We all experience stress, but not everyone knows what forms of stress exist. This blog post will talk about the different types of stress that you may experience in your life. There are many sources of stress, and they can have many different symptoms. We’ll also discuss how to manage it!
Contents
What Is Stress
It is a negative feeling caused by the desire to complete something. It is when the mind thinks that it needs to do something, but there’s not enough time. There are many different forms of stress in life and they can affect people differently.
5 Leading Causes Of Stress
The leading causes of stress include:
- Job pressure
- Relationship problems
- Financial struggles/money worries/debt
- Health problems/illness
- Family commitments
Internal And External Forms Of Stress
Stress can be internal or external.
Internal stress is all the things that happen to us. They are our thoughts, emotions, and reactions.
We can find external stress in other people or events outside of ourselves.
Internal mental factors include the stress of a relationship with your boss, coworkers, customers, and subordinates at work is often more stressful than the actual job itself.
External stress factors include:
- Societal burdens
- Work overload
Common Symptoms
The common symptoms of stress based on forms of stress are:
Mental Symptoms
Headaches are caused due to mental stress. When you get mentally stressed out, your body is responsible for the release of cortisol and epinephrine hormones. It constricts blood vessels causing pain in the temples area of the head.
Physical Symptoms
Physical stress can cause muscle tension that is visible when clenching or gritting teeth. This type of behavior is due to stress because the body and mind have a “fight or flight” mechanism. This happens in stressful conditions. In addition to it, one might encounter issues like weight loss, hair fall, acne or pimples, high blood pressure, etc.
Moreover, when someone becomes stressed they’re unable to eat properly. The body’s natural response is to either overeat or not eat at all. It can both result in weight loss or weight gain that will eventually lead to weakness or obesity if it keeps up over time.
Emotional Symptoms
Emotional stress becomes evident when a person experiences an inability in making simple day-to-day lives decisions. It can cause you not to eat when there is no reason not to. It can make you overeat or binge on food.
Broad Classification Of Stress
All the forms of stress can be categorized as either mental or physical. Mental stress comes from outside factors while physical stress is caused by conditions that affect the body directly.
Mental stress
It can come from the pressures of work, financial concerns, problems in a relationship, or family matters. It can also come from medications, medications, or surgery that causes stress on the body.
Physical stress
These are physical conditions that have physical indications such as headache, tiredness, stomach aches, and sleeplessness. Heart disease, for example, causes chest discomfort, headaches, and shortness of breath as a result of stress. This can also include cancerous diseases such as lung or skin cancer which produce symptoms including cough, unexplained weight loss, and bleeding.
NOTE: While physical symptoms are usually more obvious than mental ones, both types can lead to illness and disease if left unchecked over time. For example, heart disease, stroke, and hypertension can be caused by stress.
Common Effects Of Stress On Body
When people are under mental or physical stress, hormones like cortisol (the “stress hormone”) are released into the bloodstream.
Cortisol can negatively affect people because it prevents the body from fighting off infection.
Different forms of stress also affect digestion by slowing down stomach emptying time which means that food stays in the stomach longer.
Other symptoms include weight gain, hair loss, sleep problems, muscle tension, fatigue, depression, anxiety, headaches, and more.
Different Forms Of Stress
It’s important to know what causes you stress so that you can avoid or combat them in your daily life. In general, there are three main forms of causes: personal/emotional factors, environmental factors, and biological/physical factors.
In other words, we can say, the type of stress that we experience depends on its cause, source or condition, etc. Based on it, there can be a large list of forms of stress.
Acute Stress Disorder (ASD)
It can last for a few hours or days and the symptoms are similar to those in Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSS). Feeling numb, losing your memory, etc. are some of their common symptoms. It is something that develops after exposure to an intensely traumatic event. The most common cause is experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like an accident or natural disaster.
An example of this could be a person with ASD in the case of someone who has been through a traumatic car accident and startles easily. It is because they might think it’s happening again even if there isn’t anything going on around them.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
It can last for a few months or even longer. People who are more likely to suffer from this stress include those who have experienced trauma or loss in the past year, are unemployed, facing financial difficulties, experiencing issues with their friends and family members, etc.
