Stress and the illness it causes. How stress causes illness. How stress works

Overwork, lack of sleep, prolonged nervous tension - all this can lead to general malfunctions of the body. But quite often many do not even connect yesterday's active discussion at the workshop with the abdominal pain that has arisen today. What diseases can develop from stress and how to deal with them - in the material AiF.ru.

Primitive habits

First, you need to understand how stress affects the human body. According to the WHO, about 40% of people go to a doctor with problems that are caused, in fact, by mental processes. The fact is that the nervous system controls the functions of all organs and systems, makes them work in a single rhythm. And under stress, this well-coordinated mechanism is disrupted. At this time, the central nervous system works together with the brain to prevent the alleged attack - the nerve centers are activated, the rapid production of adrenaline and other stress hormones opens. Because of what they are celebrated:

• increase in pressure,
• an increase in the strength and frequency of heart contractions,
• muscle tone (tension) appears,
• accelerates and increases blood flow to the brain, muscles and heart,
• a spasm occurs in the digestive system.

Stress refers to the ancient evolutionary mechanisms that humans inherited from animals. When a dangerous situation arises, the body sends signals to the brain that it should defend itself. And although today no one has been fighting mammoths for a long time and does not try to survive at any cost in the forest in the battle against predators, evolutionary processes have not changed for thousands of years. And in the body of a modern person, the reactions to stress are the same as those of his cave ancestors: energy is released, all defense systems are on alert, muscles, brain and heart are activated. However, in the real world, an attack as such does not occur, detente does not occur - and the body needs a lot of strength to return itself to a stable state. If stress is chronic, and such combat readiness is a constant phenomenon, sooner or later the internal organs will begin to fail.

Asthma, panic, dizziness

Today, doctors have studied in as much detail as possible the effect of nervous system on human health and were even able to identify a list of diseases that cause its activity. So, "diseases from the nerves" today are called:

• bronchial asthma,
• irritable bowel syndrome
• increased blood pressure,
• headache,
• dizziness
• panic attacks.

This list is explained quite simply. Under stress, blood vessels spasm, blood flows more actively, breathing becomes more frequent. And if there is any predisposition, for example, susceptibility to allergens (for bronchial asthma) or disruptions in the digestive system, everything can end up with a failure. And all of these systems are most susceptible to stressful situations and are quite vulnerable, so that any quarrel or conflict can disrupt their work.

Creativity as medicine

Preventing the development of "nervous" diseases is not as difficult as it seems. First of all, of course, you need to monitor your emotional well-being. Try not to bring situations to conflict, and if this is impossible, then develop tactics to resolve them. If you can't cope on your own, you should contact a professional.

Keep in mind that hobbies can have a good therapeutic effect. It is worth choosing those options that will relieve the nervous system - swimming, creativity, handicrafts, yoga.

Stress- a term that literally means pressure or stress. It is understood as the state of a person, which arises in response to the influence of adverse factors, which are usually called stressors... They can be physical (hard work, trauma) or mental (fear, frustration).

The prevalence of stress is very high. In developed countries, 70% of the population is under constant stress. Over 90% suffer from stress several times a month. This is a very alarming indicator considering how dangerous the effects of stress can be.

Experiencing stress requires a lot of energy from a person. Therefore, prolonged exposure to stress factors causes weakness, apathy, and a feeling of lack of strength. Also, the development of 80% of diseases known to science is associated with stress.

Types of stress

Pre-stress state - anxiety, nervous tension that occurs in a situation when stress factors act on a person. During this period, he can take steps to prevent stress.

Eustress- beneficial stress. It can be stressful, caused by strong positive emotions. Also, eustress is a moderate stress that mobilizes reserves, forcing you to more effectively deal with the problem. This type of stress includes all the reactions of the body that provide an urgent adaptation of a person to new conditions. It makes it possible to avoid an unpleasant situation, fight or adapt. Thus, eustress is a mechanism that ensures human survival.

Distress- harmful destructive stress, which the body is unable to cope with. This type of stress is caused by strong negative emotions, or physical factors (trauma, illness, overwork) that last for a long time. Distress undermines strength, preventing a person from not only effectively solving the problem that caused stress, but also to live fully.

Emotional stress- emotions accompanying stress: anxiety, fear, anger, sadness. Most often, it is they, and not the situation itself, that cause negative changes in the body.

According to the duration of exposure, stress is usually divided into two types:

Acute stress- the stressful situation lasted for a short period of time. Most people bounce back quickly after a short emotional shock. However, if the shock was strong, then impairments to the functioning of the NA, such as enuresis, stuttering, tics, are possible.

Chronic stress- stress factors affect a person for a long time. This situation is less favorable and dangerous for the development of diseases of the cardiovascular system and exacerbation of existing chronic diseases.

What are the phases of stress?

Anxiety phase- a state of uncertainty and fear in connection with an approaching unpleasant situation. Its biological meaning is to "prepare weapons" to deal with possible troubles.

Resistance phase- the period of mobilization of forces. The phase in which there is an increase in brain activity and muscle strength. This phase can have two resolution options. In the best case, the organism adapts to new living conditions. At worst, the person continues to experience stress and moves on to the next phase.

Exhaustion phase- the period when a person feels that his strength is running out. At this stage, the body's resources are depleted. If a way out of a difficult situation is not found, then somatic diseases and psychological changes develop.

What causes stress?

The reasons for the development of stress can be very diverse.

Physical causes of stress	Mental causes of stress
	Internal	External
Strong pain Surgery Infections Overwork Unbearable physical work Environmental pollution	Inconsistency of expectations with reality Unfulfilled hopes Disappointment Internal conflict - a contradiction, between "want" and "need" Perfectionism Pessimism Low or high self-esteem Difficulty making decisions Lack of diligence Impossibility of self-expression Lack of respect, recognition Time trouble, feeling of lack of time	Threat to life and health Human or animal attack Family or community conflicts Material problems Natural or man-made disasters Illness or death of a loved one Getting married or divorcing Cheating on a loved one Employment, dismissal, retirement Loss of money or property

It should be noted that the body's response does not depend on the cause of the stress. The body reacts to a broken arm and divorce in the same way - by releasing stress hormones. Its consequences will depend on how significant the situation is for a person and how long he has been under its influence.

What determines your susceptibility to stress?

The same impact can be evaluated in different ways by people. The same situation (for example, the loss of a certain amount) will cause severe stress for one person, and only annoyance for the other. It all depends on what value a person gives to a given situation. An important role is played by the strength of the nervous system, life experience, upbringing, principles, life position, moral assessments, etc.

Individuals who are characterized by anxiety, increased excitability, imbalance, a tendency to hypochondria and depression are more susceptible to stress.

One of the most important factors is the state of the nervous system at the moment. During periods of overwork and illness, a person's ability to adequately assess the situation decreases and relatively small impacts can cause serious stress.

Recent research by psychologists has shown that people with the lowest cortisol levels are less susceptible to stress. As a rule, they are harder to piss off. And in stressful situations, they do not lose their composure, which allows them to achieve significant success.

Signs of low stress tolerance and high susceptibility to stress:

• You cannot relax after a hard day;
• You experience excitement after a minor conflict;
• You replay an unpleasant situation in your head many times;
• You can leave the started business because of fears that you will not cope with it;
• Your sleep is disturbed due to the anxiety experienced;
• Excitement causes a noticeable deterioration in well-being (headache, tremors in the hands, heart palpitations, feeling of heat)

If you answered yes to most of the questions, it means that you need to increase your resistance to stress.

What are the behavioral signs of stress?

How to recognize stress by behavior? Stress changes a person's behavior in a certain way. Although its manifestations largely depend on the character and life experience of a person, there are also a number of common features.

• Binge eating. Although sometimes there is a loss of appetite.
• Insomnia. Superficial sleep with frequent awakenings.
• Slowness of movement or fussiness.
• Irritability. It can be manifested by tearfulness, grumbling, unreasonable nit-picking.
• Closure, withdrawal from communication.
• Reluctance to work. The reason lies not in laziness, but in a decrease in motivation, willpower and a lack of strength.

Outward signs of stress associated with excessive tension of certain muscle groups. These include:

• Pursed lips
• Chewing muscle tension;
• Raised "pinched" shoulders;

What happens in the human body during stress?

Pathogenetic mechanisms of stress- a stressful situation (stressor) is perceived by the cerebral cortex as threatening. Further, excitation passes along a chain of neurons to the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. The pituitary cells produce adrenocorticotropic hormone, which activates the adrenal cortex. The adrenal glands in large quantities release stress hormones into the bloodstream - adrenaline and cortisol, which are designed to ensure adaptation in a stressful situation. However, if the body is under their influence for too long, is very sensitive to them, or hormones are produced in excess, this can lead to the development of diseases.

Emotions activate the autonomic nervous system, or rather its sympathetic division. This biological mechanism is designed to make the body stronger and more enduring for a short time, to set it up for vigorous activity. However, prolonged stimulation of the autonomic nervous system causes vasospasm and disruption of the organs that lack blood circulation. Hence the dysfunction of organs, pain, spasms.

The positive effects of stress

The positive effects of stress are associated with the effects on the body of the same stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol. Their biological meaning is to ensure human survival in a critical situation.

The positive effects of adrenaline

The positive effects of cortisol

The appearance of fear, anxiety, anxiety. These emotions warn a person of possible danger. They provide an opportunity to prepare for battle, run away or hide. Increased respiration - this ensures oxygen saturation of the blood. A faster heartbeat and a rise in blood pressure - the heart supplies blood to the body better to work efficiently. Stimulating mental capacity by improving the delivery of arterial blood to the brain. Strengthening muscle strength by improving muscle blood circulation and increasing muscle tone. It helps to realize the fight-or-flight instinct. A surge of energy due to the activation of metabolic processes. This allows a person to feel a surge of strength, if before that he experienced fatigue. The person shows courage, determination, or aggression. Increase in blood glucose levels, which provides cells with additional nutrition and energy. Decreased blood flow in internal organs and skin. This effect helps to reduce bleeding during possible injury.

