Examples of stress and stressful situations

In this article I will talk about stress - what it is in psychology.

Each of us experiences stress several times a day. We don’t pay much attention to most of them, but some can give us such a jolt that we remember all our lives - it “forces” us to stop and take a break. I remember mine well - it led to a two-week layover with a TIA (ministroke).

How can we protect ourselves from stress or even make it serve us?

What is stress?

Stress is a feeling of abnormal pressure. It can come from different aspects of your daily life. For example, increased workload, adolescence, family quarrel or financial problems.

Stress has a cumulative effect—each stressor building on top of the other. In these situations, you may feel threatened or upset, and your body may experience a stress response.

This can cause various physical symptoms, change behavior and lead to more intense emotions, nervousness and anxiety.

Stress is usually accompanied by anxiety.

Stress affects us in many ways - physically and emotionally, and with varying intensities.

Stress at work

In addition to everyday life, it is worth highlighting a separate group of stress factors at work. Work situations that cause tension are at the initial level on the stress scale. Problems at work affect health, the psychological climate in the team, and general moral well-being. Let's look at examples of work-related traumatic moments.

The employee is overloaded with work tasks, he does not fit into the allotted time period, and is forced to stay late at work. The main feelings of a person in this case are constant anxiety, fear of not being on time, fatigue.

Interestingly, inactivity at work can evoke the same emotions.

Conflict of instructions. This stress factor arises due to inconsistency in management. The employee is given instructions that contradict each other. Requirements may fundamentally contradict, this causes tension, and a person cannot effectively carry out any of the instructions.

Instability, expectation of bad news. Some companies from time to time experience crisis situations or are on the verge of bankruptcy. Employees of such organizations are subject to constant fear. Unrest is associated with the possibility of wage delays, layoffs, and the need to look for a new job.

Boring activities at work. Uninteresting tasks affect your emotional state. A person uses any options to avoid completing work assignments. Moreover, the same activity will be interesting for one, but not for another. This is a matter of professional preference.

Poor working conditions. Poor lighting, dampness, cold, noise - these situations negatively affect a person and cause him to experience stress.

Mobbing in a team. Bullying in a team is one of the most powerful experiences at work. In a situation of psychological discomfort, a person may become ill; mobbing is one of the most common reasons for dismissal.

Causes of stress

Stress can be caused by many situations. The most common are work - money issues and relationships with partners, children or other family members.

Stress can be caused either by major upheavals and life events such as divorce, unemployment, moving and bereavement, or by a number of minor irritations such as feeling underappreciated at work or an argument with a family member.

Sometimes there are no obvious reasons for stress.

Do relationships cause stress?

Good relationships are a great support during times of stress. However, sometimes close people - a loved one, parent, child, friend or colleague - can cause stress.

Relationships are something without which it is impossible to be truly happy. (Read more about relationships and happiness for free in my book “Happiness?! How to let into your life something without which it is impossible”).

Good relationships are vital to our mental health. Things like ongoing minor fights and disagreements, larger family crises, infidelity, illness or bereavement can affect the way you think, feel and behave—affecting your stress levels.

Work or personal life?

Pressure associated with increasingly demanding jobs and careers is a major stressor among the general population.

Normal working hours are 37 hours a week, and the recent increase in working hours suggests that the amount of stress is increasing. 20% of the working population works 45 hours or more per week.

Wasted time and stress

The amount of stress people experience associated with long hours is very high. Feeling dissatisfied with the amount of time you spend at work at the expense of other aspects of your life can increase your vulnerability to stress.

Increased stress levels, if not addressed early, can lead to burnout or more serious mental health problems.

Mental health problems such as anxiety and depression are considered the leading cause of absence from work, accounting for up to 40% of sick leave.

As a result, mental illness now accounts for a significant proportion of long-term illness and early retirement. They are listed as the main cause of illness in 20% of workers.

Stress: from money or lack thereof?

Money problems and debt put a lot of pressure on us and have a significant impact on our stress levels.

The consequences of economic crises affect almost everyone to one degree or another. Statistics show that during periods of economic downturn, the demand for psychological consultations and support due to debt increases by almost 50%.

