Emotional stress or trigger for change

The life of a modern person is impossible without stress. Social conditions, work, overwork – all this causes emotions. Sometimes a person undergoes a sharp exit from his comfort zone, which entails the need for psychological adaptation. This is psycho-emotional stress.

Emotional stress

The danger of stress cannot be underestimated, as it can cause many diseases of internal organs and systems. You should promptly identify stressors and eliminate their influence in order to protect your own health.

Causes

Emotional stress differs from physical stress in the reasons for its manifestation, while their course is practically no different. Many people are constantly overwhelmed with emotions, but they are not always beneficial for the body. In frequent cases, the human psyche simply cannot cope with the influx of emotions, then an emotional breakdown occurs, the consequences of which can be completely different.

Let's take a closer look at the common causes of strong unrest:

• Conflict situations at work or at home with family;
• Sudden changes in the financial plan;
• The emergence of fears or phobias;
• Serious illness of loved ones or your own condition;
• A disaster or unpleasant incident in the past.

Quite often, emotional stress leaves a certain unpleasant aftertaste on a person’s personality; the person becomes suspicious, suspicious, irritable, and apathetic. Sometimes his behavior changes completely, but usually it depends on the person's personality type.

Symptoms

When a person develops stress, this condition can be identified by the presence of certain signs. Symptoms of emotional stress are:

• nervousness, irritability, increased excitability;
• sleep disturbance;
• loss of appetite, disturbances in the functioning of the digestive system;
• decreased memory, attention and concentration;
• decreased libido;
• shortness of breath, attacks of suffocation in some cases;
• increased blood pressure, tinnitus, tachycardia;
• headache;
• cramps, muscle pain;
• depression, suicidal thoughts.

A person may not necessarily experience all possible symptoms of stress, but such manifestations of pathology are possible.

Also, the emotional effects of stress include a person’s attempts to relieve stress with the help of bad habits, too active work or some other activity. But at the same time, a person is not able to relax, make the necessary decision, or fulfill his obligations to the fullest.

Main stages of stress

There are three stages of stress, which are characterized by periods of excitation and inhibition. In each person they are expressed to one degree or another, which depends, firstly, on the source of the disorder, and, secondly, on the state of the person’s nervous system.

The three stages of stress are interconnected, that is, with the development of the first, the second and third will certainly follow. When exposure occurs, the body responds to it. This can happen within a few seconds or several weeks after the incident - it all depends on the state of the nervous system of each individual individual.

At the first stage of stress, the individual loses the ability to control his actions and thoughts, the body's resistance decreases and behavior changes to the exact opposite of what is characteristic of him. So, if a person was kind, he becomes quick-tempered and irritable, and if he was quick-tempered, he withdraws into himself.

The second stage is the stage of resistance and adaptation. At this stage, the body’s resistance to the stimulus increases and the person makes decisions that allow him to cope with the situation that has arisen.

The third stage is characterized by exhaustion of the nervous system. If the exposure is prolonged, such as when a person develops chronic stress, the body becomes unable to cope with the factors that caused the disorder. A person develops a feeling of guilt, anxiety may re-emerge, but, in addition, chronic stress often becomes the cause of the development of somatic pathologies, even severe pathological conditions.

Signs of stress

Each person has an individual resource of strength to cope with stress. It is called stress resistance. Therefore, stress, as a risk factor for health, should be considered based on possible symptoms that affect both the emotional and mental state of the body.

With the advent of distress, the causes of which are associated with external or internal factors, adaptive functions fail. When a stressful situation develops, a person may feel fear and panic, act disorganized, experience difficulties with mental activity, etc.

Stress itself manifests itself depending on stress resistance (emotional stress can cause serious pathological changes in the body). It manifests itself in the form of emotional, physiological, behavioral and psychological changes.

Physiological signs

The most dangerous to health are physiological symptoms. They pose a threat to the normal functioning of the body. When under stress, the patient may refuse to eat and suffer from sleep problems. During physiological reactions, other symptoms are observed:

• pathological manifestations of an allergic nature (itching, skin rashes, etc.);
• indigestion;
• headache;
• increased sweating.

