Definition of stress. Effective methods for relieving emotional tension and psychological stress

STRESS (in psychology)

(English) stress) - a state of mental stress that arises in a person in the process of activities in the most difficult, difficult conditions, as in Everyday life, and under special circumstances, for example. during space flight, while studying for a final exam, or before starting a sporting competition. The concept of S. was introduced by the Canadian physiologist G. Selye (1936) when describing adaptation syndrome. S. can have both positive and negative effects. influence on activity, up to its complete disorganization, which poses the task of studying adaptation a person to difficult (so-called extreme) conditions, as well as predicting his behavior in such conditions. Cm. .

Large psychological dictionary. - M.: Prime-EVROZNAK. Ed. B.G. Meshcheryakova, acad. V.P. Zinchenko. 2003 .

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Main symptoms:

Every person faces stress in their life, because it is a state of the body that occurs when a person is exposed to certain negative or even positive factors, leading to various kinds of changes in their life. During this disorder, the body produces adrenaline, which is necessary in order to overcome the problem that has arisen, so a small amount of stress is required by our body - it allows us to move forward and improve ourselves. However, long negative impact causes the development of various disorders in the body and can even cause chronic stress, which is dangerous due to its side effects.

As mentioned above, such a disorder can arise both from excessive exposure to negative factors, in which case it is called distress, and from exposure to positive factors, in which case eustress develops. By their very nature, any event in life can be a stressful factor. However, each person's reaction is individual and depends on his nervous system. For some people, psycho-emotional stress can cause the development of serious psychosomatic disorders in the body, while for others it will pass without a trace, becoming only an incentive to improve themselves and their lives.

Classification

Exist different types stress. As mentioned above, distress and eustress are distinguished by nature. The positive form usually does not have negative influence on the state of health and mental sphere of a person, while a negative one can knock a person out of the saddle for a long time and leave behind unhealed wounds.

Also, types of stress differ in the nature of the impact of certain factors, and can be:

• temperature;
• neuropsychiatric (the most common type);
• food;
• light, as well as those caused by other stimuli.

In addition, there are types of stress such as those that arose due to extreme social conditions or those that developed as a result of critical psychological events. The first type includes disorders that arise as a result of military operations, natural disasters, bandit attacks, etc. The second type includes those disorders that arise as a result of various social problems, for example, passing an exam, divorce, death of a relative, etc.

It is also worth highlighting separately the following types of stress - psychological and biological. Psychological disorder or psycho-emotional stress occurs as a result of the reaction of the human nervous system to a real or fictitious negative factor. A biological disturbance occurs against the backdrop of a real threat. Therefore, the main criterion for determining the type of disorder is the question: “Does this or that effect cause real harm to the body?” If the answer is “yes,” then it is a biological disorder; if “no,” it is a psycho-emotional one. Knowledge of these varieties allows you to understand how to relieve stress and prevent its adverse effects on human health.

There is also a distinction between post-traumatic stress, that is, a disorder that develops after suffering trauma or experiencing critical events. Stress urinary incontinence is one of the common symptoms of this pathological disorder. Stress urinary incontinence is especially common in children after difficult events.

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 Under stress, an 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.

Second stage- 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.

Third stage characterized by depletion 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.

Thus, all phases of stress are interconnected and when the question arises of how to relieve stress, it is necessary to understand what stage a person is at at a certain point in time. It is important to remember that the consequences of stress can be either minor or very severe, therefore, the earlier the patient starts taking anti-stress pills, the less the consequences of this disorder.

Causes of stress

Every person faces many negative factors in his life. The causes of stress are so numerous that it is impossible to list them all. Nevertheless, scientists have been able to identify the main causes of stress, or rather, factors that affect almost any individual.

So, the main negative factors that can cause psycho-emotional disorder and even chronic stress include:

• serious illness;
• illness or death of close relatives;
• separation from loved ones, including divorce;
• attack or emergency;
• deterioration of financial situation;
• birth of a child;
• moving to another country (or even just changing your place of residence);
• sexual problems;
• job change;
• retirement;
• emergence of problems with the law, etc.