A surge of vivacity and strength due to the acceleration of metabolism: an increase in blood glucose levels and the breakdown of proteins into amino acids. Suppression of the inflammatory response. Acceleration of blood clotting by increasing the number of platelets, helps to stop bleeding. Decreased activity of secondary functions. The body conserves energy to help combat stress. For example, the formation of immune cells decreases, the activity of the endocrine glands is suppressed, and intestinal motility decreases. Reducing the risk of developing allergic reactions. This is facilitated by the depressing effect of cortisol on the immune system. Blocking the production of dopamine and serotonin - "happiness hormones" that promote relaxation, which can have critical consequences in a dangerous situation. Increased sensitivity to adrenaline. This enhances its effects: increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, increased blood flow to skeletal muscles and heart.

It should be noted that the positive effect of hormones is noted with their short-term effect on the body. Therefore, short-term moderate stress can be beneficial for the body. He mobilizes, forces one to gather strength in order to find the optimal solution. Stress enriches life experience and in the future a person feels confident in such situations. Stress increases the ability to adapt and in a certain way contributes to the development of personality. However, it is important that the stressful situation is resolved before the body's resources are exhausted and negative changes begin.

The negative effects of stress

The negative effects of stress onpsyche due to the prolonged action of stress hormones and overwork of the nervous system.

• Decreased concentration of attention, which entails memory impairment;
• Fussiness and incoherence appear, which increases the risk of making rash decisions;
• Low performance and increased fatigue can be the result of a violation of neural connections in the cerebral cortex;
• Negative emotions prevail - general dissatisfaction with the position, work, partner, appearance that increases the risk of developing depression;
• Irritability and aggression that make it difficult to interact with others and delay resolution conflict situation;
• The desire to alleviate the condition with the help of alcohol, antidepressants, narcotic drugs;
• Decreased self-esteem, self-doubt;
• Problems in sexual and family life;
• A nervous breakdown is a partial loss of control over your emotions and actions.

The negative effects of stress on the body

1. From the nervous system... Under the influence of adrenaline and cortisol, the destruction of neurons is accelerated, the well-functioning work of various parts of the nervous system is disrupted:

• Excessive stimulation of the nervous system. Prolonged stimulation of the central nervous system leads to overwork. Like other organs, the nervous system cannot work in an unusually intense mode for a long time. This inevitably leads to various failures. Signs of overwork are drowsiness, apathy, depressive thoughts, sugar cravings.
• Headaches can be associated with impaired functioning of the blood vessels in the brain and a deterioration in the outflow of blood.
• Stuttering, enuresis (urinary incontinence), tics (uncontrolled contractions of certain muscles). Perhaps they arise when the neural connections between nerve cells in the brain are disrupted.
• Excitation of parts of the nervous system. Excitation of the sympathetic part of the nervous system leads to dysfunction internal organs.

2. From the immune system. The changes are associated with an increase in the level of glucocorticoid hormones, which suppress the functioning of the immune system. Susceptibility to various infections increases.

• The production of antibodies and the activity of immune cells decreases. As a result, the susceptibility to viruses and bacteria increases. The likelihood of contracting viral or bacterial infections increases. The chance of self-infection also increases - the spread of bacteria from the foci of inflammation (inflamed maxillary sinuses, palatine tonsils) to other organs.
• The immune defense against the appearance of cancer cells decreases, the risk of developing oncology increases.

3. From the endocrine system. Stress has a significant effect on the functioning of all hormonal glands. It can cause both an increase in synthesis and a sharp decrease in the production of hormones.

• Failure of the menstrual cycle. Severe stress can disrupt ovarian function, which is manifested by delay and soreness during menstruation. Cycle problems can continue until the situation is completely normalized.
• Decreased synthesis of testosterone, which is manifested by a decrease in potency.
• Slowdown in growth rates. Severe stress in a child can reduce the production of growth hormone and cause a delay in physical development.
• Decreased synthesis of triiodothyronine T3 with normal thyroxine T4 levels. It is accompanied by increased fatigue, muscle weakness, a decrease in temperature, swelling of the face and limbs.
• Decreased prolactin. In lactating women, prolonged stress can cause a decrease in the production of breast milk, up to a complete stop of lactation.
• Disruption of the work of the pancreas, which is responsible for the synthesis of insulin, causes diabetes mellitus.

4. On the part of the cardiovascular system... Adrenaline and cortisol increase the heart rate and constrict blood vessels, which has a number of negative consequences.

• Blood pressure rises, which increases the risk of hypertension.
• The load on the heart increases and the amount of blood pumped per minute triples. Combined with high blood pressure, this increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.
• The heartbeat accelerates and the risk of cardiac arrhythmias (arrhythmia, tachycardia) increases.
• The risk of blood clots is increased due to the increased number of platelets.
• The permeability of blood and lymph vessels increases, their tone decreases. Metabolic products and toxins accumulate in the intercellular space. The swelling of the tissues increases. Cells are deficient in oxygen and nutrients.

5. From the digestive system disruption of the autonomic nervous system causes spasms and impaired circulation in various parts of the gastrointestinal tract. This can have various manifestations:

• Feeling of a lump in the throat;
• Difficulty swallowing due to esophageal spasm
• Pain in the stomach and various parts of the intestines caused by spasm;
• Constipation or diarrhea associated with impaired peristalsis and the secretion of digestive enzymes;
• Development of peptic ulcer disease;
• Disruption of the digestive glands, which causes gastritis, biliary dyskinesia and other functional disorders of the digestive system.

6. From the musculoskeletal systems prolonged stress causes muscle spasm and impairment of blood circulation in bone and muscle tissue.

• Muscle spasm, mainly in the cervicothoracic spine. In combination with osteochondrosis, this can lead to compression of the roots of the spinal nerves - radiculopathy occurs. This condition is manifested by pain in the neck, limbs, chest. It can also cause pain in the area of ​​internal organs - heart, liver.
• Bone fragility - caused by a decrease in calcium in the bone tissue.
• Decreased muscle mass - stress hormones increase the breakdown of muscle cells. During prolonged stress, the body uses them as a reserve source of amino acids.

7. From the side of the skin

• Acne. Stress increases sebum production. Blocked hair follicles become inflamed due to reduced immunity.
• Disturbances in the work of the nervous and immune systems provoke neurodermatitis and psoriasis.

We emphasize that short-term episodic stresses do not cause serious harm to health, since the changes they cause are reversible. Diseases develop over time if a person continues to acutely experience a stressful situation.

What are the different ways to respond to stress?

Allocate three strategies for responding to stress:

Rabbit- passive reaction to a stressful situation. Stress makes it impossible to think rationally and take active action. A person hides from problems, because he does not have the strength to cope with a traumatic situation.

a lion- stress forces you to use all the body's reserves for a short period of time. A person violently and emotionally reacts to a situation, making a "leap" to resolve it. This strategy has its drawbacks. Actions are often thoughtless and overly emotional. If the situation was not resolved quickly, then the forces are depleted.

Ox- a person rationally uses his mental and mental resources, so he can live and work for a long time, experiencing stress. This strategy is the most justified from the point of view of neurophysiology and the most productive.

Stress Management Techniques

There are 4 main strategies for dealing with stress.

Raising awareness. In a difficult situation, it is important to reduce the level of uncertainty, for this it is important to have reliable information. Preliminary "living" the situation will eliminate the effect of surprise and allow you to act more efficiently. For example, before traveling to an unfamiliar city, think about what you will do, what you want to visit. Find out the addresses of hotels, attractions, restaurants, read reviews about them. This will help you worry less before traveling.

Comprehensive analysis of the situation, rationalization... Assess your strengths and resources. Consider the difficulties you will have to face. Prepare for them if possible. Shift your focus from outcome to action. For example, analyzing the collection of information about the company and preparing for the questions that are asked most often will help reduce the fear of an interview.

Reducing the significance of the stressful situation. Emotions make it difficult to consider the essence and find an obvious solution. Imagine how this situation is seen by strangers, for whom this event is familiar and does not matter. Try to think about this event without emotion, deliberately reducing its significance. Imagine remembering a stressful situation in a month or a year.

Strengthening possible negative consequences. Imagine the worst case scenario. As a rule, people drive away this thought from themselves, which makes it intrusive, and it comes back again and again. Realize that the likelihood of a catastrophe is extremely small, but even if it does happen, there is a way out of the situation.

Installation for the best... Remind yourself constantly that everything will be okay. Problems and worries cannot last forever. It is necessary to gather strength and do everything possible to bring a successful denouement closer.

It is necessary to warn that during prolonged stress, the temptation to solve problems in an irrational way with the help of occult practices, religious sects, healers, etc. increases. This approach can lead to new, more complex problems. Therefore, if you cannot find a way out and situations on your own, then it is advisable to contact a qualified specialist, psychologist, lawyer.

How can you help yourself during times of stress?

Various ways of self-regulation under stress help calm down and minimize the influence of negative emotions.

Auto-training- a psychotherapeutic technique aimed at restoring balance lost as a result of stress. Autogenic training is based on muscle relaxation and self-hypnosis. These actions reduce the activity of the cerebral cortex and activate the parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. This allows you to neutralize the effect of prolonged excitation of the sympathetic section. To perform the exercise, you need to sit in a comfortable position and consciously relax the muscles, especially the face and shoulder girdle. Then they begin to repeat the autogenous training formulas. For example: “I am calm. My nervous system calms down and gains strength. Problems don't bother me. They are perceived as touching the wind. I'm getting stronger every day. "

Muscle relaxation- Skeletal muscle relaxation technique. The technique is based on the statement that muscle tone and the nervous system are interrelated. Therefore, if it is possible to relax the muscles, then the tension in the nervous system will decrease. With muscle relaxation, it is necessary to strongly strain the muscle, and then relax it as much as possible. Muscles work in a specific order:

• dominant hand from fingers to shoulder (right for right-handers, left for left-handers)
• non-dominant hand from fingers to shoulder
• back
• stomach
• dominant leg from hip to foot
• non-dominant leg from hip to foot

Breathing exercises... Breathing exercises to relieve stress can help you regain control of your emotions and your body, and reduce muscle tension and heart rate.

• Breathing in the stomach. While inhaling, slowly inflate the abdomen, then draw air into the middle and upper sections of the lungs. On exhalation - release air from the chest, then draw in the stomach a little.
• Breath counting 12. Taking a breath, you need to slowly count from 1 to 4. Pause - for the count of 5-8. Exhale to the count of 9-12. Thus, the breathing movements and the pause between them have the same duration.