Some examples of events that could result in prolonged periods of PTSD- such as a person losing someone close to them due to death or divorce. Another example of PTSD could be the case where someone is involved in a car accident and keeps thinking about it long afterward. It makes them feel sad and anxious.
Acute Stress
It is the type of stress that causes people to feel stressed for a short period, like during an exam or when speaking in front of large audiences.
An example might be where someone has been preparing all week long for their big presentation but still feels very stressed about it.
Chronic Stress
It is when someone experiences stress due to events that happen over a long period and could be either external factors like work overload or internal factors such as relationship problems with family members, etc. People with chronic stress often experience cardiovascular diseases like heart attack and stroke.
An example of this would be the case where a person has been going through financial troubles and is always under a lot of stress because they have to worry about money every day.
Social Stress
This type occurs when someone feels stressed from being around other people for too long.
An example could be the case where someone has been working on their project all night and doesn’t want to talk with anyone or answer any phone calls so they can finish it.
Stress Of Everyday Life
This type is the most common and occurs when someone feels stressed from normal tasks like going to work or school, taking care of their family and children, etc.
An example might be a person who has been working all week long and wants to take some time for themselves but doesn’t have the opportunity to leave their family.
Stress Of Uncertainty
This type occurs when someone is worried about something that might happen in the future, like losing a job or not having enough money saved for retirement.
An example could be where a person has been worrying ever since they started thinking about how old age affects people and starts to worry about not having enough money saved to retire.
Stress Due To Lack Of Control
This type occurs when someone feels like they have no power or say in a situation and can’t do anything about it.
An example might be where an employee has been trying hard at their job but there is nothing more that they can do because the company they work for is closing down.
Stress Due To Daily Hassles
This type occurs when someone feels stressed from things that happen every day, like traffic or running late for an appointment.
An example could be where a person wakes up in the morning 30 minutes later than usual and ends up being very late for an appointment.
Stress Due To Negative Life Events
This type occurs when someone has experienced several stressful events in their lives and feels stressed all the time, like losing someone close or going through divorce proceedings.
An example might be that a person is getting divorced from their husband and is always feeling upset about it because they can’t concentrate on anything else.
Stress Due To Major Life Changes
This type occurs when someone goes through a big change in their lives, like moving or going back to school after being unemployed for a long time.
An example might be where a person has been trying hard to get a job and finally gets one but is stressed because they have to move and start over somewhere else.
Stress Of Anticipation
This type occurs when someone feels like something bad is about to happen, like an accident or a natural disaster. An example might be where the person who has been reading all over social media about how earthquakes are very common in their city and start feeling frightened whenever they feel any tremors during the day.
Stress Due To Work Overload
This type occurs when someone is overworked and has too much to do, causing them to feel stressed out.
An example might be the person who works so hard at their job that they don’t have any time for themselves anymore because all of their free time goes towards taking care of house chores or spending some time with family.
Stress Due To Lack Of Social Support
This type occurs when someone doesn’t have any friends or family members who they can rely on and feel very lonely.
An example might be where the person has been feeling extremely depressed because nobody in their life seems to care about them at all, like spending time with them or even checking up on them to see how they are doing.
Stress Due To Caregiving
This typically occurs when a person is taking care of someone who has a long-term illness or physical limitations, like their parents who have been suffering from dementia for years now and the only thing that the caregiver can do is look after them because there’s no cure.
An example might be where the daughter of an elderly man has been feeling sad because she doesn’t have time for herself anymore since her father’s condition keeps getting worse and all she does is worry about him all day long.
Stress Due To Working Conditions
This type occurs when someone works in a bad environment, like one where they are not treated very well or where the physical conditions make it difficult to work, like working in a hot environment without any fans.
An example might be where someone has been feeling extremely stressed out because their boss keeps yelling at them and won’t stop no matter how hard they try to do things right, making them feel miserable all day long.
Stress Due To Illness
This type occurs when someone has a serious health condition, like cancer or heart disease.
An example might be where the person who is too sick to work and spends all day long resting because they can barely move around anymore without feeling weak and exhausted.
Stress Due To Poverty
This type occurs when someone is living in a very difficult financial situation, like someone who has been struggling financially for years and can barely afford food.