Very often, women develop stress during pregnancy, as her body and psyche undergo significant changes.

It must be said that such a disorder tends to accumulate, that is, with prolonged exposure it worsens. For example, stress during pregnancy can increase over time and at the time the child is born, a normal disorder turns into a severe or severe one. If stress occurs during pregnancy, a woman needs to tell her attending gynecologist about her symptoms so that he can prescribe her medications that can be taken without risk to the fetus.

Symptoms

If we talk about the symptoms of stress, they can be different for each person - it all depends on the state of the individual’s psyche, the stage of the process, as well as the strength of the negative impact.

Physical symptoms of stress are few - they can manifest themselves as weight loss due to poor nutrition, constant fatigue due to insomnia, irritability, or, conversely,...

More pronounced are the psychological symptoms of stress, which include:

• feeling of internal tension;
• causeless anxiety;
• stress urinary incontinence;
• feeling of constant dissatisfaction;
• depressed state and bad mood;
• feeling of the ghostliness of the surrounding world;
• decreased interest in normal activities, etc.

You should talk to a psychotherapist about how to relieve stress if symptoms appear. initial stage disease and with a psychiatrist - as the disorder progresses. The consequences of stress can be extremely severe, so treatment must begin at the time when the first signs of stress appear.

Sometimes people try to suppress the symptoms of stress on their own by drinking alcohol, drugs, or becoming a gambler. All these external influences can significantly aggravate the disorder and ruin the patient’s life.

Signs, as mentioned above, can be explicit or implicit, so relatives should carefully monitor the behavior and reactions of the patient in order to seek help from a specialist in time.

Separately, it should be said about such a symptom as stress urinary incontinence. It can occur in young and adult women and is characterized by physical activity, sneezing, etc. Most often, stress urinary incontinence occurs in women during pregnancy and after childbirth. During pregnancy, stress urinary incontinence occurs when the fetus puts pressure on the bladder, and after childbirth it occurs due to weakening of the pelvic floor muscles. Therefore, in cases where a woman experiences stress during pregnancy, this disorder worsens, and stress urinary incontinence becomes a common symptom of the pathological disorder. In general, stress itself during pregnancy can cause premature birth and miscarriages.

It is also important to remember that stress urinary incontinence occurs in children against the background of exposure to unfavorable factors and is an important sign that the child is experiencing psycho-emotional overload.

Treatment

The most important question people ask doctors is how to relieve stress? They are interested in stress prevention and ways to deal with stress. If a person has PTSD, it is important to seek help from a good specialist, in other cases, you can try to take anti-stress pills on your own, which today can be purchased without a prescription (in case of mild clinical manifestations).

Methods of dealing with stress can be medical or non-medical. A person can independently practice relaxation techniques and conduct auto-training. In fact, stress prevention lies in the ability to relax.

At the same time, in medical practice there are many techniques to combat this disorder, thanks to which the consequences of stress become imperceptible to a person. Without appropriate therapy (psychological counseling and taking medications prescribed by a doctor), the consequences of stress can be extremely severe for the body, even leading to the development of somatic diseases such as oncology, etc.

An effective addition to stress therapy is to take medicines and additives that stimulate cell nutrition - for example, the drug Mildronate: it optimizes intracellular metabolic processes, allowing you to maintain neuron nutrition required level even in moments when there is not enough oxygen, for example, under stress. Protected from starvation, brain cells work much more efficiently, the building of neural connections accelerates, which helps the body cope with stress.

Preventing stress involves managing healthy image life, proper nutrition, proper alternation of rest and wakefulness. Quitting alcohol, drugs, tobacco and other bad habits also increases the body's resistance to external influences. A positive attitude makes it possible to “disarm” stress at the initial stage.

Is everything in the article correct from a medical point of view?

Answer only if you have proven medical knowledge

Another broad area of ​​human conditions is united by the concept of stress.