Autorational therapy... It is based on postulates (principles) that help to change the attitude towards a stressful situation and reduce the severity of autonomic reactions. To reduce stress levels, a person is advised to work with their beliefs and thoughts using well-known cognitive formulas. For example:

• What does this situation teach me? What lesson can I learn?
• "Lord, give me strength, to change what is in my power, give peace of mind to come to terms with what I am unable to influence and wisdom to distinguish one from the other."
• It is necessary to live "here and now" or "Wash the cup, think about the cup."
• "Everything passes and it will pass" or "Life is like a zebra."

Psychotherapy for stress

Psychotherapy for stress has more than 800 methods. The most common are:

Rational psychotherapy. The psychotherapist teaches the patient to change the attitude towards exciting events, to change the wrong attitudes. The main impact is aimed at the logic and personal values ​​of a person. The specialist helps to master the methods of autogenous training, self-hypnosis and other methods of self-help in case of stress.

Suggestive psychotherapy... The patient is instilled in the correct attitudes, the main impact is directed to the subconscious of a person. Suggestion can be carried out in a relaxed or hypnotic state, when the person is between wakefulness and sleep.

Psychoanalysis in stress... Aimed at extracting mental trauma from the subconscious that caused stress. Speaking of these situations helps to reduce their impact on the person.

Indications for psychotherapy in stress:

• a stressful condition disrupts the usual way of life, making it impossible to work, maintain contact with people;
• partial loss of control over their own emotions and actions against the background of emotional experiences;
• the formation of personal characteristics - suspiciousness, anxiety, grumpiness, egocentricity;
• the inability of a person to independently find a way out of a stressful situation, to cope with emotions;
• deterioration of the somatic state against a background of stress, the development of psychosomatic diseases;
• signs of neurosis and depression;
• post-traumatic disorder.

Psychotherapy against stress is an effective method that helps to return to a fulfilling life, regardless of whether the situation has been resolved or has to live under its influence.

How to recover from stress?

After the stressful situation has been resolved, you need to restore physical and mental strength. The principles of a healthy lifestyle can help in this.

A change of scenery. A trip out of town, to a dacha in another city. New experiences and walks in the fresh air create new foci of excitement in the cerebral cortex, blocking the memory of the stress experienced.

Switching attention... The object can be books, films, performances. Positive emotions activate brain activity, encouraging activity. Thus, they prevent the development of depression.

Adequate sleep. Dedicate as much time as your body requires to sleep. To do this, you need to go to bed at 22 for several days, and not get up on an alarm clock.

Balanced diet. The diet should contain meat, fish and seafood, cottage cheese and eggs - these products contain protein to strengthen the immune system. Fresh vegetables and fruits are important sources of vitamins and fiber. A reasonable amount of sweets (up to 50 grams per day) will help the brain restore energy resources. Nutrition should be complete, but not overly plentiful.

Regular physical activity... Gymnastics, yoga, stretching, Pilates, and other muscle stretching exercises are especially helpful in relieving stress-induced muscle spasms. They will also improve blood circulation, which has a positive effect on the state of the nervous system.

Communication... Connect with positive people who make you feel good. Personal meetings are preferable, but a phone call or online chat is also fine. If there is no such opportunity or desire, then find a place where you can be among people in a calm atmosphere - a cafe or reading room libraries. Communicating with pets can also help restore lost balance.

Visiting the spa, baths, saunas... Such procedures help to relax muscles and relieve nervous tension. They can help release sad thoughts and tune in to a positive mood.

Massages, baths, sunbathing, swimming in ponds... These procedures have a calming and restorative effect, helping to restore lost strength. If desired, some procedures can be carried out at home, such as baths with sea salt or pine extract, self-massage or aromatherapy.

Techniques for increasing stress resistance

Stress tolerance Is a set of personality traits that allows you to endure stress with the least harm to health. Stress tolerance may be an innate feature of the nervous system, but it can be developed.

Improving self-esteem. Dependence has been proven - the higher the level of self-esteem, the higher the stress resistance. Psychologists advise: form confident behavior, communicate, move, act like a confident person. Over time, behavior will develop into an inner self-confidence.

Meditation. Regular meditation several times a week for 10 minutes reduces the level of anxiety and the degree of reaction to stressful situations. It also reduces the level of aggression, which promotes constructive communication in stressful situations.

A responsibility... When a person moves away from the position of the victim and takes responsibility for what is happening, he becomes less vulnerable to external influences.

Interest in change... It is natural for a person to be afraid of change, therefore, unexpectedness and new circumstances often provoke stress. It is important to create a mindset that will help you perceive change as new opportunity. Ask yourself: "what good can a new situation or life change bring me."

Striving for achievement... People who strive to achieve a goal are less likely to experience stress than those who try to avoid failure. Therefore, to increase resilience to stress, it is important to plan your life with short-term and global goals. Result orientation helps not to pay attention to minor troubles that arise on the way to the goal.

Time management... The correct distribution of time gets rid of time trouble - one of the main stress factors. To deal with the lack of time, it is convenient to use the Eisenhower matrix. It is based on the division of all daily affairs into 4 categories: important and urgent, important non-urgent, not important urgent, not important and non-urgent.

Stress is an integral part of a person's life. They cannot be completely ruled out, but it is possible to reduce their impact on health. To do this, it is necessary to consciously increase stress resistance and prevent prolonged stress, starting the fight against negative emotions in a timely manner.

Stress is the body's response to negative emotions, increased stress, monotonous fuss. During a period of such tension in the human body, the hormone adrenaline is produced, which promotes activation mental activity... However, such a “surge” of emotions in case of serious or numerous stresses is replaced by weakness, a feeling of apathy, an inability to think clearly and consistently and, as a result, the development of various painful conditions.

How to recognize

It is important to know the symptoms of stress in order to provide timely assistance to your body or support loved ones:

• not passing feeling of depression, irritability, which often has no definite basis;
• restless sleep;
• physical weakness, lack of desire to do anything, depression, headache, apathy, fatigue;
• memory impairment, difficulty in learning, decreased concentration of attention, complicating work, inhibition of the thought process;
• little interest in others and social sphere life, the disappearance of interest in family and friends;
• inability to relax;
• tearfulness, bouts of sobbing, an ongoing feeling of longing, self-pity, pessimism;
• poor appetite or excessive food intake;
• the appearance of nervous tics or the emergence of obsessive habits, for example, lip biting, the habit of biting nails, etc., is possible;
• fussiness, lack of focus, distrust of others.

Types of stress

Depending on the type of stimulus, the types of stress are distinguished:

• Mental. Caused by strong negative or positive emotions.
• Physical. Formed under the influence of various adverse physical influences, such as extreme cold, drops atmospheric pressure, unbearable heat, etc.
• Chemical. Caused by exposure to toxic substances.
• Biological. Formed due to the influence of viral diseases, injuries and excessive muscle stress.

Stressogenic diseases

Considering the increased “stressfulness” of modern times, caused by numerous factors, a whole branch of medicine has been created that studies various types of stress as a main or auxiliary factor in the development of various diseases. This branch is called psychosomatic medicine.

According to psychosomatic medicine, the negative impact of stress on human body multifaceted and is not limited to the defeat of one organ or system. He is often a "provocateur" of the development of various diseases.

First of all, stressful situations negatively affect the state and work of the cardiovascular system, as a result of which such diseases develop: hypertension, myocardial infarction, angina pectoris. The gastrointestinal tract also suffers, this manifests itself in the form of diseases such as gastritis, stomach ulcers and duodenal ulcers.

With an increased production of the stress hormone, the production of insulin in the body decreases (so-called "steroid" diabetes occurs), the growth and development of the child's body is delayed, immunity decreases, and degeneration of cells of the spinal cord and brain occurs.

Having understood the mechanism of action of stress, one can roughly estimate the harm it causes to the human body:

• Under stress, biochemical reactions are accelerated, and the energy potential increases, that is, the body mobilizes strength and prepares to respond to a difficult situation with double strength.
• The adrenal glands increase the release of adrenaline, which is a fast-acting stimulant. The "emotional brain center" of the hypothalamus sends a signal to the pituitary gland and adrenal cortex, which in turn respond with an increased release of hormones.
• In standard doses, hormones ensure the normal functioning of the body, however, with their increased production, various undesirable reactions from the body occur, which often leads to disorders in the functioning of internal systems and organs and to the development of diseases.

Increased doses of hormones can disrupt the water-salt balance of the blood, activate the digestion of food, increase blood pressure, increase the number of leukocytes in the blood, provoke the development of allergic reactions, and overload the immune system. During periods of stress, the pulse quickens, the blood sugar increases, and the person breathes frequently and intermittently.

Due to the lack of physical activity, biologically active substances, developed in increased dosages under stress, circulate in the blood for a long time, keeping the nervous system and the body as a whole in tension. For example, a high concentration of glucocorticoid hormones in the muscles causes the breakdown of proteins and nucleic acids, which can ultimately lead to muscle dystrophy.

Psychosomatics - diseases on a nervous basis

Our body is a unique world in which the body and psyche make up a single whole. And psychosomatics is the language they speak. And if it fails somewhere in the area of ​​emotions and experiences, you can feel it, say, in the area of ​​the heart. Or earn some kind of illness on the basis of nerves.

Sitting down to work on this difficult topic, I immediately fell ill: I woke up with a runny nose, a sore throat and an emerging temperature. Most likely, there was a common cold. But everything happened in my life. For example, at school graduation, I circled in a pair with a temperature of 39: almost immediately after this pleasant event, entrance exams followed, which I categorically did not want to take.