An example might be the person who feels extremely stressed out because they have never had enough money before and now that their income has increased a little bit it’s not going to make much of a difference.
Stress Due To Housing Problems
This type occurs when someone does not have proper lodging, like living in a very small apartment that doesn’t even allow them to fit all their belongings or having no fixed address and always staying with family members because they don’t have the money for rent anymore.
An example might be the person who is always living in fear because they never know when their landlord might kick them out of their apartment, making it difficult for them to sleep at night.
Stress Due To Legal Problems
This type occurs when someone has a criminal record or other legal issues that makes things very complicated for them. For instance, being accused of a crime and not being able to defend themselves because they don’t have the money for a good lawyer.
An example might be where someone has been feeling stressed out all day long, worrying about when their court date is going to happen and how much trouble this situation could cause them in the future if it doesn’t go well.
Stress Due To Work Overload
This is one of the most prevalent forms of stress. It occurs when someone has too much to do and they don’t have enough time for everything. For instance, working two jobs without having any days off or taking care of a lot of children.
An example might be a person who is very tired all day long because they go to school during the morning and then afterward.
Difference Between Stress And Anxiety
Anxiety occurs when you feel fear, worry, or panic about events that may occur in the future while stress can occur because of past and present factors.
NOTE: Stress is a subjective experience by one person while anxiety is an emotion felt by everyone, regardless of their mental state.
Management Of Different Forms Of Stress
There’s a variety of ways to combat stress, such as:
Exercise
Physical activity is a great way to reduce stress and anxiety. Whether it’s going for a run or just taking the stairs instead of an elevator. If you’re feeling overwhelmed at work, take your mind off things by going out for a walk outside.
Yoga
Yoga is a great way to reduce stress. As it connects the mind and body by relieving tension in muscles that you never even knew existed!
Meditation/Deep Breathing
Meditation can help take your mind off life’s problems for just a little bit. However, deep breathing will make sure you feel more relaxed.
Exercise/Yoga/Meditation together!
The best way to reduce stress is by combining all of these activities. It will make you healthier and happier.
Socializing
It may be difficult to get out of the house when you’re feeling stressed. But believe us, socializing with your friends is a good way to relieve tension.
Music/TV/Reading
One great way to reduce stress is through listening to music or watching TV (specifically comedy shows). Reading can also help take one’s mind off things for a little while.
Tea/Coffee
A hot cup of tea or coffee is a great way to unwind and reduce stress levels. Also, it boosts your metabolism (tea) and puts you in the mood for conversation (coffee).
Taking Care Of Yourself
The best thing you can do when feeling stressed is to take better care of yourself. Eating right, exercising, and getting enough sleep are the way to go.
Get A Dog!
Having a pet can reduce stress levels in everyone around them. They’re also great at making you laugh when you need them most!
Laughter Is The Best Medicine
Watch something that will make you laugh or hang out with your funniest friend. Even if it’s only for a few minutes, laughter will help reduce tension and make you feel better!
Breathe In, Breathe Out
Slow down to keep stress under control. Take deep breaths before reacting or saying something that could potentially hurt someone else (or yourself).
Get Organized/Clean Up Your Space
Having an extremely messy room or office can make you feel even more stressed. So try to get organized by putting your things away and cleaning up every once in a while!
Drink Lots Of Water
In case of dehydration, our body releases stress hormones that make us feel anxious; therefore, drink plenty of water throughout the day to keep yourself feeling calm and happy!
Conclusion
No one is immune to stress, but there are many ways you can reduce it. Have you tried any of these? When we feel stressed out and overwhelmed by the day-to-day tasks, sometimes all we need is a little relief. Lucky for us, our brain has a few handy hacks and simple tricks up its sleeve. These simple tricks help lift moods and ease the tension when things get tough. We’ve compiled some of those self-care techniques above to make your daily grind just a bit easier on everyone involved. What have been your favorite strategies for reducing stress from work or home life?
For more information, please contact MantraCare. Stress can have both physical and mental effects on the body, leading to negative consequences such as anxiety, depression, and even physical illnesses. If you have any queries regarding Online Stress Counseling experienced therapists at MantraCare can help: Book a trial Stress therapy session