Under stress(from the English stress - “pressure”, “tension”) understand the emotional state that arises in response to all kinds of extreme influences.

When stressed, ordinary emotions are replaced by anxiety, causing physiological and psychological disturbances. This concept was introduced by G. Selye to denote a nonspecific reaction of the body to any adverse effect. His research has shown that various unfavorable factors - fatigue, fear, resentment, cold, pain, humiliation and much more - cause the same type of complex reaction in the body, regardless of what particular irritant is acting on it at the moment. Moreover, these stimuli do not necessarily have to exist in reality. A person reacts not only to actual danger, but also to a threat or reminder of it. For example, stress often arises not only in the situation of divorce, but also in the anxious anticipation of the breakdown of the marital relationship.

Human behavior under stress is different from affective behavior. Under stress, a person, as a rule, can control his emotions, analyze the situation, and make adequate decisions.

Currently, depending on the stress factor, there are different kinds stress, among which are pronounced physiological And psychological. Psychological stress can in turn be divided into informational And emotional. If a person cannot cope with a task, does not have time to make the right decisions at the required pace at high degree responsibility, i.e., when information overload occurs, information stress may develop. Emotional stress occurs in situations, danger, resentment, etc. G. Selye identified 3 stages in the development of stress. The first stage is the alarm reaction - the phase of mobilization of the body's defenses, increasing resistance to a specific traumatic impact. In this case, a redistribution of the body’s reserves occurs: the solution of the main task occurs at the expense of secondary tasks. At the second stage, the stabilization of all parameters brought out of balance in the first phase is fixed at a new level. Externally, the behavior differs little from the norm, everything seems to be getting better, but internally there is an overexpenditure of adaptation reserves. If the stressful situation continues to persist, the third stage begins - exhaustion, which can lead to a significant deterioration in well-being, various diseases and, in some cases, death.

Stages of development of a stressful state in humans:

• increasing tension;
• actual stress;
• reduction of internal tension.

The duration of the first stage is strictly individual. Some people “get turned on” within 2-3 minutes, while for others the build-up of stress can subside over several days or even weeks. But in any case, the state and behavior of a person under stress changes to the “opposite sign.”

Thus, a calm, reserved person becomes fussy and irritable, he can even become aggressive and cruel. And a person who is lively and active in ordinary life becomes gloomy and taciturn. The Japanese say: “A man loses his face” (loses self-control).

At the first stage psychological contact in communication disappears, alienation and distance appear in business relationships with colleagues. People stop looking each other in the eyes, the subject of the conversation changes sharply: from meaningful business moments it moves on to personal attacks (for example, “You yourself are like that...”).

But the most important thing is that at the first stage of stress, a person’s self-control weakens: he gradually loses the ability to consciously and intelligently regulate his own behavior.

The second stage of development of a stressful state manifests itself in the fact that a person experiences a loss of effective conscious self-control (complete or partial). A “wave” of destructive stress has a destructive effect on the human psyche. He may not remember what he said or did, or may be only vaguely and incompletely aware of his actions. Many then note that in a stressful state they did something that they would never have done in a calm environment. Usually everyone later regrets it very much.

Just like the first, the second stage is strictly individual in its duration - from several minutes and hours - to several days and weeks. Having exhausted your energy resources (achievement high voltage marked at point C), the person feels drained, exhausted and tired.

At the third stage he stops and returns“to himself,” often experiencing a feeling of guilt (“What have I done”), and promises himself that “this nightmare” will never happen again.

Unfortunately, after a while the stress repeats itself. Moreover, each person has his own individual scenario of stressful behavior (in terms of frequency and form of manifestation). Most often, this scenario is learned in childhood, when parents conflict in front of the child, involving him in their problems. So, some experience stress almost every day, but in small doses (not too aggressively and without significant harm to the health of others). Others - several times a year, but extremely strongly, completely losing self-control and being, as it were, “in a stress frenzy.”