We were helped by:

Daria Suchilina
Psychologist, body-oriented psychotherapist

Victoria Chal-Boru
Psychologist, gestalt therapist, researcher of the Center for Professional Education of the ASOU, teacher

And now a whole flotilla of such cases floats on the waves of my memory when I talk with our expert psychologist Victoria Chal-Boru. But first, we are conducting an experiment on me. Vika presses her hand on my knee - and it moves a little to the side. He removes his hand - I return the limb to its original position. Vika asks if I had any feeling at the same time. "Yes, like no, definitely not!" - "And with what joy did you move your leg back?" - “It was just uncomfortable to sit like that” - “Here, it’s uncomfortable - you, in fact, felt some irritation, discontent. The brain digested this signal and realized that it would be necessary to return everything to its place. "

Further, we consider the situation when I cannot move my leg back: physically (Vika presses with her hand too hard) or, for example, I pass in front of her, because she threatened: "Well, sit like that!" Here my discontent again gives a signal for action, but here's an ambush - it's impossible. I find myself in a vicious circle.

"And what's going on with the leg?" - Vika asks. And I understand that my limb is already getting used to being in this state and, in principle, I can continue to sit like this. “So, in fact, it happens, get used to and pretend that you do not notice, it costs nothing. But then, for some reason, suddenly on this leg, relatively speaking, varicose veins form. Or, for example, some kind of joint falls out. " But what could I have done? It turns out, for example, just to immediately give Vika in the eye (or remove her hand from her knee / leave the room / say straight out that I am indignant) - and then it would definitely do without varicose veins.

In two simple words, psychosomatics are situations when the body takes on suppressed emotional experiences: they have accumulated, hidden, and they need to get out somehow. And you finally express them - through the somatic (that is, bodily) channel. How, why, why? - this is very worth delving into, even if now everything is serene with you.

Healthy psychosomatic reactions

Situations like the temperature that accompanies important events, Are the so-called psychosomatic reactions. According to Daria Suchilina, they do not go beyond the normal and healthy functioning of the body (thanks - lucky). For example, remember how you fell in love, or rather, how then your heart was pounding. And nothing - alive and well. From the same series, such things as dizziness after an accident, loss of appetite from sadness.

Often we ourselves know about these features of our own: if a sore throat means that he did not say something important at the right time; head - overexerted grinding the same problem over and over again. Daria and I are giving you conditional examples. Everything, as often happens, is individual. And here the main thing is to listen to your body, establish contact with it and learn to negotiate.

Psychosomatic disorders

Psychosomatic disorders are another matter. Our expert Daria Suchilina divides them into 3 large groups:

1. Conversion symptoms

Conversion is transformation. Here - the transformation of the repressed mental conflict into somatic symptoms (calm, now you will understand everything). These symptoms, as a rule, are "speaking" - hysterical blindness or deafness, the same paralysis (when hands are taken away or cannot walk).

It happens like this. A person finds himself in a traumatic situation, which is unbearable for him, and for the purpose of self-preservation, the body turns off. For example, he thinks: "My eyes would not have seen this!" - and actually ceases to see. But if you suddenly put such a citizen in the face of real danger (if you don't look under your feet, you can die!), Vision turns on again.

What else is there to add? Small psychiatry (the one that deals with mental disorders on the border of norm and pathology) deals with similar cases.

2. Functional syndromes

These are a variety of (and often vague) complaints about a malfunction of one of the body systems, as an option - difficulty breathing, a lump in the throat, strange sensations in the region of the heart. As a rule, no organic matter is found in the patient - in other words, the analyzes show that everything is in order, there are no violations. And it still hurts and strangles there!

Often such symptoms are visited by citizens with depressive manifestations, increased anxiety, sleep disturbances and panic attacks (and you will die on the spot from this coma in your throat, right now!). So mild antidepressants and sedatives prescribed by a psychiatrist or neurologist can be used for treatment.

There is also the term "psychovegetative syndromes" - in fact, this is the same thing, however, here they often talk about some general ill-health, malaise. Victim # 1 - Human adolescence... “During this period, there is a restructuring of the hormonal system, new emotions appear, a lot of things annoy, falling in love does not allow you to sleep peacefully, children's fairy tales lose their magical power, and dad turns out to be not omnipotent. In the end, the change in values ​​and ideals in life is only a deep enough reason for a general malaise in the body - psychovegetative dystonia, ”says Daria with sincere sympathy for the youth.

And as if by chance he adds: “According to the same scheme, similar the disorder can start in anyone who is having a hard time: hard work, family problems, an evil boss, low self-esteem, unstable political situation and further down the list - everything around is bad, and all the gears in the body are also upset ”.

3. Psychosomatic diseases = psychosomatosis

These are, in fact, the most real bodily diseases, with morphological changes and pathological disorders in the organs (in general, the analyzes are not in order), only caused by the psyche. Various ailments are periodically added to this list, but six claim the classics of the genre: bronchial asthma, ulcerative colitis, essential hypertension, neurodermatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, duodenal ulcer.

The main provocateur here is mental stress. But here's what's interesting: citizens tormented by the same psychosomatosis have common psychological traits, which determine the predisposition to this particular disease. For example, a hypertensive person resorts to a doctor, and a doctor is a very good pro. Then the doctor will certainly ask the patient if he has any difficulties with restraining and expressing anger.

With an unfortunate person who sits and itches from neurodermatitis, a competent dermatologist will have a little talk about how he has relationships with people. It will be useful to ask an ulcer if he feels deprived, if he is jealous of someone. And then - to treat all these wonderful people together with a psychotherapist.

Diseases and psychosomatics

Some experts draw beautiful parallels between diseases and their probable psychological causes. The universality of such bindings is highly questionable. But guessing on these cards is terribly exciting. For example, here is what Louise Hay, the author of books on popular psychology, tells us.

• Angina - You hold back from harsh words. Feel incapable
  express yourself.
• Phlebeurysm - Staying in a situation you hate. Disapproval. Feeling overwhelmed and overwhelmed by work.
• Gastritis - Lingering uncertainty. Feeling of doom.
• Runny nose - Request for help. Internal crying.
• Obesity: thighs (upper part) - Lumps of stubbornness and anger at parents.
• Obesity: hands - Anger over rejected love.
• Scabies - Infected thinking. Letting others get on your nerves.
• Knee diseases - Stubbornness and pride. Inability to be a pliable person. Fear. Inflexibility. Unwillingness to give in.

How psychosomatics works

You can, of course, sit down and grieve a little about how difficult it is for a modern person to live: all sorts of stress, trauma and negative emotions only dream of how to pounce on you. But here's an interesting fact for you - we are able to suppress positive feelings as well - and then just as cleverly push them onto a poor body. “For example, the psyche puts a ban in general on the manifestation of very strong emotions - joy, euphoria, satisfaction,” says Victoria. - People often refuse pleasure - no, no, you cannot receive it, you cannot be happy, it is better to suffer. Here is suffering - I allow myself. "



Understanding where all these prohibitions come from, the nature of possible internal conflicts and experienced trauma is a thankless task within the framework of this article. Everyone has their own life, family, childhood experience in the closet. Let's see how psychosomatics works and what you can do about it.

The good news is that, according to Victoria, those who know how to "psychosomatize" know their body very well and are great at managing it. Once - and here it hurts, that's it - I won't go to any school!

Another pleasant thing is that sometimes this method works to your advantage. Imagine this situation. Man Vasily (neurologists, by the way, argue that if women used to bring them mainly with psychosomatic complaints, now the stronger sex is not on the sidelines), and so, Vasily is damn tired, he has such an overstrain at work that he wants to run out of the office into the night and disappear from the country. But for some reason Vasya cannot just go up to the boss and say: "Dionisy Petrovich, dear, give me a day off for a couple of days." Instead, our hero falls ill - and now he lies quietly at home and does nothing while his body gets the necessary rest.

It's not bad. The bad begins where Vasily is unable to cope with his stress in another way (for example, to take and afford a vacation) and continues to treat himself in the same way. Then the body can be seriously damaged - Vasily will slowly turn into a disabled person. “If the stress is constant (that is, depletion of the emotional or intellectual sphere of the psyche occurs) or very pronounced (there is psychological trauma), a neurosis appears. With him, a functional disorder can come under his arm: all organs and systems are in order, but they do not work well. It's like a failure of a computer's operating system - software - compares Daria Suchilina. -

If such a difficult life situation lasts for years and all this time the failure persists, the functional problem turns into an organic one - when the heart really wears out, the intestinal mucosa burns with ulcers, and the lungs stop breathing, except for jokes. This is already a breakdown of computer parts, that is, hardware: say, the motherboard burned out. "

What to do with nervous illness

Of course, if you develop an ulcer, you will not go to a psychologist with it, but to a specialized doctor. And with migraines, too: of course, she is often suspected of a psychosomatic nature, but the causes of headaches are very different. And sometimes a runny nose is just a runny nose. In general, it is important to rule out organic disease. As we have already mentioned, good therapists and specialized specialists, having acquired a patient with psychosomatosis or functional disorder, will work in conjunction with a neurologist or psychotherapist (and possibly a psychiatrist).

Yes, clients sometimes get offended and show distrust: “How is it, I'm suffering here, but your examinations show nothing! What other psychosomatics? Are you implying that my head is not all right? " - here again the hope for the professionalism and competent approach of doctors. And some are surprised. “The point is that a person often lacks awareness of this somatic way of expressing emotions,” explains Victoria Chal-Boru. Suddenly, “out of the blue,” a symptom arises - for example, a monstrous headache in which you just want to lie down and die. And you do not understand that you are doing this to yourself.

Paying attention and understanding this process is already a big deal. Then you can work with it (for example, with a psychologist). You may have to look for another way to express emotions.... Here's what Victoria also says: “When you feel something, the brain catches this signal and selects a strategy for action from a certain department. The latter already has a set of ready-made plans, but they do not always work. In general, it would be good for a mature organism to come up with a new strategy every time - this is the so-called system of creative adaptation. But the same psychosomatic manifestations in response to feelings (to be sick!) - this is just a non-creative adaptation. "

Daria Suchilina draws attention to something else: "If you look at the question more esoterically and symbolically, then a bodily symptom is sometimes the only way available to the body to reach out to its inattentive owner, who otherwise does not see his problems." The body screams: "Hey, look at me, you already have your third heart attack, isn't it time to change something in your life ?!"

Stress illnesses

Stress is the body's response to unplanned events in life. Some people take everything to heart so much that they start to get very sick.

What is stress

The concept of "stress" was introduced into the lexicon relatively recently - in 1936. Initially, the concept of "stress" meant the body's response to any change in the environment. In other words, an adaptation moment to any changes in order to preserve the normal functioning of the body's systems was considered stress.

