Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. It can come from any event or thought that makes us feel frustrated, angry, or nervous. It is our body’s reaction to a challenge or demand.
- In short bursts, stress can be positive, such as when it helps us avoid danger or meet a deadline. It is a completely natural part of our sympathetic nervous system that can be beneficial in certain situations.
- In fact, acute stress can increase visual acuity, decrease pain, increase blood flow, and boost the immune system.
- But chronic stress can lead to a number of adverse health outcomes. Thus, when stress lasts for a long time may harm our health.
Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It is a mental health disorder characterized by persistently depressed mood or loss of interest in activities, causing significant impairment in daily life.
- Possible causes include a combination of biological, psychological and social sources of distress. Increasingly, research suggests that these factors may cause changes in brain function, including altered activity of certain neural circuits in the brain.
- It is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how we feel, the way we think and how we act. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease our ability to function at work and at home.
With the rise of the COVID-19, symptoms of stress and depression has become a major concern not only for people already facing such problems but also for people who used to cope well with life before the pandemic.
- Prescription fills for depression and anxiety peaked in 2020.Many of us are facing challenges that can be stressful, overwhelming, and cause strong emotions in adults as well as children.
- Public health actions, such as social distancing, are necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19, but these techniques make us feel isolated and lonely and increase stress and anxiety.
- ?People are under more stress than ever as a result of the ongoing pandemic. The pandemic has caused mental strain for many people across the world. For those living with anxiety and depression, the impact is harsh.
TYPES OF STRESS
According to?American Psychological Association (APA), there are 3 different types of stress — acute stress, episodic acute stress, and chronic stress. Each has its own characteristics, symptoms, duration, and treatment approaches. Therefore, they require different levels of treatment interventions, management, and psychological treatment modalities due to the nature of the person’s environment, lifestyle, developmental history, coping resources, and personality.
1.ACUTE STRESS
- Acute stress is usually brief and is the most common and frequent presentation of stress. It is most often caused by reactive thinking. Negative thoughts predominate about situations or events that have recently occurred, or upcoming situations, events, or demands in the near future. It can be present in anyone’s life and is highly treatable and manageable. However, repeated acute stress can become very harmful for our physical and mental health.
- For example, if we have recently been involved in an argument, we may have acute stress related to negative thoughts that are repetitive about the argument or we may have acute stress that is about an upcoming work deadline and again the stress is thought induced.
- When the thinking induced stress is reduced or removed the stress will subside too. However, if the stress meets?DSM-5?criteria, then individuals may be diagnosed with?Acute Stress Disorder.
2.EPISODIC ACUTE STRESS
People who frequently experience acute stress or who live with frequent triggers of stress, have episodic acute stress. These individuals often live a life of chaos and crisis. They are always in a rush or pressurized feel. They take on many responsibilities and usually can not stay organized with so many time demands. These individuals are perpetually in the grips of acute stress overload. The signs and symptoms are similar to acute stress but due to the extended frequency of arousal or the extended hyper arousal there is ongoing damage and suffering. Some of the effects of the episodic acute stress are:
- Emotional distress —anger or irritability, anxiety and depression, short-tempered, impatient, tense.
- Cognitive distress: compromised attention/concentration, compromised processing speed, compromised new learning and new learning memory consolidation and retrieval, and mental fatigue.
- Interpersonal relationships deteriorate, the workplace becomes a very stressful place for them.
- Muscular distress—tension, headache, back pain, jaw pain, pulled muscles, tendons, and ligament problems.
- Stomach, gut, bowel problems, heartburn, acid stomach, flatulence, diarrhea, constipation, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
- High blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, heart palpitations, dizziness, migraine headaches, cold hands or feet, shortness of breath, insomnia, chest pain, and?heart disease.
- Immune System Compromise: frequent colds/flu, allergies, asthma, and other immune system compromise illnesses.
