in life, loss of control or need for excessive control over one's actions, negative self-affirmation, negative evaluation of experience.

Behavioral signs and symptoms of stress: unusually frequent smoking, aggressive behavior (such as driving), excessive use of alcohol and medications, inattention, undereating or overeating, apathy, withdrawal, wanting to get into an accident, nervous laughter, obsessive behavior, impatience .

Women have slightly different symptoms of stress than men, but they can also be physical and emotional. Physical symptoms include, in addition to those already listed, headache, migraine, fatigue, joint pain, lower back pain, and abdominal cramps.

Emotional and behavioral changes consist of general preoccupation, depression, panic attacks, loss of coordination, decreased performance at home and in social life, and altered self-preservation instincts.

Concern in women is expressed by irritability, unreasonable shouting, an obvious complete lack of control over their habits and actions, the emergence of addictions to certain types of food - most often to sweets and chocolate, dairy products, including cheese, sometimes to alcohol or food in general.

Depression manifests itself as unusual confusion, rudeness, forgetfulness, withdrawal, inexplicable fearfulness, thoughts of suicide, and, rarely, acts of suicide.

Heaviness in the head and headaches are special, predominantly female signs of stress. When stress occurs, some changes occur in the body, causing fluid to be retained in the body, and this leads to headaches, chest pain, bloating and weight gain.

In addition to the regularity of the usual symptoms observed before menstruation, certain signs appear during stress that distinguish premenstrual syndrome from other disorders. Often this syndrome is caused by hormonal reasons. It begins with the onset of puberty, immediately after the end of pregnancy, after starting to take birth control pills, after hormone-dependent surgical operations (hysterectomy or tubal ligation), during the onset of menopause.

Criteria and diagnostic methods

For many years, the most commonly used methods for measuring stress response in humans were based on physiological and psychological criteria. Various disease-related indicators were used. Currently, there are a large number of different methods for assessing mental state and psychological traits, based on determining the “psychological” effects of the stress response.

Today it is becoming absolutely clear that an integrated approach to the analysis and diagnosis of human conditions is not enough. The future lies in a systematic approach. The main components of a multidimensional assessment of individual stress resistance include:

assessment of the severity of cognitive-affective complexes of anxiety, depression and anger, characterizing the degree of subjective stressogenicity of situations, regardless of their subject content;
assessment of the degree of depletion of psychophysiological resources that play a central role in ensuring activities to overcome difficulties.

When assessing the state of tension, electroencephalographic (EEG) indicators are of great importance.

Autonomic shifts are often observed not only during extreme factors, but also during the period of anticipation of critical events, when feelings of anxiety arise, increased attention, etc. Most often, galvanic skin response (GSR) and skin temperature are used to diagnose the condition of the ANS.

The simplest and most efficient method of assessing a person’s functional state under stress is to measure his heart rate and pulse. It has been established that with pronounced tension, the heart rate reaches 150–180 beats per minute, which can be determined with a cardiotachometer.

The most commonly used “indicators” of a stress response are the level of stress hormones in the urine and (or) blood plasma - ACTH, corticosteroids.

It is impossible to treat stress itself, since it is the body’s reaction to surrounding events, so attention is paid to the treatment and prevention of a wide variety of consequences of stress.

Of course, not a single article on the Internet can replace the professional help of a qualified specialist, so an integrated approach is needed in the selection of non-drug (including preventive) and medicinal measures.

Normalization of work, rest, daily routine, especially sleep duration is of great importance. It is necessary to engage in sports such as: swimming, skiing, skating, cycling, walking.

Nutrition plays a certain role in treatment and prevention (do not overeat, limit fluids and salt, eat little and often, avoid hypercaloric foods).

Psycho- and hypnotherapy (auto-training, relaxation, etc.) is of great importance due to the increasing number of borderline neuropsychic disorders.

Physio- and acupuncture reflexotherapy (ultrasound, sinusoidal modulated currents, inductothermy, electrosleep, galvanization using the reflex-segmental technique or the method of general exposure, application of paraffin and ozokerite to the cervical-occipital region).