The concept of "stress" can cover a whole spectrum of events, and their polarity in this definition is absolutely not important. Both great grief and great joy can be considered a stressful event. Stress has accompanied humanity from its very inception. Its sources vary depending on the level of civilization: from fear of predators to worries about exams or interviews with an employer.

Strong emotions caused by stress affect the vital functions of the body, exacerbating inflammatory processes, causing exacerbation of chronic diseases and disturbances in the normal functioning of organs.

Doctors consider stress to be the cause of a number of serious and dangerous illnesses:

Physiological reactions occur in response to stress. These are the moments when the brain is unable to fully control the situation.

Effects of stress on human health

The destructive effect of stress on the body has been proven time and again. The mutual influence of the somatics and the psyche is so great that no one will dispute the fact that stress is the cause of somatic diseases.

The mechanism of influence of stress is as follows: stress triggers the release of cortisol and adrenaline. The latter increases the heart rate. In the absence of a threat from the outside, the person's condition softens, as the level of adrenaline in the blood decreases. Frequent stress causes adrenaline to remain in the blood constantly, which is dangerous for the body.

Cortisol has several functions in the body, from regulating sugar levels to affecting metabolic processes. Cortisol can delay pain, weaken libido, and take part in the development of some serious diseases.

Diseases caused by stress

Stress can cause serious physical illness.

1. Premature aging. Stress-induced changes in the body accelerate aging. The person not only looks older, but also becomes susceptible to disease.
2. Early death. People in stressful situations die early enough. At the same time, at least a quarter of the population can be attributed to the risk group. The higher the stress exposure, the greater the risk of early death.

Stress has a profound effect on the body. It is almost impossible to protect yourself from stressful situations. However, you can learn techniques to reduce the effects of stress on the body.

www.psyportal.net

Stress provokes disease

Stress negatively affects both psychological and physical health. They disorganize human activity, his behavior. It can lead to various psycho-emotional disorders (anxiety, depression, neuroses, emotional instability, mood decline, or, conversely, overexcitation, anger, memory impairment, insomnia, increased fatigue, etc.). Stress is the main risk factor for the manifestation and exacerbation of numerous diseases, the most common of which are:

cardiovascular diseases (angina pectoris, myocardial infarction, hypertension);

diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (peptic ulcer, gastritis);

decreased immunity.

Effects of stress on the human body

Hormones produced during stress and necessary for the normal functioning of the body in physiological quantities, in large quantities, can cause many undesirable reactions, which, in turn, can lead to a number of diseases and even death of a person. The aggravation of their negative effect lies in the fact that a modern person, under stress, rarely uses the energy of muscles. In this regard, biologically active substances continue to circulate in the blood for a long time in high concentrations, not allowing the nervous system and internal organs to calm down. In muscles, glucocorticoids in high concentration cause the breakdown of proteins and nucleic acids, which can lead to muscle dystrophy with prolonged exposure. In the skin, these hormones inhibit the growth and division of fibroblasts, as a result of which the skin may become thinner, become easily damaged, and wounds will heal poorly. In bone tissue, due to stress, calcium absorption is suppressed. Ultimately, with prolonged exposure to these hormones, bone mass is reduced, and a very common disease, osteoporosis, can occur. And this list of negative consequences can be continued indefinitely. Reputable scientists even believe that stress is a major factor in cancer and other cancers.

Such reactions can be caused not only by strong, acute, but also small, but long-term stressful effects. In this regard, chronic stress, in particular, the presence of prolonged psychological stress, depression can also lead to the diseases mentioned above. There is even a new direction in medicine called psychosomatic medicine. She considers all kinds of stress as the main or concomitant pathogenetic factor in most diseases.

Thus, stress and the onset of illness are very closely interrelated, and sometimes it happens that it is possible to predict a disease by the strength of stress experienced by a person. It is noticed that after suffering a strong emotional shock, patients not only experience an exacerbation of diseases directly related to emotional impact, but also an increase in the body's susceptibility to infections, the body becomes more prone to sciatica and accidents.

Stress leads to illness

Stress is able to accumulate and move to such a stage, to be so strong that a person becomes unable to cope with it, as a result of which he gets sick. As a rule, the attitude of stress and the ability to cope with it has more complex nature... Analyzing the causes due to which stress can lead to illness, the importance of an individual response to it is noted. This is due to the fact that the activity of the body, which is aimed at overcoming a stressful situation, can reduce resistance to disease, especially if the person chooses the wrong ways to overcome stress that do not correspond to the problems facing him. Thus, if external factors require a large expenditure of energy, then we may not have enough energy to overcome the disease. When the pace of life gets too hectic, we don't have the strength to deal with life situations arising in front of us, and the result is disease.

Thus, we can conclude that you need to learn how to relieve stress before it is caused by this or that disease. To do this, you need to find out the causes of stress and try to understand how you can relieve stress, what actions to take against stress.

From stress to colds: why even ARVI starts from the nerves and how the virus helps the body

All diseases are from the nerves, the old saying goes. Psychologists clarify - the cause of everything is stress. Even a common cold can be caused by anxiety, fear, lack of attention. A tired and disliked person lay down with the flu - and received the missing portion of rest and care. The child is afraid to go to school - and now the temperature and sore throat rush to the rescue. Psychosomatic medicine sees a direct connection between the state of mind and body. How negative emotions provoke the occurrence of seasonal viral diseases and is it possible to scare off a cold with a good mood - in our material.

Anxiety and fear spoil immunity

In late January - early February, there is a traditional rise in the incidence of ARVI. To avoid becoming a target for viruses, it's time to think about prevention. From the point of view of psychosomatics, the best option is to put things in order in the soul and get rid of the accumulated suppressed emotions. The first step is to pay attention to anxiety.

Fear and background anxiety reduce immunity because our adrenal glands release stress hormones: adrenaline and cortisol. Both hormones are needed by the body to deal with stress more easily. They pose a health hazard during chronic stress - when excreted in large quantities, - explains medical psychologist Anna Topyuk. - If the anxiety is situational, it is adequate stress. An order "hit" or "run" appeared - the hormone was developed, the person did something to get rid of the threat that had arisen, and the level of cortisol dropped. But if a person simply suppressed stress, the hormone was developed and remained above normal. Immunity is failing.

A person who is constantly worried receives a powerful blow to the body. At the same time, if you do not like drinking water, this will aggravate the situation. “Hormones are removed from the body by water. If you do not drink it, the effect of hormones will be long-term, ”the specialist notes.

On a subconscious level, we ourselves allow ourselves to get sick in order to get away from any situation for a while. The body says: "Stop!"

But you need to remember: stress, stress, strife. If in a chronic form it becomes a fertile ground for diseases, then a short-term shake-up, on the contrary, mobilizes and turns on the body's defenses. “There is no life without stress, because a healthy person, in order to feel alive and full, needs to feel the presence of problems that need to be solved as they arise,” says the psychologist. - If the level of stress has risen to the threshold when a person can no longer adapt and the stress is too high, then beneficial stress is transformed into dangerous. And this danger just provokes to the reaction not only the psyche, but also the somatics (body). "

Despondency attracts the virus

Autumn gloom due to cold weather and aversion to frost - these experiences disturb the soul and become a trigger for chronic stress. As a result, the mood becomes even worse, because now the blues are accompanied by a cough, a sore throat and other classic signs of SARS.

You need to try to change the stereotypes that provoke anxiety, the psychologist suggests. “If you are convinced that summer is pleasant and winter is not, learn to accept the unpleasant time of the year as it is - with all the cold weather and the need to dress,” Anna Topyuk recommends.

In addition, the firm belief that you will get sick can result in a real cold. This attitude makes you constantly wait for possible health problems and worry about it. As a result, stress hits the immune system, and the weakened body is unable to resist the virus.

We allow ourselves to get sick

Having collapsed with the flu, the body says it has reached its limits.

A person loads himself with worries, works seven days a week, tries to do as much as possible, and as a result gets sick. As a rule, on a subconscious level, we ourselves allow ourselves to get sick in order to temporarily escape from an insoluble situation, - the specialist states. - The body says: “Stop! Look, winter has just come, you have a reason to stop. " Everything happens subconsciously - a person may even wonder why he suddenly fell ill. He will believe that he caught a cold because of the open window, the cold, and does not realize that, it turns out, he took care of himself so much, showed tenderness to himself and thus gave himself the opportunity to rest.

If you have to work at an unloved job or there are problems in the team, this only adds to the blues. A tendency to despondency and a lack of taste for life begin to overcome. “It's no surprise that adults get sick in unfulfilling jobs. After all, every day is stress. And in winter and autumn, there is a legal opportunity to get sick with ARVI and give the body to relax. A person allows this to himself, this is the so-called secondary benefit from the disease, ”explains Anna Topyuk.

The psychologist warns: if you do not know how to express and manifest your needs, to defend your position, this will increase the likelihood of a cold. If an employee is scared to ask the boss for a vacation, but the strength to work from dawn to dawn is no longer there, the body will find its way out. To a sneezing or coughing worker with high temperature strict management will no longer have questions about unplanned absences.

Among the emotional causes of respiratory infections, psychologists also name the loss of the joy of life, self-dislike, low self-esteem, fear of the future. A cold will also be attracted to those who want to know everything about everyone, control everyone and teach life.

Don't give ARVI a chance

The manifestation of emotions will help to fight back ARVI. Feeling joy and love, feeling comfortable at work and at home, adding rest and relaxation (for example, swimming and massage) to your life, you will help the body keep immunity at a high level and resist viruses. Allow yourself to rest, realize that it is impossible to accomplish everything at the highest level. Do not seek to solve other people's problems when no one asks for it, and take the weekend more often. “A person who accepts life as it is, treats himself and others with unconditional love, without guilt and blame, need not be afraid of viruses,” Anna Topyuk is sure. - I myself have not had colds for several years. It happens that one day I sleep, but the next there is nothing. Even if I take this virus, it doesn’t stay with me because it doesn’t find a response in me ”.

