All You Need To Know About Stress

by Big Jake

I am sure you have come across or used the word, Stress’, at one point or the other. You could have used it to express physical exhaustion, emotional discomfort, or just used it to give an idea about what your day was like.

You might have heard people make statements like…

“This is the most stressful thing I’ve ever had to do.”

“My week was very stressful.”

“I’m so stressed.”

Well, let’s get to the nitty-gritty of Stress.

What is Stress

Stress is defined as “a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from hostile or difficult circumstances. 

As I mentioned earlier, we experience stress from our day to day activities. One can be stressed by demanding schedules at work, meeting deadlines, getting married, organizing an event, meeting friends and family and klonking. 

The human body can experience stress and react to it.

Stress can either be positive or negative.

Yea, I see you rolling your eyes right now, but it’s true. 

Positive stress, usually referred to as eustress, is experienced in circumstances such as getting promoted at work and then having to perform more tasks, or your boyfriend of many years finally making that proposal and getting worked out of the bone in planning your marriage. These experiences will affect your emotions and make you experience some stress, but it’s all good.

Then, there’s negative stress, which we see more often. Negative stress happens when one is forced to deal with challenges, sometimes continuous, without immediate relief. Negative stress is usually referred to as distress.

Stress results from physical and emotional activities and usually leaves you worn out, irritated, angry and nervous.

In the short term, stress can be positive, especially when it helps you avoid danger, meet a demanding deadline or ensure an event is successful. This is known as Acute Stress. It usually passes when the event or activity causing it is done. Examples of situations when acute stress can occur include:

1. Meeting in-laws for the first time
2. Starting a new job
3. Moving to a new place
4. Writing an exam
5. Undergoing medical examinations
6. Having sex for the first time
7. Having a baby and many more

Focus… I know you read number 6 more than once…

Let’s continue…

If one is stressed for a long time, it may have very negative effects on his or her health and even mortality. This is known as Chronic Stress. Stress becomes chronic when it lasts for more than a year. Examples of situations when chronic stress can occur are:

1. Suffering a break-up
2. Losing a dear one in death
3. Losing a job
4. Retiring
5. Failing an important exam
6. Demanding work schedules
7. Constant sexual dissatisfaction (Hello, read on, please)
8. Prolonged litigation
9. Financial problems
10. Problems at work or school
11. Getting divorced
12. Marital problems
13. Home management problems and many more.

Chronic stress can cause serious health problems such as:

1. Mental health snags such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders
2. Circulatory disease, including heart disease, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks, and stroke
3. Obesity and other eating disorders
4. Menstrual problems
5. Sexual dysfunction, such as impotence and premature ejaculation in men and loss of sexual desire in both men and women
6. Skin and hair problems such as acne, psoriasis, eczema, and permanent hair loss
7. Digestive problems such as gastritis, ulcerative colitis, and irritable colon

Interesting Facts About Stress

1. Seventy-five to ninety per cent of visits to the doctor are stress-related.
2. Forty-three per cent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress.
3. Stress plays a good part in headaches, high blood pressure, heart problems, skin conditions, asthma, diabetes, arthritis, depression, and anxiety disorders.
4. The OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) declared stress as a workplace hazard.

How Stress Affects the Body

See, negative stress affects the whole body. This is how it happens…

When one comes across a stress-inducing factor or factors, it is transmitted to the part of your brain that regulates emotional processing. Then, a distress signal is sent to your hypothalamus which controls different interactions between the brain and other organs of the body. Then, this system, through a combination of nerve and hormonal signals, prompts your adrenal glands to release loads of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.

Adrenaline increases your heart rate, raises your blood pressure and boosts your energy levels.

Cortisol (Herrr, I know what you are thinking. Please don’t get any funny ideas ooo), the primary stress hormone increases blood sugar levels within the bloodstream. 

What this means is that if the stress trigger stays for too long, these effects like elevated blood pressure and increased sugar levels might lead to chronic health conditions like hypertension or diabetes. It can also lead to atherosclerosis (build-up of cholesterol plaques in your arteries) and increase your risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke.

Chronic stress can cause digestive, respiratory, sleep and other life-threatening problems.

The image below summarises the effects stress has on the various body parts.

Signs You Have Too Much Stress

Stress can cause bouts of bodily and emotional symptoms. The sad part is that you may not even realize they are caused by stress. The signs include:

1. Diarrhoea or constipation
2. Forgetfulness
3. Frequent aches and pains
4. Headaches
5. Lack of energy or focus
6. Sexual problems
7. Stiff jaw or neck
8. Tiredness
9. Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
10. Upset stomach
11. Weight loss or gain 
12. Overeating or Undereating
13. Chest pain
14. Dizziness
15. Easily getting irritated
16. Feeling overwhelmed

Things You Can Do To Manage Stress

If you have stress signs, it is very crucial to take steps to manage them, otherwise, it can lead to many health problems. You can look at using the following strategies to manage your stress. 

• Get regular physical activity e.g walking, joking, skipping, klonking (for the married, off course), etc.
  
• Practice relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing, meditation, yoga, tai chi or massage.
• Keep a sense of humour.
• Spend time with family and friends you love.
• Set aside time for hobbies, such as reading a book or listening to music
• Get plenty of sleep
• Eat a balanced diet
• Avoid tobacco, caffeine, alcohol and unprescribed drugs

The main focus here should be to find active ways to manage your stress. Inactive ways to manage stress such as watching television, moving from site to site on the internet or playing video games, may seem relaxing, but they may increase your stress over the long term.

When to Seek Professional Help

Below are some reasons you should seek professional help without further delay when you:

1. have thoughts of suicide.
2. feel overwhelmed by your stress (When nothing you do seems to be helping to ease the stress)
3. experience feelings of panic such as dizziness, rapid breathing, or a racing heartbeat.
4. are not able to function at home or at your job.
5. have fears that you cannot control.
6. keep having memories of a traumatic event. 
7. experience chest pain, especially if you also have shortness of breath, jaw or back pain, pain radiating into your shoulder and arm, sweating, dizziness, or nausea. 

God Help Us All!

Thanks for your time!

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