What is Stress?

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What is Stress?

What is stress?
Why learn more about stress?
Is stress always negative?
Common symptoms of stress
Common causes of stress

What is stress?

There are many different definitions of stress. A generally accepted definition of stress is when demands placed on us exceed our ability to cope - although anyone who has been under-challenged at work or in their life will also know that stress can occur when the demands placed on us are well below what we can cope with. If asked, any group of people would probably define stress in a great variety of ways. Some might also refer to stress as pressure, nerves or anxiety, or describe someone suffering from extreme stress as having had a 'nervous breakdown'.

However, some people still believe that stress is 'all in the mind' or an excuse for avoiding things or not performing well. Others believe that only weak or emotionally unstable people suffer from stress. It is not surprising them that many people keep their feelings of stress to themselves. Admitting that we are stressed can be difficult.

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Why learn more about stress?

One of the most important reasons to find out more about stress is that there is now considerable scientific evidence on the link between chronic or long-term experience of stress and medical conditions and psychological disorders. Listed below are some of these. Clearly, stress is not the only cause of these illnesses, but it has been found to worsen symptoms, and decrease the immune system's ability to function effectively.

Medical conditions linked with long-term stress Mouth Ulcers, Heart attack, Hypertension (high blood pressure), Angina, Migraine, Diarrhoea, Constipation, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Indigestion and heartburn, Diabetes, Premenstrual tension, Impotence, Asthma, Arthritis, Grinding of teeth, Eczema, Psoriasis, and even Cancer.



Although not medical conditions as such, long-term stress can lead to other bodily discomforts such as 'tension' headaches and muscular aches and pains, especially in the back and neck.

Psychological disorders linked with long-term stress Addictive disorders (alcoholism, drug-use, smoking, gambling, excessive shopping, obesity), Depression, Anxiety Disorder and Panic Attacks, and Insomnia.



When people experience stress and cannot cope they often take their feelings out on those around them. This means that relationships at work and home can suffer. Stress can lead to conflicts at work, conflicts with family members, and in some cases, job loss, marital separation, and divorce.

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Is stress always negative?

Stress is often only depicted as a negative experience, but it can in fact be a positive one. We've all experienced the sense of satisfaction that comes with completing a challenging task successfully or the 'adrenalin rush' that accompanies watching a favourite sporting team win an important match. There is no doubt that we all need some challenges in our lives.
The Human Function Curve below demonstrates how our performance is effected by the amount of stress in our lives.


We each have an 'optimum stimulation zone'. In other words, for each of us there is an amount of stress that enables us to perform and feel at our best. However, our ability to function can decline quickly once we become overstimulated, experiencing more stress than we can cope with.

In the modern world there will undoubtedly be times when you are in the 'over-stimulation' zone. The important thing is that these periods are short and that once over, you can return to the optimum zone. We get into trouble when we spend too much time in the over-stimulation zone and cannot cope with this.

People are often surprised to hear that too little stimulation can also lead to stress. If you have too little to do or if what you have to do is consistently below your ability level, you may become bored, unmotivated, frustrated and fatigued.

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Common symptoms of stress

It is not always possible to eliminate negative stress from your life, but you can change the way you react to stress and refuse to let it take over your life. It is therefore important to learn to recognise when you are experiencing stress. An understanding of the common symptoms of stress can assist in this process. Because the experience of stress varies greatly from individual to individual, the range of possible symptoms is great. It is important to note though that the symptoms below could be indicative of a medical problem. It is therefore wise to seek medical advice if you experience any of the symptoms listed below. Also, while the stress-related symptoms listed below may or may not, in isolation, be indicative of stress, where several of these symptoms occur, it is likely that stress is having a negative effect.

The symptoms of stress fall into four main categories: physical symptoms, emotional symptoms, behavioural symptoms and cognitive symptoms.

Physical Symptoms

Your body responds to stressors with a series of automatic physiological changes. These changes are the same no matter what the level of stress is. In its extreme form the stress response is known as the 'FIGHT' or 'FLIGHT' response. It occurs so often in its mild form that it usually passes unnoticed. It is often described as one of our most primitive responses, related to caveman's survival. It gave the caveman energy to cope with dangerous animals - to fight or flee them.

Some of the physical changes occurring as a result of 'fight or flight' are listed above. Other physical symptoms of stress, which can result when the body is consistently in fight or flight mode include:


Nausea
Diarrhoea
Headaches, migraines
Neck, shoulder and back pain
Indigestion
Dizziness, blurred vision
Constant tiredness
Difficulty falling asleep
Waking during the night, nightmares
Waking up tired
Restlessness
Eye strain
Frequent illness (eg. Colds, flu, stomach 'bugs')
Weight loss or gain
Emotional

There are also many emotional cues or symptoms that might indicate you are experiencing stress. Some of these include:

Feeling uptight
Difficulty relaxing
Emotional outbursts
Irritability and short temper
Intolerance to noise or other minor aggravations
Over-reaction to situations
Reduced will power
Feelings of depression
Self-doubt
Low self-esteem
Loss of self-confidence
Fearful of facing situations
Violent behaviour
Behavioural

Even if you don't notice changes in your behaviour as a result of stress, others in your life might. Some of the behavioural symptoms listed below can even decrease your ability to cope with stress in the long-term. For example, over-eating (especially take-away and highly processed foods), drinking excessive amounts of alcohol or smoking can decrease your body's ability to cope with stress. Clearly, these behaviours can also impact on personal relationships and productivity at work. Difficulties in these areas of your life may further increase your stress levels.