People with ARVI should think about what kind of conflicts they carry in themselves. “It is necessary to appeal to oneself and a certain level of self-understanding in order to identify the causes of increased anxiety. Ask yourself: Am I satisfied with my life now? It is very important to understand whether there is inner well-being or not. Outwardly, after all, everything can seem to be in order - a smile, kindness, an active lifestyle, and at this time the cats scratch their souls, ”the specialist describes a common situation.

The firm belief that you will get sick can end up with a real illness. This attitude makes you constantly wait for possible health problems. The accumulated stress affects the immune system, as a result, the weakened body cannot resist the virus.

Two different people may react very differently to the same problem. Some retreat in front of a difficult and unpleasant situation, while others are constantly pushing themselves forward. Some, faced with resentment, try to forget about it as soon as possible, while others cannot calm down for a long time and yearn for revenge.

Anna Topyuk recommends changing your lifestyle with the help of psychological work on yourself and introspection. It is useful to notice your true emotions and needs, to learn to be aware of and resolve your internal conflicts in time, so as not to trip up your immunity. Putting things in order in your soul is an effective prevention not only against influenza and ARVI, but also a good protection against other diseases.

How to clean up your soul

Ask yourself which solution to the problem you are avoiding. It often happens that a problem is not noticed and is not resolved, since this may affect some area of ​​life, a person may latently be afraid of what other people will say and think. Consider a secondary benefit: you may be more comfortable getting sick rather than directly claiming and defending your rights.

Ask yourself what you are afraid to admit to yourself. Alcoholics experience similar feelings: they know that they drink a lot, but they cannot admit to themselves that they are addicted to alcohol. In the case of stresses that provoke colds and other illnesses, it is about the same. Sometimes just awareness and recognition of the problem can alleviate the condition. When you admit that you have a specific problem, then the disease has fulfilled its purpose and is no longer needed.

Ask yourself if everything in life is going the way I would like. Is my life proceeding as I dreamed.

Ask yourself a question: have I endured too long in silence and am I so happy with my life.

Angina as a gift to the student

If a child is emotionally more comfortable at home than in school or kindergarten, they are more likely to experience blues. Thus, he expresses his unwillingness to be in an environment that is not the most pleasant for him. “Children use the opportunity to get sick as a gift to avoid being in a hostile environment. For a child, this becomes a way out, he gets sick and often stays at home, - explains the specialist. “Thus, children also receive a secondary benefit - the attention of their parents. By the way, often psychological reasons parents simply do not see diseases and look more at the medical aspect. Although the child is actually stressed, his body is weakened. At the same time, mind you, not everyone gets a cold - those who have a favorable, comfortable environment both at home and in school or kindergarten are less susceptible to viruses. "

Update: October 2018

Stress can be called such a reaction when, after processing by the consciousness of some external or internal circumstance, a special state of the nervous system arose, which changed the work of all internal organs. Such a factor can be different for everyone: external - moving, changing jobs or death of a loved one, internal - some kind of their own disease that spoils the quality of life. Stress occurs only when the impact of this circumstance has exceeded the personal threshold of resistance to stress.

Stress can be acute, developing in the form of a single impact, the consequences of which in some cases can go away spontaneously. He is programmed by nature to fight or escape danger. More often in modern world there is chronic stress, when traumatic circumstances are "layered" one on top of the other. It is this process that is the cause of many chronic diseases.

Why stress is dangerous

Scientists say: more than 150 thousand people from 142 countries of the world now have health problems precisely because of stress. The most common of them are heart disease (angina pectoris, hypertension, myocardial infarction). So, according to the Russian Academy of Sciences, after it ceased to exist Soviet Union In 13 years, the number of patients with cardiovascular diseases increased from 617 to 900 people per 100 thousand of the population.

At the same time, the number of smokers, people who consistently take alcohol, people with obesity and an increase in cholesterol levels - that is, the reasons for which pathologies of the heart and blood vessels develop - remained within the previous values. Then scientists seriously thought about the influence of the psychoemotional state on health.

In second place are the consequences of living in constant stress are mental illness, in third - obesity. Chronic stress does not bypass the organs of the digestive and genitourinary systems, but the changes occurring in them are not so fatal. In addition, a person living in continuous psycho-emotional stress greatly reduces their own immunity, becoming defenseless in the face of many diseases.

How stress develops

For the first time, the processes occurring after a person's collision with a traumatic situation was described by the psychologist Cannon in 1932. A widespread discussion of this issue, as well as the term "stress" itself, appeared only since 1936, after an article by previously unknown physiologist Hans Selye, who called stress "a syndrome that develops as a result of exposure to various damaging agents."

Selye found that when the psyche is affected by an agent that exceeds the adaptive resources of this person's body (in other words, exceeding the stress resistance threshold), the following reactions develop:

1. the adrenal cortex is enlarged, where the "stress hormone", the main glucocorticoid hormone cortisol, is produced;
2. the number of lipid granules in the adrenal medulla decreases, the main task of which is to release adrenaline and norepinephrine into the blood;
3. the volume of lymphatic tissue, which is responsible for immunity, decreases: the thymus (the central organ of immunity), spleen, and lymph nodes develop reversely;
4. the mucous membranes of the stomach and duodenum are damaged up to the formation of ulcers (stress ulcers) on them.

Under the influence of the hormones cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine, not only stress ulcers appear on the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines, but also:

• the level of glucose in the blood rises and at the same time the sensitivity of tissues to insulin decreases (that is, due to chronic stress, you can "earn" type 2 diabetes mellitus);
• blood pressure rises;
• the heartbeat becomes more frequent;
• the deposition of adipose tissue in the subcutaneous tissue increases;
• tissue proteins break down, glucose is formed from them;
• sodium is retained, and with it water is in the tissues, and potassium, which is necessary for the functioning of the heart and nerves, is excreted faster than necessary;

Due to a decrease in the volume of lymphatic tissue, general immunity decreases. As a result, the body's resistance to infections decreases, and any virus can cause serious illness and be complicated by bacterial infections.

The threshold of resistance to stress is individual for each person. It depends on:

• the type of the nervous system (it is one of two strong or two weak), which is determined by the speed of reactions and decision-making, the severity and nature of a person's emotions;
• life experience of a person;
• stability of the psyche to the influence of unfavorable factors.

So, choleric and melancholic people are easily exposed to stress, a balanced sanguine person - less, a phlegmatic person - even less (he needs a greater strength of a stress factor).

Classification

Stress is a general name for the reactions described above, when the adrenal glands are activated under the influence of the psyche. He might be:

• positive... This is eustress. It is triggered by a sudden joy, for example, from a meeting with an old friend or from an unexpected gift, inspiration, a thirst for competition. Does not render negative influence on the state of health. It was in a state of eustress that records were set, discoveries and exploits were made;
• negative called distress. We will talk about him further, since he is capable of destroying health.

By the nature of the impact, stress, or rather, distress, can be:

1. Neuropsychic or psychological. This is the main view, which is subdivided into 2 types:
   • informational stress that arises as a result of an overabundance of information. Usually develops in people whose job is to constantly process a large amount of information;
   • psycho-emotional stress that arises from strong anger, resentment or hatred.
2. Physical, which is divided into:
   • temperature (for example, in response to exposure to heat or cold);
   • food (with hunger or forced eating with those foods that cause disgust;
   • painful (due to pain, injury);
   • light (if a person is forced to be in a lighted space all the time: at work, lying in a hospital, if he is in the conditions of a polar day).

Distress can be caused by extreme conditions (military action, hurricanes, floods, landslides) or extremely strong psychological events (this is the death of a relative, a break in a relationship, passing an exam).

There is also a classification of the stressor (stressor). It can be:

1. Life event- long-term event: moving, business trip, divorce, death of a loved one.
2. Catastrophe. This includes trauma, accident, war, death of a friend.
3. Chronic emotional stress... It arises from unresolved ongoing conflicts with family members or colleagues.
4. Little difficulties in life, which, accumulating like a "snowball", can destroy normal family relationships.

These stressors are the causes of distress.

How stress works

Hans Selye identified three stages in the body's response to any stress. The speed of their occurrence depends on the strength of the stressor and the state of the central nervous system of a particular person:

1. Anxiety stage... A person ceases to control his thoughts and actions, the prerequisites are created for the weakening of the body. The behavior becomes the opposite of that which is characteristic of this person.
2. Stage of resistance... The body's resistance increases so that a person can make some kind of decision and cope with the situation that has arisen.
3. Exhaustion stage... It develops during prolonged stress, when the body is "unable" to maintain the stage of resistance any longer. It is at this stage that lesions of internal organs develop - each one is different.

There is also a more extensive description of the stages made after Selye's work. There are 4 stages here:

• Mobilization: the attention and activity of a person increases, forces are still being spent sparingly. If at this stage the process dies out, then it only hardens, and does not destroy the person.
• Stenic (active) negative emotion... Anger, aggression, rage arise. To achieve the goal, forces begin to be expended uneconomically, and the body takes the path of exhaustion
• Asthenic (i.e. passive) negative emotion... It arises as a result of the excessive expenditure of one's own forces at the previous stage. The person is melancholy, does not believe in his own strength and in the fact that this situation can be resolved. He may become depressed.
• Complete demoralization... It occurs when the stressor continues to act on the body. A person resigns himself to defeat, becomes indifferent, does not want to solve either the stressor problem or any others. A person at this stage of distress is referred to as “broken”.

What Can Cause Stress

What causes stress in an adult has already been discussed above. These are injuries, and moving, and parting / divorce, and the death of a loved one, and financial problems, and a constant lack of time to complete work on time, and illness - your own or a loved one. Women experience stress at the birth of a child, even if they believed that they had prepared for it in 9 months (especially vulnerable to stress are women in labor who had a hard time carrying a pregnancy, suffered a break with a loved one, or had constant conflicts during this period).

Factors that increase the chance of developing stress are chronic illness, lack of sleep, and lack of a friendly environment or friends. People who are true to their beliefs and the given word are more vulnerable to stress.

The causes of stress in children may not be as obvious:

• hypothermia;
• problem with treatment in kindergarten;
• the problem of communication with peers;
• change of residence;
• increased workload in school or in the last year of attending kindergarten;
• communication problems;
• the imposition of hobbies by parents;
• lack of a person with whom you can discuss your problems;
• sending to sanatoriums or pioneer camps without parents;
• frequent hospitalization without parents;
• initial sexual experience;
• unfavorable family environment;
• loss of a pet;
• a sharp change in the daily routine;
• changing the time zone;
• the content of a cartoon, film, computer game (scenes of murder, violence, erotic nature);
• accidental observation of intimate communication between parents or strangers;
• a sharp change in weather conditions.