Physiological stress

Emotional Signs

Emotional signs of stress manifest themselves in the form of a general change in the emotional background. It is easier to get rid of them than other symptoms, since they are regulated by the desire and will of the person himself. Under the influence of negative emotions, social or biological factors, a person may experience:

• Bad mood, melancholy, depression, anxiety and anxiety.
• Anger, aggression, loneliness, etc. These emotions arise sharply and are clearly expressed.
• Changes in character - increased introversion, decreased self-esteem, etc.
• Pathological conditions – neurosis.

Emotional stress

It is impossible to experience severe stress without showing emotions. It is emotions that reflect a person’s state and are the main way to determine situations in psychology. And in order to prevent danger to health, it is the manifestation of this or that emotion and its influence on human behavior that plays an important role.

Behavioral signs

Human behavior and the reactions that accompany it are signs of emotional stress. It's easy to identify them:

• decreased performance, complete loss of interest in work;
• changes in speech;
• difficulties communicating with others.

Emotional stress, which is expressed through behavior, is easy to determine by long-term observation of a person and when communicating with him. The fact is that he behaves differently than usual (he is impulsive, speaks quickly and unintelligibly, commits rash actions, etc.).

Psychological signs

Psychological symptoms of emotional stress most often manifest themselves when a person spends a long time outside the zone of psycho-emotional comfort and his inability to adapt to new living conditions. As a result, biological and physical factors leave their mark on a person’s psychological state:

• memory problems;
• problems concentrating when doing work;
• sexual behavior disorder.

People feel helpless, withdraw from loved ones and plunge into deep depression.

Deep depression

With mental factors, a person succumbs to acute or chronic mental injuries. A person may develop a personality disorder, depressive psychogenic reactions, reactive psychoses, etc. Each of the pathologies is a sign that is a consequence of the influence of psychological trauma. The causes of such conditions can be both unexpected news (death of a loved one, loss of housing, etc.) and the long-term influence of stressors on the body.

Factors causing stress

Anything can cause stress and anxiety in a person; we list the main factors that occur almost constantly:

There is not enough time for things that are necessary or desirable to do;

Conflict situations in the family, the attitude of people in the family circle has a huge impact on stress;

Increased responsibility, responsibility comes in case of promotion on the career ladder or when a child appears;

Physiological factors, health problems, chronic diseases;

Social factors, low self-esteem.

How to relieve emotional stress

If stress prevents you from sleeping peacefully and you are constantly on edge, then it’s time to deal with it, otherwise health problems will begin.

When choosing methods for relieving emotional stress, you first need to pay attention to its severity. Of course, it is better to contact a good specialist, but in most cases we are faced with everyday stress, and we can cope with it on our own.

Let's start with simple exercises that you can do in the near future.

Correct breathing

This is one of my best and favorite ways to relieve emotional stress.

Have you ever noticed that when we are tense, we begin to breathe less often? Deep breathing in such a situation is just what the doctor ordered. Set aside all your worries for a couple of minutes and focus on your breathing. At least for 5 minutes - you have the right to this in any situation.

Earlier in this article, I wrote about what breathing technique I use. You can use it if you like it, or you can use another one.

Here's another similar method:

1. Sit in a comfortable position and straighten up;
2. Close your eyes, straighten your back;
3. Take a slow, deep breath for 5 seconds;
4. Make a delay for 2-3 seconds;
5. Then exhale slowly.

Imagine that the air filling your body is water, which with each exhalation washes away all sadness, fatigue and sadness. And in order not to be distracted by extraneous thoughts, you can tell yourself “I am inhaling,” “I am exhaling,” or read affirmations (more on them below).

With the help of breathing, you can relax and get rid of anxious thoughts.

It is advisable to do this exercise for 10 minutes at least 2 times a day.

Sports and fitness

Some people find it easier to relieve emotional stress through physical activity.

If you are one of them, running in the morning, going to the gym or cycling will help you combat stress. You can practice at home - push-ups, pull-ups, abdominal exercises can be performed in almost every home. Well, if you are a sports fan, then it’s not for me to explain to you where and how to do it. You already know this very well.