And, of course, great importance is given to optimally selected drug therapy.

Herbal medicine (sedative therapy: tincture of valerian, peony, motherwort, Sedafiton, Alora, Novo-passit, Persen) helps normalize hypothalamic-visceral relationships, the activity of the cardiovascular system, and sleep.

Collections from plants and herbs are used for increased nervous excitability, have a sedative effect and improve sleep. Improvement with herbal medicine occurs after 2–3 weeks, but a lasting effect is achieved only in the case of long-term regular use of herbal infusions (6–8 months). Another disadvantage of sedative herbal medicine is daytime drowsiness.

Pathogenetic therapy consists of normalizing the disturbed functional relationships of the limbic zone of the brain, the hypothalamus and internal organs. Valerian and motherwort herb have not only a calming effect, but also a “stem” effect, that is, they normalize the function of the brain stem and hypothalamus.

Combinations of medicinal plants are used for insomnia, due to the hop cones and lemon balm leaves (Antistress) included in the composition.

Adaptogenic (general tonic) agents are indicated for rapid restoration of strength during work associated with daily mental and nervous overload. These include preparations of plant and animal origin, waste products of bees: ginseng root, Eleutherococcus extract, Schisandra fruits, Aralia tincture, Zamanikha tincture, Rhodiola rosea extract, pantocrine, apilac, propolis.

The action of adaptogens, compensating the effects of stress, is multifaceted. Minimum therapeutic doses of adaptogens cause general relaxation, some lethargy, and decreased excitability. Medium doses have a moderate stimulating effect, creating a feeling of vivacity, a surge of energy, and emotional uplift. Excessively high doses can cause overexcitation, irritability, insomnia, and aggressiveness.

The most powerful adaptogens are Leuzea, Eleutherococcus and ginseng; they are somewhat inferior to Schisandra and Aralia.

Adaptogens have a wide range of therapeutic effects, so even multiple excesses of their therapeutic doses do not cause significant complications. They have low toxicity, physiological properties, and the absence of significant side effects when used rationally. Adaptogens combine well with vitamins and other medications and can be used in complex therapy. They weaken the effect of sedatives and hypnotics, and enhance the activity of central nervous system stimulants, such as caffeine.

It is advisable to use adaptogens in older people; it is not for nothing that they are called drugs that prolong youth. Adaptogens improve sleep and mood. During fatigue and heavy physical exertion, they increase performance by 1.5–2 times.

Small doses of adaptogens enhance anabolic processes and slow down catabolism, so they are used to gain muscle and total body weight. Doses that cause activation are used in cases of decreased immunity, in long-term sluggish and chronic inflammatory diseases, in cases of excessive lethargy and decreased performance, i.e., in cases where it is necessary to activate the body's responses.

However, there are certain restrictions when using drugs in this group. It is advisable to take them once a day - in the morning, as this corresponds to the normal biorhythms of the human body. Adaptogens increase body temperature, so they are used with caution in hot weather. For children under 16 years of age, drugs in this group are used only as specifically prescribed by a doctor, since they accelerate puberty.

For neuroses and neurosis-like conditions, antidepressants (Amitriptyline, Gellarium Hypericum) are prescribed according to indications and after consultation with a neuropsychiatrist. Relieves neurotic manifestations in the form of asthenia, depression, reduces melancholy, improves mood due to inhibition of monoamine oxidase.

Moderate-acting tranquilizers (Mebicar, Tranquilar) have anxiolytic properties, have a calming effect, reduce neurotic manifestations (fear, anxiety, dread), have a vegetotropic property, have a good effect in functional cardiopathy, vascular dysfunction (eliminate blood pressure lability), and facilitate falling asleep.

