Most of the time, we hear from the people that they are feeling stressed or their life has been stressful recently, etc. In fact, many people keep telling this every day. On the other hand, some people don’t accept that they are stressed because they don’t know the signs and symptoms. This blog is focused on what exactly is stress. How it is caused and how to know if you are really stressed or it is something else? How to deal with it?
To know more, let’s get started.
What is Stress?
There are many definitions of stress as people feel it in a very different way. It’s a body’s reaction towards situations that may be of any form. But in simple words, it is nothing but your body’s reaction in a physical and emotional way to whatever is happening around you. Stress can be either external or internal. External stress can be caused by the environment, the situations around you, sudden changes in your life, etc. Whereas, internal stress can be caused by illness, your medical conditions, negative self-talk, pessimism, etc.
All of us have encountered stress somehow and stress isn’t always bad. It is perfectly normal to feel stressed in some situations because it motivates us. This kind of stress is called good stress. The other type of stress is bad stress which disturbs you mentally and causes some health troubles too.
Signs of Stress
Stress cannot be associated with only one or two symptoms. As there are many causes of stress, the signs and symptoms have a wide range too. To know some major one, read ahead and find out.
Physical Signs
Acne –
One of the most visible and known signs of stress is Acne. When in stressful situations, people touch their faces a lot. This spreads bacteria and promotes the formation of acne. Also, there are some hormonal shifts because of stress that may cause acne.
Reduced Energy and Insomnia –
Stress may lead to making your body vulnerable in a way that you start feeling weak. The fatigue level of any person is strongly associated with the stress level. It also disturbs the sleep cycle of the person, which again leads to decreased energy.
Headaches –
We usually see that the people who are under tremendous stress, always complain about the headache. Other factors like lack of sleep, addiction due to stress level also causes headache.
Upset stomach and other digestive issues –
When the person is stressed, the quantity of acid in the stomach increases and problems like indigestion and heartburn occur. Also, the lack of sleep impacts the digestive system of the person. Therefore, if the person is under stress continuously, the condition of irritable bowel syndrome may occur.
Mental/ Emotional Signs
Low Self-esteem –
This is one of the emotional symptoms of stress. When a person is under stress, it is commonly observed that self-doubt is bound to occur which results in self-esteem.
Difficulty in Mindfulness –
Being in stressful conditions can be identified by the less mindfulness of the person. When stressed, it becomes difficult to concentrate on actions and thoughts.
Sudden Frustration and Mood Swings –
Mood swings and frustration can be triggered by stress. If you are suddenly feeling sad, hopeless, alone along with frustration, you might need help.
Stress Detector Technology
As technology is evolving, there are very few things left that are impossible. There is lots of research going on stress detection using psychological sensors. Things aren’t final yet because the one or group of psychological signals may or may not detect the stress with high accuracy. The validation of this technology is difficult because it has shown the correct results in some cases, whereas, it failed in others. Some devices like heart rate detectors are available to know psychological health, but this won’t helpfully to know whether the person is really stressed or not.
Causes of Stress
The causes of stress can be different for all of us. The major ones are mentioned below.
Impractical Expectations –
Stress is the gap between what you want and what you have. If you expect a lot from yourself, you will feel stressed.
The Major Change in Life –
A sudden change in your life can be a reason for your stress. This change can be anything from your wedding, a job promotion, birth of the child, financial problem, death of the loved one, etc.
Fear –
If you are scared of something, you may get constant stress attacks whenever you hear about such a thing. The fear can cause intense stress in a person.
Busy schedule –
If you have a busy schedule, then you are bound to feel stressed as you get no time to relax your body and mind. Rest and good sleep are two very important factors in the well being of any person.
Pessimism –
In simpler words, it means the negative attitude or the tendency to think in the worst possible way about coming things. This can also be called a fear of believing that the worst things will happen. Pessimism can affect your mental health badly and may cause intense stress.
What Happens When you are Stressed? : Hidden Signs
All the above-mentioned signs and causes are pretty common when a person is stressed. There are many other changes that are usually left unnoticed. Some of such hidden symptoms are the random rashes on the skin, feeling like eating your comfort food, and trying to focus on stress more than what actually causes it. Another thing that is left unnoticed is stress eating. You keep eating to deal with the stress without even realizing it. You take big decisions suddenly and hesitate to take small ones. Your reproductive system does not behave well. All these things keep happening in the background.
How to Deal with Stress?
Dealing with stress can be a really tough thing but it is important because if not done, you are putting yourself in a risky position. Your entire wellbeing is at risk.
Find What Causes Stress –
If you are experiencing various symptoms of stress, find out the sources of these symptoms. This isn’t as easy as it sounds but if you analyze your day to day activities and routine well, you will find some stress triggers. Try to eliminate them or work on the improvement. The source can be a person/ a group of people too.
Talk to Someone –
Talking to someone who would not judge you will help you distract yourself from the stressful condition. You may get a different perspective about things which will help you relieve. It can also make you realize that you were stressing yourself for no reason.
The following are some lifestyle changes that you can make in order to manage your stress well.
Learn to Accept things that are not in your Control –
There are many things in our lives that are beyond our control such as the behavior of other people, the health of the loved ones. These things can stress you out, but you won’t be able to do anything except learning to accept what it is.
Get Enough Sleep –
Sleep and relaxation are really important to manage any kind of health issue. Make sure you get enough sleep of 7-8 hrs each day. Try to keep up with your sleeping schedule and avoid using screens, caffeine before sleeping. It will be better if you don’t do mentally draining work just before going to sleep.
Make Time for your Hobbies –
Everyone loves to do something of their interests. Try to take some time for such things. Doing what you love can help you reduce the stress level. Hobbies provide an outlet for your stress and make you less susceptible to stress.
Manage your Time Well –
Why is this important? – Because if you manage your time well, you get time to relax, to spend with family, to keep up with your hobbies. Also, time management helps you stay productive which prevents you from stressful and rushing conditions.
Get Physically Active
Exercising reduces the stress hormones of your body. Exercising or any physical activities like dance produces endorphins which are the natural painkillers. They also reduce sleeping and relaxing ability.
When to look for help?
The sooner, the better. If you think that things are getting beyond your control, you can immediately seek help. Many people experience suicidal behavior when they are stressed.
You can’t wait until this point. Get help as soon as possible, without the fear of judgment.
The Bottom Line
Stress is something that all of us have experienced in our lives. It can affect us in many ways and if not managed well, it can cause major damage to your wellbeing. Not only emotionally, but also physically, you will feel some changes when you go through stressful situations. Luckily, there are many ways to manage your stress and you can also seek help. We, at advanced telemedicine services, provide telepsychiatry services with the help of remotely. For more information, on how we can serve your business, big or small, contact us at info@