Surveys have shown that 42% of people with debt have been prescribed medication by their GP to help them cope, and 76% of couples said debt has affected their relationship.

The combination of chronic stress and debt can lead to depression and anxiety and is a factor associated with suicidal thoughts and attempts.

A stable job and passive income are a good way to prevent stress caused by financial problems.

Important: in difficult situations, you need to find support in your family, in conversations with friends or by turning to a psychologist - to distract yourself from obsessive thoughts related to financial and other problems.

Smoking, alcohol and drug use and stress

People often start smoking more, drinking alcohol, or taking drugs to relieve stress. However, this tends to make problems worse.

Research shows that smoking can increase feelings of anxiety. Nicotine creates an immediate, temporary feeling of relaxation, which can then lead to withdrawal symptoms and addiction.

In the same way, alcohol is used as a means to get rid of painful feelings and temporarily relieve anxiety. But alcohol can worsen existing mental health problems.

This can cause anxiety and depression in the long term. It is important to know and take into account the recommended limits and drink consciously.

Prescription drugs - tranquilizers and sleeping pills, prescribed for very good reasons, can also cause mental and physical health problems if used for a long time.

Street drugs such as cannabis or ecstasy are usually taken for the purpose of relaxation. Some people have problems when their body gets used to using the drug. This leads to the need to increase the dose to maintain the effect.

The problem of stress in psychology

The problem of stress in psychology. Stetsko A.S., Tula State Pedagogical University. L.N. Tolstoy, Tula, Russia.

Abstract : the article discusses the concept of stress and updates the problem of stress in psychology. The theories of domestic and foreign authors dealing with the problem of stress in human life are generalized.

Key words: stress, stress factors, stages of stress.

Every day, every person experiences numerous obstacles, be it minor everyday problems, or important obstacles to achieving their goals. Stressful situations affect each organism differently: some, when faced with a problem, break down, while others optimize their strength, overcome obstacles and achieve their goals.

From time immemorial, stress has been a fundamental factor in human development. External stimuli act on the body, thereby contributing to the manifestation of human adaptation to changed conditions or ways of changing human behavior. Today, stress is the main factor in diseases, both physical and moral. stress factors are encountered at every step: you cross the road and a car suddenly drives by - stress, while sitting in silence a loud sound is heard - stress, and similar stressful situations that occur during the day can be listed endlessly. That is why the problem of stress in the modern world is more than relevant.

Stress, as a psychological term, is borrowed from technology, where its direct definition is “the designation of an external force applied to a physical object and causing its tension, i.e. temporary or permanent change in the structure of an object” [3]. The term, due to its versatility, is very common in various branches of scientific knowledge, including medicine, psychology, sociology, physiology, etc. in these sciences, the phenomenon is designated as human states that arise in response to external stimuli. One of the first designations of stress was defined in physiology, where it was considered as a nonspecific reaction of the body to any stimulus. The encyclopedic dictionary defines stress as “a state of tension that occurs in a person or animal under the influence of strong influences, and adaptation syndrome (general adaptation syndrome) - as a set of protective reactions of a person or animal (mainly the endocrine system) under stress” [6].

Many scientists of the last century studied the problem of stress, but the main name in this direction is, of course, G. Selye, because this scientist was the first to propose the theory of stress in 1936. Moreover, the surname Pogodaev should be studied because he considers stress as “a state of tension or overstrain of the processes of metabolic adaptation of the brain” [3]. In addition, R. Lazarus and S. Volkman, L.Z. Kulikov presents stress in his works as an important and significant relationship between the environment and a person. In the works of E. Fromm, stress is a type of emotional situations during which adaptation is disrupted. Yu.S. Savenko defines psychological stress as a state in which a person finds himself in conditions that impede his self-actualization. In addition to the scientists listed above, psychologists such as A.V. dealt with stress issues. Alekseev L.P. Grimak, L.Z. Kulikov, A.O. Prokhorov, M.S. Yanitsky et al. [2],

At this stage of stress research, there is no definite description of this phenomenon, so in the literature it is defined in at least three meanings.