Magnesium preparations (Magne B6, Gamalate B6) play a special role in controlling stress reactions, because The need for magnesium with excessive chronic fatigue increases significantly. Magnesium is involved in most metabolic reactions, in the regulation of the transmission of nerve impulses and muscle contraction, and has antispasmodic and antiplatelet effects. Clinically, deficiency can manifest itself as: insomnia, chronic fatigue, numbness and tingling in the extremities, migraine, muscle cramps and spasms, arrhythmia, constipation, osteoporosis.

Unlike other drugs containing magnesium, Gamalate B6 contains gamma-amino-butyric acid and its metabolite - gamma-amino-beta-hydroxy-butyric acid. GABA is an important neuroregulator in the central nervous system, balancing the processes of excitation and inhibition in the brain, promotes concentration, and improves memory. Has a positive effect on symptoms of anxiety and stress. Gamalate B6 allows you to find a state of emotional balance without causing drowsiness. Magnesium in Gamalate B6 is in the form of a unique chelate compound - a glutamate salt associated with hydrobromide, which improves its absorption in the gastrointestinal tract and increases efficiency. Magnesium glutamate hydrobromide, influencing the synthesis of melatonin (the main anti-stress hormone), has adaptogenic properties. Gamalate B6 therapy is cost-effective because one tablet combines anti-anxiety and nootropic effects, sedative and adaptogenic effects.

Almost all sleeping pills can be considered anti-stress, since by improving the structure of sleep, they increase (or restore) the anti-stress function of sleep.

Modern classes of sleeping pills are represented by ethanolamines (doxylamine - Donormil, Sonmil), cyclopyrrolones (zopiclone - Sonnat, Imovan, Normason, Sonovan), pyrosolopyrimidines (zaleplon - Andante, Selofen), ididazopyridines (zolpidem - Ivadal) melatonin (Vita-melatonin, Melaxen) , as well as combinations of sleeping pills and sedatives, which were mentioned above.

With such a form of primary insomnia as acute insomnia, the use of sleeping pills during the period of the stress factor is completely justified; treatment usually lasts 2–3 weeks, or sleeping pills are prescribed “as needed” in case of fluctuations in the intensity of the stress effect.

In therapeutic dosages, these drugs do not have the negative effects of benzodiazepines (addiction, dependence, the need to constantly increase the daily dose, withdrawal syndrome, worsening wakefulness), and doxylamine and melatonin (which are not GABAergic drugs) can be used for sleep apnea syndrome. Modern hypnotics have a positive effect on the structure of night sleep and on well-being during wakefulness. The positive dynamics noted in subjective reports of well-being after the first use of these hypnotics allows us to recommend them for the prevention of the negative consequences of stress.

A course of treatment for 10 days increases the effectiveness of these drugs compared to a single use. It is most advisable to prescribe these drugs in short courses, mainly for short-term stress and associated sleep disorders.

Thus, stress reactions are a necessary component of life processes. It is obvious that modern ideas about stress are changing both in the scientific field and at the layman level. Since time immemorial, the influence of the nervous system and human personality on the course and development of the disease has been of great importance and only through the development of the direction of the future (psychosomatic direction) will the effectiveness of treatment of various stress reactions increase, through the rational organization of the treatment process. Therefore, be persistent! Do not give up! Every person has colossal power - the ability to self-heal! Sergey Matvienko

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Changes in the functional systems of the body under stress.

Psychological stress can manifest itself in changes in various functional systems of the body, and the intensity of the disturbances can vary from a slight change in emotional mood to such serious diseases as a stomach ulcer or myocardial infarction. There are several ways to classify stress reactions, but for psychologists the most promising is to divide them into behavioral, intellectual, emotional and physiological manifestations. Previously, a similar classification of body reactions was used to study the state of anxiety, which often accompanies psychological stress.

There are close objective relationships between these forms of stress.

1) Changes in behavioral responses under stress

The variety of behavioral manifestations of stress can be divided into four groups.

Psychomotor disorders may manifest themselves:

Excessive muscle tension (especially often in the face and “collar” area);

Hand trembling;

Changes in breathing rhythm;

Reducing the speed of sensorimotor reaction;

Speech dysfunction, etc.