How to know if a person is stressed

Distinguish between acute and chronic stress. They manifest themselves in different ways, and we will analyze them in detail later.

There is also a diagnosis of "Acute stress reaction". This is the name of a disorder that occurs in a mentally healthy person in response to a very strong psychological and / or physical stressor, when there was a direct threat to the life of this person or someone close to him. It can be noted after:

• natural disaster (hurricane, tsunami, flood);
• fire in the house;
• rape, especially if it was particularly violent;
• death of children;
• car accidents;
• how a person was taken hostage in a terrorist act;
• participation in hostilities, especially bloody.

Such intense stress is a short-term disorder that lasts for several hours or 1-2 days. After it is necessary urgent help(within the first 48 hours) of a competent psychiatrist or psychotherapist, otherwise the stress will either end in a suicidal attempt, or turn into a chronic form with all the ensuing consequences.

Higher risk of developing reactions to severe stress in humans:

• exhausted after illness or hard work;
• having a brain disease;
• who are over 50 years old;
• who do not see help from the outside;
• for whom what happened was a complete surprise;
• when other people die around.

Symptoms that begin a few minutes after the incident (less often - tens of minutes) indicate an acute reaction to stress:

• Such clouding of consciousness, when a person ceases to be guided in what is happening, but can pay attention to small details around. Because of this, a person can commit strange, meaningless acts, as a result of which others may think that he has gone crazy.
• A person may express delusional ideas, talk about non-existent events, or talk to someone who is not around. This behavior lasts for a short period of time and can be abruptly cut off.
• A person with an acute reaction does not understand or understands poorly the speech addressed to him, does not fulfill requests or does it wrong.
• Extreme retardation of both speech and movement. It can be expressed to such an extent that a person freezes in one position and answers questions only with some kind of sound. Less commonly, there may be a reverse reaction: a verbal flow that is difficult to stop, as well as pronounced motor restlessness. There may even be a stampede or attempts to seriously injure oneself.
• Reactions from the autonomic nervous system: dilated pupils, pale or reddening of the skin, vomiting, diarrhea. There may even be such a sharp drop in blood pressure that a person dies.
• Often there are such stress symptoms as: confusion, inability to respond (with a full understanding of speech), aggressiveness, despair.

If a person with an unhealthy psyche (but not mentally ill) is in a similar situation, the body's acute reaction to stress may not be the same as described above.

If these symptoms persist for more than 2-3 days, it is not an acute stress reaction. An urgent need to contact a neurologist, infectious disease specialist, psychiatrist or narcologist to find the real cause of this condition.

After suffering an acute reaction, the memory of such behavior disappears partially or completely. At the same time, a person remains tense for some time, his sleep and behavior are disturbed. For 2-3 weeks he is exhausted, he has no desire to do anything, and even the will to live. He can go to work and do it mechanically.

Acute stress

The fact that stress has taken place in a person's life is indicated by the following symptoms that arise immediately or shortly after a collision with a stressor:

• emotional "explosion", which is combined either with a feeling of uncontrollable anxiety or fear, or with excitement, close to aggression;
• nausea, maybe a single vomiting (we are often shown this in films);
• feeling of tightness, discomfort in the chest;
• cardiopalmus;
• sweating;
• rapid breathing, which may be accompanied by a feeling of shortness of breath;
• chills or feeling hot;
• abdominal pain;
• numbness, feeling of "wadded" limbs; stress urinary incontinence.

If the stress was strong, but did not reach a critical point (when there was a threat to life, after which an acute reaction to stress usually develops), a person, in addition to the signs listed above, may have:

• convulsions (muscle contractions) without loss of consciousness;
• skin rash, identical to urticaria, which occurs in response to the ingestion of an allergen;
• headache;
• painful urge to empty the bowels, after which loose stools are observed;
• a pronounced feeling of hopelessness, despair

Chronic stress

This condition is much more common in modern people with a fast paced life. The symptoms of chronic stress are not as pronounced as in the acute reaction to stress, so it is often attributed to fatigue and ignored until it leads to the development of various diseases. When the latter appear, a person turns to doctors and begins treatment, which does not lead to the desired results, because the reason - life in chronic stress - remains unresolved.

The fact that a person suffers from chronic stress will be indicated by signs that can be conditionally divided into several groups:

Associated with a change in human physiology

Due to stress, a person can experience quite physical suffering, which makes him look for the cause, visit doctors of various specialties, and take a large number of medications. But the presence of the following symptoms, when they develop in a person experiencing frequent or constant stress, does not mean that he does not have peptic ulcer or angina pectoris. Therefore, we will list them, and you will know that if you find some of them, you are examined, but the doctor says that he does not find anything from you, these are signs of a stress disorder, and they must be treated accordingly.

The physiological symptoms of chronic stress include:

• heartburn;
• belching;
• nausea;
• cramps in the stomach;
• bruxism (teeth grinding in sleep);
• chest pain;
• frequent urination;
• stuttering;
• tinnitus;
• dry mouth;
• cold hands;
• difficulty swallowing;
• periodic muscle spasms: spasm of the muscles of the arms, incomprehensible and moving muscle pain;
• "Twisting" of the joints;
• hot flashes, facial redness;
• frequent infectious diseases of the respiratory tract, accompanied by cough, runny nose;
• decreased appetite;
• loss or gain in weight;
• headache;
• backache;
• during the next stress, the temperature may rise by several tens;
• "Surges" of blood pressure;
• increased sweating;
• strong trembling of the upper limbs;
• tics and obsessive movements;
• rash in the form of red spots or blisters, which has arisen "from scratch";
• erectile dysfunction, decreased libido.

Emotional symptoms

The presence of chronic stress in a person is evidenced by changes in a person's character, when a person who has been balanced before this appears:

• low self-esteem;
• capriciousness;
• irritability;
• anxiety;
• tearfulness;
• outbursts of anger;
• impulsive actions;
• hostility towards others;
• suspicion;
• deceit;
• the disappearance of goals, incentives, interests in life;
• guilt;
• constant criticism of loved ones;
• pessimism;
• a feeling of unreality of what is happening;
• resentment;
• concentration on unpleasant events;
• lowering the anxiety threshold;
• tendency to command screams;
• feeling of loneliness, hopelessness, inexpressible melancholy;
• the appearance of thoughts of suicide;
• a change in the length of sleep and a violation of its quality (nightmares);
• increased sensitivity to loud sounds, bright or flashing lights;
• memory impairment;
• even the slightest nuisance can cause panic, anxiety or aggression.

Socio-behavioral symptoms

The fact that a person has chronic stress will be prompted by changes in his behavior and communication. It:

• inattention;
• loss of interest in appearance;
• loss of previous interests: to work, to a hobby;
• nervous laughter;
• addiction to alcohol, drugs, medications;
• trying to be isolated;
• constant lack of time;
• workaholism and constant stress at work and at home as an independent attempt to "get away" from the situation;
• the person becomes conflicted;
• makes many small mistakes in his usual work;
• while driving, he often behaves inappropriately, speaking rudely in relation to the surrounding drivers.

Intelligent signs

These include:

• memory impairment: a person remembers poorly and quickly forgets, there may be memory lapses;
• difficulties in analyzing new information;
• repetition of what was said earlier;
• obsessive thoughts, often negative;
• viscosity of speech;
• difficulty making a decision.

Features of the course of stress in women

Women are more vulnerable to stress. In addition, in their attempts to be an ideal wife and mother, they try not to talk about their experiences, but "accumulate" them in themselves. This causes the appearance of certain symptoms, most of which are described above, not differing from the "male". Of these, if you do not pay attention to it in time, gynecological, cardiac, endocrine diseases or obesity can "grow".

Signs of stress in women, by which it is not always possible to guess that she is stressed, are:

• headache (most often felt in half of the head);
• joint pain;
• "Failure" of the monthly cycle;
• sudden, not previously typical for a woman, mood swings;
• twitching of the eyelid in one eye, which lasts for several minutes;
• back pain;
• the appearance of "incomprehensible" red elements of the rash and / or abscesses;
• spasms, accompanied by pain, then in one, then in another part of the abdomen;
• panic attacks;
• stomach pain;
• deterioration in coordination;
• addiction to certain types of food (often sweets and dairy products) and alcohol;
• According to the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a symptom of stress that develops under the influence of cortisol can often be recurrent vaginal yeast infection;
• hair loss (it may not be immediately, but 3-6 months after stress);
• "Noise", "whistle", "clicking" in the ears;
• decreased performance;
• decreased instinct for self-preservation;
• thoughts of suicide;
• irritability;
• change in attitudes towards oneself and loved ones (guilt, emotional coldness).

Especially it is necessary to pay attention to such (mainly the last 4) symptoms after childbirth. They suggest that postpartum depression or more dangerous postpartum psychosis may begin.

Features of the course of stress in children

Signs of stress in a child are also not particularly noticeable, especially if the child is not yet at a conscious age.

If the child is less than 2 years old, the fact that he has suffered stress will be indicated by refusal to eat, tearfulness and irritability. The same symptoms will develop with any inflammatory or non-inflammatory process, so they must be ruled out first.

A child 2-5 years old "claims" about the shock he has suffered by the return of old habits: thumb-sucking, pacifiers, refusal to self-feed, urinary or fecal incontinence. The baby may start crying under changing circumstances (for example, from the fact that they start to wake him up at night to use the toilet) or when new people appear. He may also start to stutter.

Stress in a child 2-5 years old will be evidenced by hyperactivity or, conversely, decreased activity, unreasonable short-term rises in temperature, vomiting, frequent mood changes, the appearance of many fears (darkness, loneliness, dogs or people of certain professions). A stressed toddler does not fall asleep well.