1. Stress as a consequence of tension or emotional excitability that arises during the influence of external factors on a person. Now they are called: “stressors”
2. Stress as a personal reaction to external manifestations, in this meaning it is considered as a reflection of a person’s internal state and manifests itself in the form of emotions and behaviors
3. Stress as a physical response of the body to environmental stimuli

From the above material on the definition of stress, we can conclude that at the current stage of development there is no definite description of this concept, so it would be advisable to talk about approaches to the study of stress in psychology. At the moment, three approaches to studying stress are more relevant [2].

The first approach is reflected in the concept of adaptation syndrome proposed by G. Selye, here the phenomenon is considered as a response to external stimuli, which manifest themselves in neuropsychic stress, negative behavior, a state of maladjustment, etc. The concept of the founder of stress theory consists of 3 main provisions that are important and significant in stress management [4].

1. The position is a physiological response to a stressor and does not depend on its nature. Regardless of the severity of stress, there is a “general adaptation syndrome”, as a kind of protective reaction of the body.
2. The situation lies in the dynamics of the development of the adaptation syndrome; this situation presents the 3 main stages of adaptation proposed by G. Selye. The anxiety stage is the time when the body adapts to the initial impact of the stressor on a person; during this period, a decrease in resistance is observed. The second stage is the body’s resistance and adaptation to changed environmental conditions; moreover, immunity to the stressor is developed, the moment of anxiety and fear decreases, the pulse usually returns to normal and the body is optimized.
3. The situation occurs only with prolonged exposure to a stressor on the body; this is a certain stage of depletion of the immune system to a stressful situation, excitability, anxiety and exhaustion begin to increase. If a person remains in this stage for a long time, then it turns into illness, depression, etc.

A little later, A. Kagan and L. Levy continued the research of G. Selye and in their works they studied stress factors in the form of intermediaries; in their works they studied the interaction of external influences and genetic factors, thereby forming a certain psychobiological program that determines the “inclination to respond according to a certain pattern." This program predetermines the body’s response to a stress reaction, which can lead to a person’s pre-illness state, and as a consequence the disease itself. At any moment, various “interferences” can enter into this process and can modify the influence of causal factors. The psychosocial model of the first approach made an important contribution to the development of the study of stress, because thanks to her, the phenomenon began to be viewed as a process of interaction with an inextricable connection between all causal factors. Stress began to be considered as a special influence on human productivity.

The second approach to studying stress includes such names as J. Waitz, M. Frankenhäuser, R. Lazarus, etc. Within this approach, stress is considered as a characteristic of the external environment and, moreover, as a process of stress factors. The put forward attitude to the phenomenon is considered in the form of a U-shaped function, which depicts the relationship between the effectiveness of activities and the requirements of society. Stress here is considered as a number of causes affecting the body; moreover, studies within the framework of the study approach are aimed at identifying and diagnosing environmental stress factors and the internal state of the body [1].

Stressful situations arise at a time when there is a discrepancy between the external environment and the internal state of the body; moreover, a significant influence is exerted by either excessive or too low demands on a person by society, which in turn leads to an imbalance in the body.

Thus, we can conclude that within the framework of this approach, the main task is to determine a person’s subjective attitude towards a stressful situation, and moreover, to identify objective parameters that cause certain consequences of a stressful situation (reactions, conditions, syndromes, adaptation diseases).

Based on the analysis of two approaches to studying stress, we can conclude that they have a lot in common; the third one , because Within this approach, stress is studied as a response to the lack of “match” between a person’s abilities and the demands of the environment.

The most famous concept of this approach is the transactional model of stress by Cox and Mackay, its essence lies in the fact that stress can be studied as part of the system of interaction between the individual and society. The approach differs in that this model emphasizes the presence of feedback between systems, i.e. the phenomenon is considered not as a reaction, but as a closed system [5].

