The term stress is used to describe many different emotional and physical responses including agitation, anger, anxiety, worry, fear and depression. Despite hearing this word thrown around frequently, many people don’t know accurate facts about stress. In this post, our goal is to summarize a few of the most important things to understand about stress.
1. Stress affects everyone
While people react differently to stressful situations, everyone feels stressed out from time to time. We experience stress when our brain and body respond to any environmental change or demand.
Common major life events (both negative and positive) can trigger stress:
- Unemployment or job changes
- Lack of time or money
- Losing a loved one
- Family problems
- Illness
- Moving
- Relationships, marriage divorce
- Pregnancy and becoming a parent
Other commonly reported causes of stress include:
- Driving in heavy traffic or long commutes
- Fear of crime
- Excessive noise, overcrowding , pollution
- High job expectations
- Racial and/or gender inequality
As of 2020, we can add global pandemic to the list of commonly reported causes of stress. According to the current American Psychological Association (APA, 2020), Stress in America Survey, the average reported stress for U.S. adults is significantly higher than the average rating of stress reported in 2019 and marks the first significant increase since the survey began in 2007.
2. Not all stress is bad.
Stress is the body’s natural response to perceived danger. It causes the body to flood with hormones that prepare the system to evade or confront danger. We refer to this as the fight-or-flight mechanism. This response has been a key to our species survival. In non-life-threatening situations, stress can serve as a motivator. You may have experienced this surge in motivation and energy while studying for a big test or preparing for a job interview.
3. There are different types of stress.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) recognizes two types of stress: acute and chronic. Acute stress is the body’s immediate and short-term reaction to a challenging situation. The body responds by releasing stress hormones, increasing pulse, breathing faster, tensing muscles, and increasing oxygen to the brain. It’s the kind of stress you might feel when you are pulled over for speeding. Acute stress can also be triggered by something you enjoy. This might happen when you are riding a motorcycle or skiing down a mountain. These incidents of acute stress do not typically cause any harm because your body system returns to normal when the event is over.
Chronic stress results from the repeated exposure to situations that release stress hormones. With this type of stress, the body’s response is ongoing without a signal to return to normal functioning. Examples of chronic stress include: poverty or homelessness, working in a dangerous profession, and surviving an abusive relationship. The ongoing stressor produces an ongoing stress response in the body that contribute to serious health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other illnesses, including mental disorders such as depression or anxiety.
Different approaches to stress management
Experts agree that there are two main approaches to dealing with the negative effects of stress – eliminating/reducing the triggers and increasing the ability to cope. These approaches can be used in isolation but are most effective when used together. The first requires an acknowledgement of what is causing stress and then eliminating or significantly reducing them one by one. For example, reducing stress related to sitting in traffic during a long commute would require reducing that commute time or modifying the situation. This could look like moving closer to work, changing jobs, or taking public transportation. The other main approach to dealing with stress is by increasing the ability to effectively cope. Examples of ways to improving coping include getting regular sleep and exercise, practicing relaxation or mindfulness techniques, modifying maladaptive thoughts, and increasing pleasant activities.
Speaking with a therapist can often help a person develop a plan to change maladaptive coping and increase positive coping skills while simultaneously problem-solving ways to reducing stressful triggers. Regardless of your level of stress or type of stress, knowing the facts can help.