What Happens When Stress Isn't Managed?

Did you know? Our brains and bodies are very smart! Before you actually fall into a state of stress, your brain and body will give you several warnings through physical and psychological reactions. However, sometimes we are not aware of these warnings and slowly fall into a state of stress. When one is not able to manage stress as soon as possible, our body and emotions will show the symptoms of stress even more clearly. Here are the stages of someone feeling stressed:

1. Alarm

At this stage, you will be confronted by a shock when you are not ready to receive it. After the first shock, you will be confronted again with another different shock (counter shock) when your body's defenses are more ready to accept it. This stage illustrates the fight or flight mechanism, where this system will activate and release a reaction when someone feels threatened or stressed by the situation they are facing. When our body receives sensory signals from the five senses, the brain produces the hormone adrenaline which further increases our heart rate. As a result, the blood vessels to the motor muscles will dilate, encouraging more blood flow to the muscles (there is tension in the muscles of the body) to prepare for the source of stress. To compensate for the rapid blood flow, our breathing will also speed up to keep ourselves awake by channeling and supplying oxygen to the bloodstream. At this time, our awareness and alertness will increase to receive shocks in the workplace.

1. Resistance

At this stage, you will be faced with two types of responses. These responses involve either resisting the source of stress, or adapting to the impact of the source of stress. This stage is very different and opposite from the first alarm stage. The characteristic symptoms experienced tend to fade and disappear as we slowly adapt to the disorganization and discomfort caused by the source of stress. At this stage, you may become irritable when something is brought up, have difficulty concentrating during work and easily distracted by your surroundings, feel threatened, and withdraw from work responsibilities. In other words, you will run away or avoid the source of the stress.

1. Exhaustion

If our body continues to be exposed to the source of stress for a long period of time, the adaptation experience that has been gained will gradually be lost or hoarded due to continuous exposure to the source of stress. The body and mental energy will be eroded, so that a person will have difficulty accommodating these threats and this will later burden the person concerned. Individuals will feel prolonged fatigue, even after waking up and not doing much activity. Waking up does not feel as fresh as usual even though the duration of sleep has been fulfilled.

It turns out to be quite dangerous if stress is not handled and resolved immediately. Why is it dangerous? Because in the long run this stress will have a negative impact on various aspects of our lives. We cannot function optimally every day, unable to do household, work, and social activities. What are the effects of stress on our performance at work?

1. You may become more absent or absent from work due to physical and/or mental fatigue.
2. Difficulty paying attention and being attentive, so you often make mistakes and even have accidents at work.
3. Work fluctuations are less stable due to your frequent mood swings. This interferes with your work performance, both in terms of efficiency and quality.
4. Due to your changeable mood, you become irritable and sensitive to criticism. This makes you prone to misunderstandings and conflicts with your coworkers.
5. These conflicts affect team relationships and collaboration.
6. Of the many things that interfere with daily functioning, one thing that is affected is appearance. The person's appearance will appear unkempt and untidy.