Violations of the regimeday can be expressed in a reduction in sleep, shifting work cycles to the night, giving up good habits and replacing them with inadequate ways to compensate for stress.

Professional misconduct can be expressed in an increase in the number of errors when performing habitual actions at work, in chronic lack of time, in low productivity of professional activity. The coordination of movements, their accuracy, and the proportionality of the required efforts deteriorate.

Violations of social role functions under stress, they are expressed in a decrease in the time spent communicating with loved ones and friends, an increase in conflict, a decrease in sensitivity during communication, and the appearance of various signs of antisocial behavior. At the same time, a person under prolonged stress takes less into account social norms and standards, which can manifest itself in a loss of attention to his appearance. Distress also has a detrimental effect on the individual’s social connections with other people. When experiencing deep stress, relationships with loved ones and work colleagues can deteriorate significantly, up to a complete break, while the main problem remains unresolved, and people experience severe feelings of guilt and hopelessness.

Inappropriate attempts to compensate for stress are expressed in more intense alcohol consumption, increased daily smoking rates, excess food intake, etc. People often try to reduce increased stress levels through aggressive impulses, “throwing out” negative emotions on other people.

Inadequate methods of stress relief are mainly characteristic of people who look for the causes of their problems and stress in the external environment, and to a greater extent this relates to the desire of such people to use alcohol as a “universal anti-stress method.”

2) Changes in intellectual processes under stress

Under stress, all aspects of intellectual activity usually suffer, including such basic properties of intelligence as memory and attention.

What explains this form of stress? Violation of attention indicators is primarily due to the fact that a stress dominant is formed in the human cerebral cortex, around which all thoughts and experiences are formed. At the same time, concentrating voluntary attention on other objects is difficult and increased distractibility is noted.

Memory function suffers to a slightly lesser extent. Nevertheless, the constant workload of consciousness by discussing the causes of stress and searching for a way out of it reduces the capacity of RAM, and the hormonal levels changed during stress disrupt the process of reproducing the necessary information.

It should also be noted that there is a possible disruption of the normal interaction of the cerebral hemispheres during severe emotional stress towards greater dominance of the right, “emotional” hemisphere, and a decrease in the influence of the left, “logical” half of the cerebral cortex on human consciousness. All of the above processes are not only a consequence of the development of psychological stress, but also prevent its successful and timely resolution, since a decrease in thinking potential makes it difficult to find a way out of a stressful situation.

V.L. Marishchuk and V.I. Evdokimov write that “many phenomena of disturbance of thought processes under stress can be explained based on the physiological concept of dominance.” According to these authors, during mental tension caused by acute stress, the dominant, according to the law of negative induction, temporarily extinguishes other centers of excitation, which are the physiological substrates of other opinions, more substantiated motives, and true knowledge.

On this occasion they write: “If we use psychological terms, then a special psychological attitude arises, through the prism of which existing and newly incoming information is comprehended (as through a “distorting mirror”). Past experience, knowledge, and motives are temporarily extinguished, and the assessment of the situation is measured only against the standard of a given attitude, even if it is deeply false. Everything that is subject to comprehension can be seen in a false light, assessed tendentiously, and at the moment it seems to a person that he is right (after all, all other sources of internal information are temporarily extinguished).

The matter is complicated by the fact that the dominant (as long as it functions and is supported by emotions) is less vulnerable. As Academician A. Ukhtomsky noted, the dominant acts according to special laws - it intensifies regardless of whether positive or negative influences are directed at it. In the language of psychology, this means that convincing arguments are sometimes rejected, and erroneous motives triumph. It is characteristic that when the tension ceases, when the negative induction from the dominant focus ceases to have its effect, and everything that was in rational experience begins to be reproduced in consciousness, we seem to “see the light” from “emotional poisoning” and sometimes cannot understand how we passed by the obvious arguments why we were stubborn, why we were rude, and sometimes committed negative actions contrary to our own value orientations.”