Some of the behavioural symptoms of stress are listed below:

Crying
Yelling
Being sarcastic
Forgetfulness
General feeling of rushing around
Isolating/alienating oneself
Lacking in motivation
Unable to concentrate
Overeating
Making 'mountains out of molehills'
Increasing use of alcohol, tobacco, sedatives and other drugs
Excessive coffee and tea intake
Fast car driving
Sexual difficulties
Cognitive

Your ability to do cognitive tasks might also decline when you are experiencing stress. If you regularly experience some of the symptoms listed below, you might be showing signs of stress.

Difficulty concentrating
Being easily distracted
Poor attention span
Forgetting important information
Frequent daydreaming
Disorganisation
Difficulty in making decisions
Frequent thoughts of the past or worrying about the future
Sensitivity to criticism
Loss of interest
Lack of motivation
Boredom
The More Common Causes of Stress

When it comes to identifying the causes of stress, it can help to examine things that are happening at work and things that are happening in life outside of work.

Life Events

It is commonly accepted that there are life events that we would consider to be both positive and negative that generally always cause some stress. Such things as changing jobs and job location, getting a promotion, getting married or divorced, and losing a close friend, partner or family member, are just a few examples.

Daily Hassles

Many of the things that happen to us on a daily basis can also cause as much if not more stress than major life events like the ones listed above. Daily hassles such as a traffic jam on the way to work, the printer jamming just as you are printing out an urgent document, and dealing with the results of interpersonal differences, can cause us to feel stressed throughout the day.

Workplace characteristics

A large amount of research has also been done on workplace characteristics that are generally found to cause stress for employees. Some of these are listed below.

Workload and Timing
Too much or too little work, infrequent rest breaks, consistently long work hours or shiftwork, hectic work-pace, routine tasks with little meaning, and little or no control over these work characteristics.

Management style
Work areas where employees are not consulted during decision-making, where there is poor communication and lack of family-friendly policies.

Interpersonal relationships
Poor social environment and lack of support or help from coworkers and supervisors.

Work roles
Conflicting or uncertain job expectations, too much or too little responsibility, too many roles.

Career concerns
Job insecurity and lack of opportunity for development or promotion.

Organisational change
Rapid changes for which employees are unprepared.

Environmental conditions
Unpleasant or dangerous physical conditions such as noise, exposure to chemicals, and working in extreme temperatures.

Personality

An examination of the causes of stress must also include the role of personality and genetics. For the most part, our personality is thought to be set at conception. It seems then that some people are born with a better ability to cope with stress than others. If you already know that you are prone to stress, have a think about your relatives for a few minutes. How well do they cope with stress? Do they have any psychological illnesses that might be related to stress? Sometimes just knowing that you may have inherited a potential to suffer from stress can enable you to take appropriate precautions, like, for example, improving your coping skills.

Coping skills

Whether or not a person experiences stress, can in part, also depend on the way they cope with daily stressful events and life in general. Poor coping skills can therefore result in a person experiencing more stress than they really need to.

There are many things that a person can learn or do to help manage and reduce the impact of stress. While these are discussed in more detail later, some of these include undertaking regular relaxation and exercise, eating well, having a optimistic view of life and the world, sharing problems with family and/or friends, and having good time management and problem solving techniques.

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[Jaquez]

Nice sharing.
I think stress could trigger a lot of health problems and i think losing hair is one. You need to seek a professional help, that is the safest way you can do.
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[David]

Its really superb post man.That is really nice comment on stress and disorder.I think the all solution is quite enough for those who want to know about stress.

[Oram]

Thank you so much for a big and informative post. In my opinion is stress is caused by personal and financial burdens of life. But you posted a great information.

[octarinemage]

When I use a lever I am putting stress on one end of an object to do work at the other end. Stress then, in physical terms, is the difference between a current state and a perceived one. The current state is using the lever; the perceived state is the work that is expected to result from using that lever. Similarly, in psychological terms, stress and anxiety occurs when I concentrate on the difference between a current state (of mind or event) and what I expect it to be at a future time. The bigger the gap, the more stress and anxiety I feel. No mystery there. However, when I realize that my concentrating on that difference is what is causing that stress, and I then concentrate on something else instead (such as the task at hand), I begin to notice the stress and anxiety slowly ebb away. Apparently we have more latitude in psychological matters than matters that involve physical laws.

[joewow]

Well everyone had have it and they have different way to cope with it .. Stress as is depression, is brought about via outside influence for me...

[Tavion]

Hmm thanks for sharing this post about the definition really like ur post it is good discussion in this thread thanks u so much for the impressive posts......

[Wardner]

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[Wardner]

I am new to join this forum. I read your post and I admire you to share a very valid information. This is a very good plate form that every one can share the information regarding different matters.

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