T. Cox and J. Mackay identified 5 stages within this approach:

1. the effect of external demands of society on a person
2. awareness of the demands themselves and their own capabilities to resist them
3. changes in the psychological and physiological states of the body
4. response to a stressful situation
5. feedback that influences all other stages of the dynamic stress system and the formation of the outcome of each of them.

The developed stages, according to the authors, represent a system that, in turn, most optimally describes the process of stress. In accordance with this model, stress is considered as a process-interference, as a reflection of the interaction between a person and his environment [1].

Another version of the presented approach belongs to R. Lazarus, who proposed a cognitive model of psychological stress. This theory states: “stress develops when the demands placed on a person become a test for him or exceed his ability to adapt.” The emergence and development of the phenomenon, according to the author, directly depends on the environment and the objectivity of human defense mechanisms. Moreover, an important point in the emergence of stress is the ability to assess the situation, and the stress reaction is directly related to feelings of strength or helplessness in the current situation.

From the above, we can conclude that this approach, unlike previous models, more widely appeals to psychological factors. The advantage of the approach is that it allows one to identify preventative ways to cope with stress. But, according to T. Cox, the third approach is unsuitable in situations where a person is exposed to sudden physical fatigue; such situations well describe the first approaches to studying stress.

Based on the results of the analysis of psychological literature, we can conclude that today the problem of stress has not been fully studied; moreover, modern research considers this phenomenon from the perspective of its sciences, but the presented study approaches largely describe all areas of the manifestation and study of stress.

Links to sources

1. Cox T. Stress. M.: Medicine, 1981.
2. Leonova A. B. Basic approaches to the study of professional stress. Bulletin of Moscow State University. Episode 14. Psychology. 2000. No. 3.
3. Melnikov V.I. Psychological nature of stress states of the individual. Sat.scient.tr. / Responsible editor V.G. Leontiev.-Novosibirsk. : NSPU, 2000. P.56-59.
4. Selye G. Essays on the adaptation syndrome. - M.: Medicine, 1960.
5. Frankenhäuser M. Emotional stress. - M., 1970.
6. Encyclopedic Dictionary. URL: https://www.onlinedics.ru/slovar/bes.html

Winner of the competition “Best Youth Article 2017”

The problem of stress in psychology

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Signs of stress

Everyone experiences stress. However, when it is affecting your life, health and well-being, it is important to address it as soon as possible. Although stress affects everyone differently, there are common signs and symptoms to look out for:

• feeling of constant worry or anxiety
• feeling depressed
• difficulty concentrating
• mood swings or changes
• irritability or short temper
• difficulty resting (insomnia)
• apathy, depression
• low self-esteem
• increased or decreased appetite
• changes in sleep patterns
• using alcohol, tobacco or drugs for relaxation
• pain and muscle tension
• diarrhea and constipation
• feeling nauseous or dizzy
• loss of libido

If you experience these symptoms for a long period and feel that they are affecting your daily life or making you feel unwell, you should talk to your doctor.

Types of stress

It is difficult to list all the causes of stress, but classification of stress according to different parameters is possible, which G. Selye was able to do with the development of psychology. Based on the effects on the human body, the following types of stress are distinguished:

1. Eustress has a low impact on the nervous system. It is positive and activates logical thinking. A person in such a state clearly sees the full picture of what is happening and can make informed decisions. Thanks to the production of adrenaline, the body and brain enter a phase of combat activity. This reaction is normal and happens to people every day.
2. Distress has a fatal effect on the human nervous system. It appears spontaneously and unexpectedly. The reason is the accumulation of constant voltage. This all results in serious emotional problems and harms physical health. It has a different nature of occurrence depending on the prevailing circumstances.

Emotionally positive and negative

Since both good and bad events happen in a person’s life, stress is divided into emotionally positive and negative. Regardless of the degree of psychological impact and emotions experienced at this time, the subject experiences tension.

In order to understand the process of a stressful state, it is necessary to consider the situation using an example. If a person experiences the death of a loved one, a breakup in a relationship, or being fired from a job, they may suffer a heart attack or heart attack as a result.

This effect on the cardiovascular system occurs due to stress experienced. But the same thing can happen from a sudden win in the lottery. The news is good, but the body experiences stress to the same extent as its negative manifestations.