3) Changes in physiological processes under stress

The physiological manifestations of stress affect almost all human organ systems - digestive, cardiovascular and respiratory. However, researchers most often focus on the cardiovascular system, which has increased sensitivity and whose reactions to stress can be relatively easily recorded. Under stress, the following objective changes are recorded:

Increased heart rate or change in its regularity;

Increased blood pressure, disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract;

Reduced electrical resistance of the skin, etc.

A person who is in a state of psychological stress usually experiences various negative experiences: stress can manifest itself in the form of pain in the heart and other organs; difficulty breathing, muscle tension; discomfort in the digestive organs, etc.

Disturbances in the normal activity of individual organs and their systems, on the one hand, and the reflection of these disturbances in consciousness, on the other hand, lead to complex physiological and biochemical disorders: decreased immunity, increased fatigue, frequent ailments, changes in body weight, etc.

V.L. Marishchuk and V.I. Evdokimov, describing states of emotional tension (short-term stress), note “a sharp increase and disturbance in the rhythm of pulse and breathing, profuse sweating, sudden changes in pupil diameter, vasomotor reactions on the face, a sharp increase in peristalsis, etc. d." All these objective changes are reflected in the subjective experiences of a person experiencing stress.

4) Emotional manifestations of stress

The emotional form of stress affects various aspects of the psyche.

First of all, this concerns the characteristics general emotional background, which takes on a negative, gloomy, pessimistic connotation. With prolonged stress, a person becomes more anxious compared to his normal state, loses faith in success and, in the case of particularly prolonged stress, can become depressed.

Against the background of such an altered mood, a person experiencing stress experiences stronger emotional outbursts, more often - negative character. These can be emotional reactions of irritability, anger, aggression, even affective states.

Long-term or repeated short-term stress can lead to change of entire character a person in whom new traits appear or existing ones are strengthened: introversion, a tendency to self-blame, low self-esteem, suspicion, aggressiveness, etc.

Given certain prerequisites, all of the above changes go beyond the psychological norm and acquire features of psychopathology, which most often manifest themselves in the form various neuroses(asthenic, neurosis of anxious anticipation, etc.).

Negative emotional states (fear, anxiety, pessimism, negativism, increased aggressiveness) are both consequences and prerequisites for the development of stress.

Objective causes of psychological stress.

Stress-causing factors include acute or chronic traumatic circumstances, severe unfavorable life changes, educational or work overload, conflicts in the family or at work.

The objective causes of stress in modern people can be divided into four groups:

1) his living and working conditions (living conditions, production factors, ecology);

2) people with whom he interacts (strict boss, bad neighbors, careless subordinates);

3) social environmental factors (high prices, credit conditions, bad government, taxes);

4) emergency circumstances (natural and man-made disasters, illnesses and injuries).

It should be noted that the term “objective reasons” is quite conditional, since a person can, to one degree or another, influence almost any “objective” stressor. For example, he can choose different conditions of his life, change the composition of his immediate social environment, and even counteract certain natural or man-made disasters. The group of objective causes includes those stressors that exist outside the consciousness of the person experiencing stress, although they can be modified by this consciousness.

Stress is the body’s reaction to strong emotions (they can be negative and positive), fuss and overexertion. During this period, the human body begins to produce the hormone adrenaline - it needs to find a way out! Many people claim that stress is an essential component of every person’s life: without such emotions, “shocks” and worries, life will be too boring and insipid. But you should understand that if there are a lot of stressful situations, then the body gets tired and begins to lose strength and ability to solve even complex problems.

Stress has been very well studied by scientists and doctors; the mechanisms for the development of this condition have even been identified - the nervous, hormonal and vascular systems are involved. The condition in question negatively affects overall health (immunity decreases, gastrointestinal diseases develop, and begins over time), so it is necessary not only to know everything about stress and resist it, but also to understand what methods you can use to return your condition to a healthy level.