Calming herbs and aromatherapy

A collection of herbs that you can drink instead of tea will help relieve tension. Herbs such as oregano, chamomile, St. John's wort and motherwort will help you with this. You can add honey, cinnamon, syrup to tea - whatever you like.

And if you light incense or a lamp with essential oil at the same time, the effect will be even stronger.

Hobby

Doing something you enjoy is a great way to relieve stress. And if you decide to learn a new hobby, the results will not take long to arrive. By doing it, you will completely switch your attention to this activity. This way you will get both a new hobby and positive impressions.

Massage and self-massage

This method is wonderful. Now you don’t even need to go to a massage parlor. Dozens of massagers are sold in hardware stores - for the legs, for the neck, for the eyes. Massage chairs, mattresses, covers – the choice is huge. And all this is affordable for most people. Try it!

But you won’t carry a massager with you everywhere, so learning how to massage yourself is still useful.

Switch attention

Distraction is a good way to reduce emotional stress.

To do this, you need to concentrate on something neutral for several minutes. Here are several options - choose the one that suits you:

1. Count how many leaves there are on a nearby plant;
2. Write down the names of 10 countries you dream of visiting;
3. Remember the 20 best moments of the past year (or from childhood);
4. Take a minute to list the qualities that you are proud of.

Relaxing treatments

Sometimes you just need to rest. This is especially true for those whose nervous tension is associated with prolonged stress.

In this case, you should go to a SPA salon, bathhouse, sauna, swimming pool, hammam - choose what you like. It is difficult for workaholics to be distracted from work, but here it is worth remembering that the body will still take its toll. If you don't give him a day off, he will take it himself, but for you it will turn into sick leave.

For those who do not like to go somewhere, we can recommend taking baths with essential oils. Add your favorite scent to a warm bath and enjoy your relaxation. It will be great if after your bath you drink tea from the soothing herbal collection that I wrote about above.

Meditation

This is a very good way. I have already written about meditation and mindfulness more than once, so I will not repeat myself.

I will only note that this is an important skill, by developing which you will strengthen not only your nervous system, but will also be able to make up for the missing hours of sleep. I have already heard in many places and experienced myself that meditation allows you to compensate for the lack of those 2, 3 hours of sleep that we always lack.

Yoga

Yoga is a combination of meditation and fitness. During yoga, you need to perform so-called asanas - poses in which you need to stay for 30 seconds or more. During these exercises, you focus completely on your body and how it feels. Thanks to muscle stretching, metabolism speeds up, and here you defeat stress on a physiological level.

Affirmations and self-hypnosis

Affirmations are the repetition of short statements that create positive attitudes.

Here are some examples:

• Every minute I feel better and better;
• Happiness and success await me in the future;
• Everything is good in my life and soon everything will be even better.

You need to come up with your own wording. Keep them short and positive. Avoid negative words and “not” prefixes.

Some repeat prayers; if you are a believer, then this is a good way for you to relieve emotional stress.

Analysis of the situation

For those who like to “make a mountain out of a molehill,” I advise you to analyze the situation by asking yourself the following questions:

• Is this problem really so serious that you should worry about it?
• Is what really matters to me at risk?
• What will I think about this situation 5 years from now? Will she still be important to me?
• What's the worst case scenario? Is it really that scary?
• Can I somehow influence this situation?

The right rhythm of life

If you plan your daily routine in advance, eat properly and sleep for the required 8 hours, then you may not encounter emotional stress, and you will accept most difficulties calmly, without unnecessary worries.

Clinical phenomena in emotional stress

• acute stress reactions that occur after a strong traumatic experience of an exceptionally threatening nature and are completed within days and sometimes hours;
• post-traumatic stress disorder, which is a prolonged, immediate or delayed reaction to such an experience;
• adaptation reactions, in which there is a clear connection (including temporary) with a stressful event, entailing a more or less pronounced life change;
• neurotic states and personal decompensations, in which there is usually a dependence on repeated or chronic exposure to stressors (“life events”), intractable emotional problems, intrapsychic conflicts, long-term growth of frustration and mental stress.