Such manifestations of a stressful state most often occur in emotionally unstable people.

Shock can also arise from positive events.

Short and long term

Characteristics of stress by the duration of its impact: called short-term or long-term reaction.

People experience short-term and acute forms of stress every day. Everything that happens in the external world has a response in the psychological state of the individual. Short-term stress goes through all stages in a short period. In the most severe cases, it occurs as shock.

The main problem is that short-term stress passes, but memories of it remain.

Sometimes long-term stress occurs without an acute form. It all depends on the level of stressors. If the body is subjected to constant emotional stress, to which a person is already accustomed, then sooner or later this will lead to nervous breakdowns and neuroses. To some extent, the reaction depends on the level of psychological resistance.

Physiological and psycho-emotional

Stress can arise against the background of external tangible factors. G. Sel classified them as physiological and psycho-emotional manifestations.

The simplest and most understandable principle of influence is physiological stress. They are caused by a real stimulus. There are several types of this stress:

• physical – cold, heat, weightlessness, sudden change of position in space, acceleration, burns, frostbite, influence of ultraviolet rays, etc.,
• mechanical – damage to organs and body parts, painful shock surgery,
• chemical – poisoning with pesticides, lack of oxygen, excess carbon dioxide, etc.,
• biological stress - illness, the presence of toxins, parasites or bacteria in the body.

Psycho-emotional stress is divided into emotional and informational. The methods of their psychological impact on a person vary greatly, but the only thing they have in common is that all stressors appear in the imagination.

Emotional stress occurs due to feelings that are common to all people. The first and strongest emotion is fear, followed by anger, resentment and powerlessness.

The concept of “information stress” is distinguished. In this case, a person receives an excess of news or worries about his responsibilities and promises. Stress is often encountered due to the fear that a person’s secret will be revealed.

Pain, physiological shock

Coping with stress

• Understand when stress occurs

Try to make a connection between feeling tired or sick and the pressure you are facing. Pay attention to physical warnings: tense muscles, extreme fatigue, headaches or migraines.

• Determine the reasons

Divide the possible causes of your stress into three categories:

• those with a practical solution;
• those that can be resolved over time;
• the ones you can't do anything about.

Try to stop worrying about those in the second and third groups.

• Reconsider your lifestyle

• Perhaps you are used to taking on too much?
• Are there tasks that can be delegated to someone else?
• What can be done gradually?

Answering these questions will help you prioritize the goals you're trying to achieve and reorganize your life. This will help relieve the pressure that can come from wanting to do everything at once.

Causes of distress

There is a classification of types of distress based on the reasons for its occurrence. If you do not get rid of them, then over time this condition will become chronic.

The main causes of stress:

1. Physiological causes are the impact of external factors on the body: cold, heat, thirst, hunger, discomfort, muscle pain after sports. Adaptation occurs only by enduring stress.
2. Emotional reasons cause a real reaction to internal experiences.
3. Short-term reasons are a manifestation of the basic instinct - self-preservation. Even in the short time that this variety is active, a person goes through all the stages. This could be an accidental fall or loss of balance, a car rushing very close, a sharp sound nearby, etc.
4. Chronic causes are the most dangerous. When a subject is exposed to factors that cause stress for a long time, then in the second stage of stress he simply gets used to it. The person does not notice the consequences and does not understand the seriousness of the problem. An irreversible process and the development of depression are likely.
5. Nervous causes are more common in people with anxiety syndrome or a weak psyche. Due to problems in the functioning of the nervous system, the body overreacts to any external stimulus. In this case, the main goal is to get rid of the causes, and not to treat the consequences.

To understand what caused distress, a person needs an objective assessment of what is happening. It is better to seek help from specialists before the condition becomes chronic.

How to protect yourself from stress?

• Eat healthy

Eating a healthy diet can reduce the risk of diet-related diseases. There is growing evidence of how food affects our mood. Healthy nutrition is a faithful helper for the body.

Make sure you're getting enough brain nutrients—essential vitamins, minerals, and water.