In a 5-9 year old child, stress is manifested by the following symptoms:

• fatigue;
• decreased academic performance;
• nightmares;
• behavior, as in younger children (the child begins to "lisp", fondle, become like a baby);
• aggression;
• unreasonable fears, anxieties;
• attempts to run away from home or, conversely, the child tries not to leave the house, avoids other children, does not want to go to school;
• an increase or, conversely, a decrease in appetite;
• nausea and even vomiting;
• headache;
• chest pain;
• seizures in the corners of the mouth;
• stratification of nails;
• the child may partially forget the stressful events;
• nervous tics or the emergence of habits of biting nails or other objects (rulers, rubber bands, pens), pulling out hair, picking your nose, combing your skin;
• defiant behavior for several days;
• if the child begins to lie, this can also be a sign of stress.

What are the symptoms of stress

The main symptoms after stress indicate depletion of the body. It:

• the appearance of heat intolerance;
• unreasonable nausea;
• fatigue that appears faster than before may not go away even after a long rest;
• insomnia at night, drowsiness during the day, but there may be constant drowsiness of the patient;
• decreased appetite;
• decreased libido;
• indifference to one's own appearance;
• deterioration of attention, memory;
• indecision;
• difficulty concentrating;
• negative thoughts;
• the person becomes hot-tempered, irritable;
• the pulse is speeded up, blood pressure is either increased or decreased, sweating, headaches, sweating are increased.

But if the stimulus was strong enough, then, if an acute reaction to stress did not develop, then after a few weeks or months (up to six months) a person may develop post-traumatic stress disorder syndrome. It manifests itself:

1. alienation from others;
2. distrust of others;
3. aggressiveness;
4. anxiety;
5. inadequate (usually very weak or completely absent) response to current events;
6. a person “lives” in his problem: during the day he thinks about the stressor, at night he dreams of him in the form of nightmares;
7. if it seems to a person that a traumatic situation followed a combination of some phenomena, then when they reappear in his life, he becomes aggressive, experiences an attack of panic;
8. panic attacks can occur on their own, they decrease when communicating with other people, so at such moments the patient willingly makes contact even with strangers;
9. a person may experience pain in the abdomen, heart, head. On this occasion, he is sometimes examined, but nothing is found with him. This forces him to look for a "competent" doctor, to turn to many specialists. If none of the medical professionals correlates the symptoms with the stress experienced, the patient may lose faith in medicine, begin to heal on his own, and “to calm down” take alcohol or drugs.

Thus, the symptoms caused by stress are very similar to diseases of the internal organs. It is possible to suspect that this is stress due to the fact that the symptoms affect several body systems at once (for example, joint pain and heartburn occur). The diagnosis can be clarified only with the help of an examination: then with the help of instrumental (fibrogastroscopy, cardiogram, ultrasound of the heart, X-ray of the gastrointestinal tract) and laboratory (these are analyzes) studies, no changes will be revealed or they will be minimal. The presence of stress will be confirmed by a psychotherapist or psychiatrist on the basis of a conversation with a person and some oral tests. The stress response will also be indicated by blood levels of cortisol and the hormone ACTH.

Good day, dear readers!
The word "stress" appears in the everyday vocabulary of many of us because stress is an integral part of everyone's life. And while we would definitely prefer to live without this factor, stress catches up with us on a daily basis. However, prolonged exposure to stress leads to depletion of the body, weakening it and, as a result, to many diseases and ailments. All diseases are from stress! There is a saying among the people. How to avoid its consequences?

Let's find out.

Causes of stress

Psychologists define stress as a dynamic adaptive relationship between the abilities of a given person and the requirements of the situation (which is here defined as stress). In this situation, the balance of the body is disturbed, homeostasis is disturbed. Stress can be caused by a variety of conditions, events, and behaviors that we experience throughout our lives, and all illnesses are caused by stress.

Different people find different situations stressful. However, there are events that are very powerful and cause depression.

Here is some of them:

• death of a loved one;
• divorce;
• retirement;
• marriage;
• dismissal from work;
• pregnancy;
• new family member;
• credit, debts;
• problems with the leader;
• problems with children and parents.

The above list indicates that stress is mainly caused by situations in which violent or unwanted changes occur.

Longer-term stress, even with less intensity, is more serious, according to recent research. This can be the result of a difficult life, deterioration in the health of a loved one, a negative change in the financial, professional or family situation.

Diseases from constant stress are protracted and difficult to treat.

Discover a simple and proven formula for gaining self-love in just 7 minutes a day that will help you become successful and happy >>> Simple formula finding self-love

Symptoms of the stress response

Depending on the duration of stress, the symptoms of stress can be divided into short-term and long-term. The first group is primarily a response to stress, the second group is psychosomatic complaints.

Under stress, the body releases hormones: norepinephrine, adrenaline, and cortisol. They cause faster breathing, increased heart rate, and dilated pupil. This motivates us to act and manage all reserves in response to a stressful event.

Symptoms of short-term stress reactions:

• accelerated heart rate, shortness of breath, palpitations;
• sweating, so-called cold sweats;
• dry mouth;
• cold extremities (blood outflow into internal organs);
• muscle spasms;
• trouble expressing yourself;
• feeling anxious or very agitated;
• narrowing attention to the topic of stress;
• changes in the perception of the environment;

Symptoms of psychological reactions to long-term stress:

• loss of self-confidence, trouble making decisions;
• deterioration in concentration and memory;
• feelings of anxiety, frustration, and anxiety;
• pursuing thoughts on stressful topics;
• loss of efficiency at work;
• tiredness and despondency;
• perception of even ordinary situations as dangerous or potentially stressful;
• constant deterioration in mood, increased pessimism and depression;
• a feeling of lack of control rather than overcoming life situations;
• decreased self-esteem;
• search for methods to relieve stress (alcohol, smoking, drugs, gambling);
• changes in personality;
• changes in appetite (loss or excessive appetite);
• digestive problems;
• neuralgia;
• decreased immunity;
• feeling cold;
• sleep problems;
• headache;
• lethargy;
• menstrual irregularities;
• an increase in blood cholesterol;
• increased cortisol levels.

Diseases that cause stress:

• heart diseases;
• ischemic heart and brain disease;
• heart attack;
• hypertension;
• arrhythmias, tachycardia;
• neuroses;
• impotence and erectile dysfunction.

How does prolonged stress affect the heart?

How does stress-related heart disease occur?

Stress in unexpected moments, such as those associated with a failed exam or changes in work, triggers a sudden rush of adrenaline that mobilizes the head to act - this is a positive aspect of stress. Brief stress can sometimes help you accomplish a task that would have been impossible in a “normal” situation.

However, everything changes if stress accompanies patients for a longer period. Such situations are life threatening.

As a result of the constant release of cortisol (stress hormone), levels of serotonin and dopamine in the brain, hormones that are responsible for well-being, decrease. In addition, the levels of adrenaline and norepinephrine increase, causing heart palpitations and arrhythmias.

Prolonged stress, through the effect of increasing concentrations of the hormones cortisol and adrenaline, causes hypertension, which is considered the most important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and death in the world.

Stress also affects lipid metabolism disorders and increases blood cholesterol levels.

Impact of nervous breakdowns on the digestive system

It is well known that excessive stress can cause ulcers. There is such a thing as a stress (or peptic) ulcer, which can occur in the human body from day to day under the influence of a strong irritant. Peptic ulcers of the stomach and duodenum result from an increase in the production of adrenaline (its concentration increases in people who are exposed to stress for a long time), which has an adverse effect on the gastrointestinal mucosa.

Therefore, stressful tension can cause abdominal pain, heartburn, decreased appetite, nausea, and even vomiting.

A person under prolonged stress may complain of bloating, constipation, or diarrhea.

Diseases with severe stress in the digestive tract develop gradually and are chronic.

Other consequences of chronic nervous tension

There is more and more evidence that prolonged stress plays a very important role in the development of autoimmune diseases. These are diseases in which the human body is attacked by pathogens and destroys its cells and tissues.

These include Hashimoto's disease, Graves disease, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, multiple sclerosis, and psoriasis.

Excess cortisol leads to a decrease in the concentration of leukocytes in the blood and a decrease in the production of antibodies. Therefore, in situations of prolonged stress, patients are exposed to more frequent infections (both viral and bacterial) because the immune system is weakened.

Headache that accompany stressful situations are most often the so-called migraines. They can cause general depletion of the body. These are repressive pains that grow slowly, usually after a day full of stressful situations, or after a sleepless night.

Stressful situations can also trigger migraine headaches, which have greater degree severity and pulsating character.

In fact, human illness from stress affects the entire body.

As a result of hormonal disorders, various types of eczema, psoriasis, disorders of carbohydrate metabolism, diabetes, osteoporosis can occur, and the menstrual period changes.

Stress treatment

To prevent stress from causing illness, you need to get rid of it.

How to get rid of negativity and regain the joy of life,.

Pharmacological therapy is usually triggered when stress accompanies other illnesses or when it significantly impairs the patient's life.

Because stress affects everyone, you can treat it yourself.

How to relieve stress:

• Engage in anti-stress exercises - relaxation techniques combined with breathing control, visualizing pleasant places and events, listening to music or nature sounds.
• Avoid (if possible) additional stressful situations, maintain a regular lifestyle and plan the day.
• Take magnesium and vitamin B6 both in the form of vitamin and mineral preparations, and replenish the diet with foods containing magnesium (cocoa, chocolate, buckwheat, soy, pumpkin seeds, beans, nuts).
• Sleep comfortably for at least 8 hours.
• Limit the effects of noise, relax more in silence
• Don't overuse sedatives that are available over the counter. The specialist doctor must decide whether to use pharmacological treatment or other forms of therapy.

How to deal with stress,

Dear friends! No one is immune from stress, and there is no way we can avoid it.

However, its severity and duration largely depend on our life choices and approaches to stressful and potentially stressful situations. Many events need to be planned in such a way that they carry as little long-term stress as possible. Of course, we cannot predict everything, so it is also worth learning how to react to difficulties so as not to increase stress levels. A sense of humor is important here, mutual support of close relatives, focused on good relationships.

We become more resistant to stress when stressful situations intertwine with what gives us relaxation and pleasure - which is why it is important not to neglect our hobbies (), physical activity and good relationships with friends. You must try to eliminate (if possible) potential sources of long-term stress (for example, related to work) and organize your time well so that a surge of energy and strength helps in the fight against nervous breakdowns.

We wish you success along the way!

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