In neurotic conditions and personal decompensations, the role of previous experience and personality characteristics that determine individual vulnerability are most pronounced. The significance of emotional stress in these conditions is obvious, since stress is not associated with one specific and obvious situation, but is realized in a broader life context.

Manifestations of emotional stress

The presence of this disorder cannot occur without any symptoms. Thus, if a person is in this state, it is extremely difficult not to notice it. Developing emotional stress and regulation of emotional states are always accompanied by a number of characteristic psychological and physiological signs.

Such manifestations include:

• increased breathing rate;
• tension of individual muscle groups;
• tears;
• increased irritability;
• increased heart rate;
• anxiety;
• decreased concentration;
• sudden jumps in blood pressure;
• general weakness;
• increased sweating.

Often, emotional stress manifests itself in severe headaches, as well as attacks of lack of air (oxygen deficiency). There is a sharp increase or decrease in body temperature.

Diagnostic criteria

If there are no reasons at the physical level that can provoke emotional stress, then the doctor will most likely refer the patient for examination by a psychiatrist or psychotherapist.

They are able to diagnose chronic stress and the existing root causes of emotional disorder. A consultation with a psychologist may also be required - in this case, the presence or absence of mental and neurological abnormalities and pathologies is established. An encephalogram examination is another element of examination and diagnosis.

A person should understand that it is not worthwhile to independently diagnose and treat one’s own emotional disorder - one cannot do without examination and consultation with a specialist.

Emotional stress at work

Emotional stress at work occurs due to the daily external influences that a person faces in the workplace. As a rule, the causes of tension and emotional exhaustion are:

• physical discomfort due to insufficient lighting in the room, temperature changes, stuffiness, background noise, faulty or uncomfortable furniture;
• ill-conceived work process;
• conflicts with superiors and colleagues, tense relationships in the team;
• hazards that are part of work activity;
• additional responsibilities, high responsibility.

Emotional stress due to professional activity can be caused by various factors. Many experts argue that people who have to do physical labor experience fewer negative emotions at work, and those who are engaged in intense intellectual work find it extremely difficult to get out of work mode and tune in to relaxation.

Stages of development of a stressful situation

In psychology, practicing psychologists identify the following phases of the course of emotional stress:

1. Alarm phase - at this stage, the internal forces of the whole body, defense mechanisms and its resistance to negative external and internal negative factors are mobilized.
2. The resistance phase is the stage of maximum adaptation when the body evenly expends its strength and internal reserves, and all parameters that were thrown out of balance at the first stage are fixed at a new level. If emotional stress continues to develop, the third phase begins.
3. Exhaustion phase - the patient’s body and emotional state are subject to structural changes, exhaustion, since all the patient’s strength, emotional and physical, in the first two phases have been exhausted.

Consequences

Prolonged emotional stress leads to serious health problems - both mental and physical.

Psycho-emotional consequences:

• depression;
• nervous exhaustion;
• neuroses: asthenic, anxious anticipation;
• social maladjustment;
• autism (develops especially often in children);
• attention disorders;
• violation of the identity of the physical and mental “I” (personal self-destruction);
• paranoia;
• phobias;
• mental exhaustion.

Physical health consequences:

• hypertension;
• cancer;
• from the cardiovascular system: heart attacks or failure, angina pectoris, arrhythmia, heart attack, ischemic heart disease;
• exhaustion of the body;
• headaches that become constant and develop into migraines;
• weakened immunity;
• decreased vision;
• exacerbation of asthma and gastrointestinal diseases (up to the formation or perforation of an ulcer).

Diagnosis of emotional stress

Diagnosis of the psycho-emotional state is carried out only in a psychologist’s office. The fact is that each case requires a detailed study using the methods and conditions set by a specialist for a specific purpose.