• Don't smoke or drink alcohol to excess

Try to reduce the number of cigarettes (if you smoke) and avoid drinking alcohol. It is a misconception that they reduce stress, as they often only make problems worse.

• Exercise

Try integrating exercise into your lifestyle - it can be very effective in relieving stress. Even a simple walk outside (or shopping), fresh air and light exercise can help.

• Take time for yourself (rest and relaxation)

Find a balance between responsibility to others and responsibility to yourself. Tell yourself that it is okay to prioritize your psycho-emotional state. Take a break. Stop telling yourself, “I just can’t take a break.”

• Take care of yourself

Mindfulness is a mind-body approach to life that helps us relate to experiences differently. This involves the ability to pay enough attention to your thoughts and feelings to increase your ability to cope with difficult situations and make wise decisions.

• Try to feel and be aware

Mindfulness meditation can be practiced anywhere, anytime. Research has shown that for some people it can reduce the effects of stress, anxiety and related problems - insomnia, poor concentration and low mood.

Regular sex is a good cure for stress.

• Take a rest

Do you realize that you are having difficulty falling asleep? This is a common problem for those under stress.

• Could your physical or mental health affect your ability to sleep?
• Could you change your environment to improve your sleep?
• What if you got up at night instead of trying to sleep when your mind is worrying?
• Try making small changes to your lifestyle to help you get restful sleep.

• Don't be too hard on yourself

• remember that a bad day is a universal human experience;
• If you stumble or fail, don't beat yourself up;
• Treat yourself as if you were your own best friend: be kind and supportive;
• take a few minutes a day to (mentally) praise yourself.

Treatment of stress

According to psychologists, stress can be treated even at home. This is especially true for those who adequately perceive their condition, understand that they have problems, and are ready to begin to resist negative changes.

The first thing that requires attention is the emotional sphere - it is necessary to gradually reduce the level of anxiety and begin to calm down. To do this, it is recommended to drink soothing infusions, infusions and teas, take sedatives, and undergo massage sessions. But the most important thing is to eliminate the stress factor, otherwise there will be no result at all, or you will have to wait a very long time for it.

Experts advise starting the recovery period as early as possible - this will not allow stress to intensify, which means that treatment will give results faster. And in order for the body and psyche to fully recover and withstand new stress in the future, it is necessary to take measures to strengthen overall health.

The state of health directly depends on a person’s lifestyle: whether he sleeps enough, whether he eats normally and regularly, whether he observes a work and rest schedule and moderation in physical and mental activity, whether he takes vitamins, and whether he takes measures to replenish the nutrients consumed by the body. All this is very important, because if the body is exhausted, it is simply not able to function fully and effectively.

There are many other methods of prevention, stress suppression and development of stress resistance that can be successfully used in everyday life and which are often recommended by psychologists. These include positive thinking, switching attention, playing sports, traveling and others.

We hasten to remind you that we talked about some interesting and very effective techniques in the articles “Stress resistance. How to stay calm and productive" and "Preventing stress and developing stress resistance." So if you are seriously interested in this topic, be sure to read them.

And in conclusion, we would like to say that if self-treatment of stress does not produce any results, if you do not notice any positive dynamics, this should be an alarm bell for you and a signal to seek qualified help. The same applies to people whose health and life you care about.

In general, today you have a serious advantage, because your knowledge about stress has expanded and become much deeper. Life wisdom, which says that to defeat the enemy you need to know him in person, comes in handy here. Understanding how stress works, knowing its close relationship with the psyche and physiology, you can always determine in time whether you should worry about anything.

But in any case, we advise you to read our other articles on the topic of stress. Believe me, this is not a waste of time at all. Life sometimes presents very unexpected surprises, and this happens at the most inopportune moments. Therefore, there is no guarantee that tomorrow something will not happen that could easily deprive us of our balance.

Think about the future more often and work on yourself. We wish you as few obstacles as possible, and when they appear, the desire, strength and ability to overcome them!