3.CHRONIC STRESS
- Chronic stress is the most harmful type of stress. If left untreated over a long period of time, it can significantly and often irreversibly damage our physical health and deteriorate our mental health. For example, long term poverty, repeated abuse in any form, unemployment, dysfunctional family, poor work environment, substance abuse, or an unhappy marriage can cause significant chronic stress.
- Chronic stress can also set in when an individual feels hopeless, does not see an escape from the cause of stress, and gives up on seeking solutions. Chronic stress can be caused by aversive?experiences in childhood?or traumatic experiences later in life.
- When an individual lives with chronic stress, his/her behavioral actions and emotional reactions become ingrained. There is change in the hardwiring of the neurobiology of the brain and body thereby making them constantly prone to the hazardous stress effects on the body and mind regardless of the scenarios. People with chronic stress have the list of signs and symptoms previously mentioned, but the signs and symptoms are chronic and can result in a physical and mental breakdown that can lead to suicide, violent actions, homicide, psychosis, heart attacks, and strokes.
- Chronic stress is grinding stress.?It wears us away day after day, year after year. Chronic stress destroys lives, bodies, and minds. It wreaks havoc through long-term attrition. It is the stress of poverty, dysfunctional families, violence, abuse, trauma, despised job, ethnic rivalry and war.
WAYS TO ADJUST AND HANDLE STRESS
Helping patients reduce the risk of COVID-19, manage obesity, and reduce quarantine-related stress, anxiety and depression should be top treatment goals for healthcare professionals and providers, regardless of specialty. There are ways to help with the cost of depression and anxiety medications. Let us consider advising ourselves and our fellow beings to incorporate the following wellness strategies to reduce the risk of hospitalization, boost resilience and improve overall health :
- Stay healthy with safe goals:?Social distancing measures aimed at reducing viral spread have completely changed the way we move through the world, but discovering better health is still a worthwhile and achievable goal. The easiest way to stay on track is by setting realistic health goals that can be safely achieved. Everyday gym going may not be a realistic goal at this time, but resolving to take regular walks around the neighborhood is definitely a realistic goal.
- Stream less, do more:?Creative hobbies and other active pursuits are better for stress management and overall health than endlessly streaming television, movies and apps on various screens and devices. Getting ourselves enlightened about the benefits of seeking out more active and enriching after-work activities such as journaling, reading, puzzles and other types of art therapy.
- Continue to practice self-care:?Neglecting self-care is easy during an ongoing global health crisis, but now is time for us to really engage in the behaviors and habits that drive overall health. This is particularly true for people with obesity on long term treatment plans. Counsel ourselves on the importance of sticking to self-care at this extraordinary moment in time.
- Strive for social connections:?The COVID-19 crisis continues to prove the enriching impact of social connections on overall health and well-being. Certainly, it is important to practice social distancing measures to mitigate viral spread but it is also important to cultivate social connections that matter. We can do this by maintaining social connectivity at best we can right now through phone calls or the multiple digital communication platforms available today.
- See the good:?Maintaining a positive outlook can be hard when it seems like the only news pouring in these days is bad news. But actively seeking out feel-good news stories or ways to help those in need can have a significant impact on mood and well-being. Consider advising people to seek out the good in a complicated situation. As an example, volunteer work can be a great outlet for COVID-related stress.
- Stress management:?Take breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including those on social media. It’s good to be informed, but hearing about the pandemic constantly can be upsetting. Consider limiting news to just a couple times a day and disconnecting from phone, television, and computer screens for a while. Follow the tips below:
- Take care of own body.
- Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate on an external icon.
- Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals.
- Exercise regularly. Get plenty of sleep.
- Avoid excessive alcohol, tobacco, and substance use.
- Continue with routine preventive measures (such as vaccinations, cancer screenings, etc.) as recommended by your healthcare provider.
- Get vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine when available. Make time to unwind. Try to do some other activities you enjoy.
- Talk with people external icons you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling.