Identification of the main causes of stressful behavior occurs using various psychodiagnostic methods. All of them can be divided into classes:

1. Current level of stress, severity of neuropsychic tension. The methods of express diagnostics and testing of T. Nemchin, S. Kouhen, I. Litvintsev and others are used.
2. Prediction of human behavior in stressful situations. Both the self-esteem scale and questionnaires by V. Baranov, A. Volkov and others are used.
3. Negative consequences of distress. Differential diagnostic methods and questionnaires are used.
4. Professional stress. They use surveys, tests, and “live” dialogue with a specialist.
5. Level of stress resistance. The most commonly used questionnaires are questionnaires.

Outburst of emotions

American physiologist W. Frey put forward the theory that tears help the body better cope with stressful situations. As an experiment, he made a biochemical analysis of the tears of people in different emotional states. The result showed that the tears of those who were under stress contained more protein.

There are many supporters and opponents of Frey's theory, but everyone confirms one thing - crying gives free rein to emotions and allows you to restore your psychological state faster.

Tears as a protective function of the body are underestimated by modern society, so there is no need to treat them as a weakness: they are just a way to quickly restore your psycho-emotional state.

Tears will help restore psychological balance

Methods of influencing emotional stress

• Meditation. Allows you to relax, calm your nerves and analyze all life's difficulties and difficulties.
• Physical exercise. Physical activity allows you to take your mind off problems. In addition, during exercise, pleasure hormones are produced - endorphin and serotonin.
• Medicines. Calming and sedative drugs.

Psychological trainings. Taking group classes with a specialist and home methods not only help eliminate signs of stress, but also improve the individual’s resistance to stress.

Fighting methods

Psychoemotional disorders require careful diagnosis and treatment. Methods of dealing with them may be different. Most often, the normalization of the psychological state depends on the systematicity of the methods used and their complexity. No less important are individual characteristics - the body’s resistance to stress, the severity of the psychological disorder. The most effective methods are:

• autogenic trainings,
• physical exercise,
• meditation,
• drug therapy,
• psychotherapy.

Multisystem stress reactions should be reduced even before the manifestation of certain pathological conditions. The use of medications is rare. They are prescribed if other methods are not effective. Antidepressants and tranquilizers are most often used.

The patient is often prescribed antidepressants and tranquilizers

How to deal with stress?

The main way to deal with stress is to reframe it.

As a rule, such experience comes a little later, after the effects of stress enter the chronic phase.

Psychologists recommend the following methods of autogenic training, which will help you cope with stress faster:

• increasing social activity;
• stimulation of mental activity;
• find a hobby;
• Reading books;
• prayer;
• artistic activity;
• active exercise;
• progressive relaxation;
• spend more time in nature;
• learn to manage your time;
• spend more time with pets.

Features of prevention

Prevention of stressful situations involves preparing the body for upcoming changes in external conditions. You need to anticipate the inevitability of a stressful situation and try to maintain emotional balance as it approaches. There are several preventative methods:

• Rationalization of the event. Modeling a possible situation down to the smallest detail (clothing, dialogue, behavior, etc.). This helps reduce the level of uncertainty and the increased level of emotions will decrease.
• Selective positive retrospection. It is necessary to recall an example of a situation in which a person was able to find a way out on his own. This will add determination in the face of an upcoming stressful situation.
• Selective negative retrospection. Analysis of your own failures and substantiation of conclusions. If you identify your own mistakes, it will be easier to approach new problems.
• Visualization of the end of the event. Presenting several options for an unfavorable outcome and planning a way out of it.

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Symptoms

Psycho-emotional stress can be determined by physiological and psychological signs. The most common symptoms:

• psycho-emotional reactions (irritability, anxiety, fear, despair, etc.),
• increased heart rate and breathing,
• loss of concentration,
• muscle strain,
• fatigue,
• memory problems.

Sometimes symptoms of stress can be confused with infectious or viral diseases. Internal factors depending on the assessment of a certain situation can cause:

• digestive disorders,
• muscle weakness,
• temperature rise,
• headaches and dizziness.

Often these symptoms appear due to anticipation of or during important events in a person's life: final exams, job interviews, creative performances, etc. Severe stress can cause serious harm to health.

Fatigue, one of the symptoms of the disorder