We also recommend reading:

• Storytelling
• Questions to ask yourself to relieve stress
• Cumulative stress theory
• Habits that kill stress
• Four types of stress
• Coping strategies as a way to deal with stress
• Impact of stress on quality of life
• Stress Diary
• Surprising facts about stress
• Stress: is there any benefit from it and how to get it?
• Ways to relieve stress

Key words:1Psychoregulation

The benefits of stress

Research has shown that stress is sometimes beneficial. They can make us more attentive and help us act more effectively in certain situations. However, stress is only beneficial if it is short-lived.

Prolonged or prolonged stress can lead to heart disease and mental problems such as apathy, anxiety and depression.

What are the dangers of long-term stress?

Stress is a natural reaction to many life situations: work, family, relationships and money problems.

We mentioned earlier that a moderate amount of stress can help us cope better with difficult situations, but too much or prolonged stress can lead to physical problems.

It can reduce immunity levels, cause digestive and intestinal problems such as irritable bowel syndrome, or mental health problems such as apathy, depression and anxiety disorders.

This means it's important to manage stress and keep it at a healthy level to prevent long-term negative effects on your body and soul.

What happens to the body during stress?

People react to stress differently. Some common symptoms of stress include trouble sleeping, sweating, or changes in appetite.

Symptoms like these are caused by the release of stress hormones in the body, which, when released, allow you to cope with pressure or threats—the fight-or-flight response.

Hormones called epinephrine and norepinephrine increase blood pressure, heart rate, and sweating. The body prepares for an emergency response.

These hormones can also reduce blood flow to the skin and reduce stomach activity. Cortisol, another stress hormone, releases fat and sugar into the system to increase energy.

This may result in headaches, muscle tension, pain, nausea, upset stomach and dizziness. Breathing and heart rate may increase. In the long term, there is a risk of heart attacks and stroke.

All of these changes allow the body to better fight or flee. When the threat passes, stress hormone levels usually return to normal. However, if you are constantly under stress, these hormones remain in the body, leading to negative symptoms.

If you're in a busy office or on a crowded train, you can't fight or flee, so you can't use the chemicals your body produces to protect you. Over time, the buildup of these chemicals and their changes can cause serious harm to your health.

Stress was the cause of a transient ischemic attack (mini-stroke) that happened to me several years ago.

Stages

The essence of this type of stress has been studied by psychologists for a long time. Such observations made it possible to classify information stress into several stages of development.

Stages of information stress:

1. The initial stage is characterized by an anxious state of a person against the background of attracting the characteristics of the human body to adapt or resist stress. At this stage, there is a strong reaction of the adrenal glands and the gastrointestinal tract, so the stomach may often hurt. If the irritant factor turns out to be stronger (high body temperature, severe burn), the human body may not overcome the stressful state, which may result in death.
2. The middle stage is characterized by resistance against the background of compatibility of factors provoking stress and the individual’s capabilities. fear and anxiety decrease, functional reliability and resistance increase. IN
3. As a result, a person experiences a surge of strength.
4. The severe stage is characterized by exhaustion, when the manifestations of stress of the first and second stages return and become irreversible.

Breakdown

It should be remembered that at each stage a nervous breakdown can occur. Timely assistance from specialists is needed.

Consequences of stress

When you're stressed, you may experience many different feelings, such as anxiety, irritability, or low self-esteem, which can cause you to become withdrawn, indecisive, and upset.

You may experience periods of constant worry, racing thoughts, or repeating the same things over and over in your head, and may also experience changes in your behavior. You may lose your temper, act irrationally, or become more talkative or physically aggressive.

These feelings can feed off each other and cause physical symptoms that can make you feel even worse. For example, severe anxiety can make you so sick that you have to seriously worry about your physical condition.

Examples of stressful situations in life and at work

The state of stress exhausts a person, and the quality of life decreases.
Moreover, each organism has an adaptive reserve of energy. Each person's reserve of strength and ability to psychologically overcome the consequences of a tense situation are individual. There are examples of stressful situations that have the greatest impact on the individual. Any change in living conditions causes tension to which a person adapts. Let's consider the most significant stressful situations in the work and personal sphere, compiled by psychologists based on research results.