Causes of stress

In fact, the cause of the development of a stressful state can be absolutely any situation that can have a strong impact on a person. For example, for many, the loss of gloves is considered a trifle, a slight annoyance, but there are people who regard such a loss from the other side - worries, frustration, a real tragedy. External irritants such as the death of a loved one and constant scandals at work also have a great influence on a person’s emotional background. If we talk about internal irritants-causes, then we are talking about a revision of some life positions, beliefs, and self-esteem of a person. Both men and women of different ages are exposed to stress, regardless of their social status and financial well-being. And if a small amount of stress is even beneficial to the body, then constant stay in this state will lead to serious pathological changes. In some cases, the concept of “stress” is used to define a specific irritant - for example, physical irritants include prolonged exposure to cold or heat. In general, there are three main types of the condition under consideration:

chemical stress– reaction to exposure to various toxic substances;
mental– impact on the body of positive/negative emotions;
biological– provoke muscle overload, injuries, various types of diseases.

Symptoms of stress

What can be considered a stressful condition? The answer to this question can be obtained by knowing the main signs of stress.:

Irritability and/or depressed mood. Moreover, these phenomena are considered symptoms of stress only if they occur without any reason.
Bad dream. Even with maximum fatigue, after a hard day of work and the need to get up early, a person under stress will not be able to sleep soundly.
Feeling worse. We are talking about constant, non-intensive symptoms, chronic fatigue and an unwillingness to do anything at all.
Brain dysfunction. Signs of stress can include decreased performance, impaired concentration, etc. Sclerosis will not develop, and the condition cannot be called amnesia, but stress can lead to the inability to fully engage in studies and mental work.
Apathy. In a stressed state, a person loses interest in others, stops communicating with friends and relatives, and tries to retire.
Bad mood. This concept includes increased tearfulness, self-pity, melancholy, pessimistic attitude, crying, turning into hysterics.

Under stress, a person notices disturbances in appetite - it may disappear completely or, on the contrary, it may become regular. In addition, as stress progresses, nervous tics and characteristic movements of the same type appear - for example, a person may constantly bite his lips or bite his nails. Distrust of others also develops. The above symptoms of the condition in question will allow you to immediately determine whether a person is under stress. You can take one of the many stress tests that are available on the Internet, but it is better to seek help from professionals. Experienced psychologists immediately give you the opportunity to undergo truly competent tests, determine the level of stress and select treatment.

Stages of stress development

The above signs of the condition in question cannot appear suddenly and immediately - stress, like any pathology, has a progressive development. Doctors distinguish several stages of stress progression:

First– the body mobilizes, internal tension increases, a person has clear cognitive processes and an increased ability to remember information.
Second stage– stress goes into a more hidden state, as if hiding inside the body. The transition to this stage occurs only with prolonged stress of the first stage of development - the person enters a period of maladjustment. Characteristic features of the second stage of stress:

reduction in the quality of activities of any kind;
disorganized behavior;
recently acquired information is lost in memory;
actions are committed whose consequences a person does not think about.

Third– there is a decline in internal energy, characterized by nervous exhaustion. The result may be inappropriate behavior, which over a long period of time can lead to serious illnesses.

Note:The first and second stages of stress do not necessarily require the help of doctors - the human body is very strong, it has powerful potential, which must be used in stressful conditions. But the third stage requires the involvement of specialists - psychologists, psychoneurologists, therapists - in solving the problem.

Stress Treatment Methods

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If difficult days have come, you feel constant tension inside, suffer from insomnia and causeless irritation, then do not rush to take medications. Of course, you can buy sedatives at the pharmacy, but first you need to try to solve the problem with your own body.

What you can do yourself

At the first symptoms of stress, and indeed during the period of solving numerous problems, it is worth periodically taking a break from the hustle and bustle. To do this, you can read a book, watch your favorite movies, visit friends and have a relaxing evening meeting. The main thing is not to get carried away with alcohol and noisy establishments at this time, because this will not relieve tension, but will only add unpleasant sensations. Doctors recommend that if you want to relieve stress, go for... water treatments. Moreover, this can be a regular shower in an apartment (ideally a contrast shower), swimming in a pool, or relaxing on an open pond. Even according to psychics and traditional healers, water can cleanse the energy field and restore energy levels in the body. When stress has not yet developed into severe conditions, you can get rid of it with the help of a sedative. And for this it is not at all necessary to use any special mixtures - just brew mint, lemon balm or oregano in the form of tea and drink throughout the day instead of drinks and coffee. A glass of mint decoction will help with insomnia - 1 tablespoon of dry leaves of the plant per 200 ml of boiling water. You need to drink this “medicine” an hour and a half before bedtime, every day. But keep in mind that you shouldn’t get too carried away with brewed mint – 5-7 doses are enough to restore proper sleep. To relieve tension, you can also use baths with a decoction of medicinal plants. It’s easy to prepare a decoction: take 50 g each of rosemary, wormwood and linden blossom, add 3 liters of water and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Then the resulting product is poured into the bath - the result should be warm water. The regimen for taking soothing baths is twice a week for 20 minutes before bedtime.

What can a doctor do?

If you feel that you cannot cope with the signs of stress on your own, the tension only increases, and those around you irritate you, then you should seek professional help. You can immediately go to an appointment with a psychologist - a specialist will not only listen, but also suggest ways to solve the problem, and, if necessary, refer you for consultation to psychiatrists and neurologists. Important:It is strictly forbidden to use medications from the group of tranquilizers and nootropics on your own - they must be prescribed by a doctor after an examination.

The effect of stress on the body

Stress is not just a bad mood and emotional turmoil. Such a pathological condition will certainly have a negative impact on both human health and the social component of life.

Stress and health

No one claims that periodically flaring periods of irritability and indifference will necessarily harm the body - periodically experiencing strong emotions (they, by the way, do not always have to be positive!) is useful for everyone. But prolonged stress can lead to the following consequences::

disturbances in the functioning of the cardiovascular system occur - heart attacks, angina, sustained;
a person may develop inflammation of the pancreas and thyroid glands;
In women, the menstrual cycle is disrupted and menopause may occur prematurely;
the gastrointestinal tract suffers - colitis and duodenum can be diagnosed.

Don’t think that after 2 stresses the above diseases will definitely appear - doctors call the condition in question a “time bomb”. After all, it’s impossible that there is a saying – all diseases are caused by nerves! Regular stress provokes a high concentration of glucocorticoids - this leads over time to muscular dystrophy, and the absorption of calcium by a large number of hormones “released” during stress ends in the development of osteoporosis.
In any case, the health consequences of stress are truly serious - the importance of preventing the condition in question is not even worth discussing.

The impact of stress on the fullness of life

Stress itself does not affect others in any way - you cannot become infected with it. But bad mood, tearfulness, regular hysterics, irritation and attacks of unmotivated apathy can upset not only communication with friends and relatives. Due to frequent stress, families break up - who would want to tolerate an unbalanced person next to them? After experiencing stress, it is recommended to do the following::

"Let off some steam". Choose a secluded place, get out of the city into nature, or just go to a vacant lot - you will need to scream loudly. It is screaming that will help you “throw out” accumulated negative emotions. You can scream any word or sound; usually two or three powerful screams are enough to feel great relief.
Breathing exercises. A direct connection between breathing and a person’s emotional state has long been established - for example, when you are very frightened, your breath “stops.” When irritation occurs, you can quickly calm down by taking a deep breath through your nose, holding it for 2-3 seconds, and exhaling deeply through your mouth.

You will find detailed information about methods of dealing with stress using breathing exercises in the video review:

Physical activity. To minimize the effects of a stressful state, you need to engage in any physical activity - jogging in the fresh air, working out on a weight machine, cleaning the house, weeding the garden.
Support from loved ones. This is a very important point in the treatment of stress - by experiencing your condition alone, a person will only increase anxiety, and very dark thoughts will appear. Most often, you just need to talk to someone, share your pain, cry - there will be no trace of stress left, and your psycho-emotional state will recover quickly.