The stressful scenario learned in childhood is reproduced not only in frequency and form of manifestation. The focus of stress aggression is also repeated: on oneself and on others. One blames himself for everything and seeks, first of all, his own own mistakes. The other blames everyone around him, but not himself.

The stress scenario learned in childhood occurs almost automatically. In these cases, a slight disruption of the usual rhythm of life and work is enough for the stress mechanism to “turn on” and begin to unfold almost against the will of the person, like the “flywheel” of some powerful and deadly “weapon”. A person begins to conflict over some trifle or trifle. His perception of reality is distorted, he begins to attach a negative meaning to current events, suspecting everyone “of non-existent sins.”

Stressful conditions significantly affect human activity. People with different features The nervous system reacts differently to the same psychological stress. Some people experience increased activity, mobilization of strength, and increased efficiency. This is the so-called “lion stress”. Danger seems to spur a person on, forcing him to act boldly and courageously. On the other hand, stress can cause disorganization of activity, a sharp decrease in its effectiveness, passivity and general inhibition (“rabbit stress”).

A person’s behavior in a stressful situation depends on many conditions, but, first of all, on the person’s psychological preparation, including the ability to quickly assess the situation, skills of instant orientation in unexpected circumstances, strong-willed composure and determination, and experience of behavior in similar situations.

Methods for dealing with stress

is the feeling that a person experiences when he believes that he cannot effectively cope with a situation that has arisen.

If the stressful situation is in our control, we need to focus our efforts more rationally on changing it. If the situation does not depend on us, we need to come to terms with it and change our perception, our attitude towards this situation.

In most situations, stress goes through several stages.

1. Alarm phase. This is the mobilization of the body's energy resources. Moderate stress at this stage is beneficial; it leads to increased performance.
2. Resistance phase. This is a balanced expenditure of the body's reserves. Outwardly, everything looks normal, the person effectively solves the problems facing him, but if this stage lasts too long and is not accompanied by rest, it means that the body is working for wear.
3. Exhaustion phase (distress). A person feels weak and exhausted, performance decreases, and the risk of disease increases sharply. You can still fight this with willpower for a short time, but then the only way to regain strength is through thorough rest.

One of the most common causes of stress - the contradiction between reality and a person’s ideas.

The stress reaction is equally easily triggered by both real events and those that exist only in our imagination. In psychology this is called the “law of emotional reality of the imagination.” As psychologists have calculated, about 70% of our experiences occur about events that do not exist in reality, but only in the imagination.

Not only negative but also positive factors can lead to the development of stress. life events. When something changes dramatically in better side, the body also reacts to this with stress.

Stress tends to accumulate. It is known from physics that nothing in nature can disappear into nowhere; matter and energy simply move or transform into other forms. The same applies to mental life. Experiences cannot disappear; they are either expressed externally, for example in communication with other people, or accumulate.

There are several rules that will help deal with stress. Firstly, there is no need to trigger situations that lead to stress accumulation. Secondly, we should remember that stress accumulates especially well when we fully concentrate our attention on what causes it. Thirdly, you need to remember that there are many ways to relieve stress, For example physical exercise, massage, sleep, singing, baths with salt and relaxing oils, sauna, aromatherapy, relaxing music, auto-training and others.

Stress is a reaction when, after processing by consciousness any internal or external circumstance, a special state of the nervous system arises, which leads to a change in the functioning of internal organs. Such a factor can be individual for everyone: internal - a personal illness that reduces the quality of life, external - the death of a loved one, a change of job or relocation. Stress occurs only under conditions where the impact of a given circumstance exceeds the personal stress tolerance threshold.

Stress can be acute and develop as a single impact, the effects of which can resolve spontaneously in some cases. This phenomenon is programmed by nature in order to deal with dangers and avoid them. Most often in modern world a chronic form of stress occurs, in which traumatic circumstances begin to layer on top of each other. It is this process that causes many chronic diseases.

Why is stress dangerous?

Scientists say that more than 150 thousand people in 142 countries today have problems with own health that arose as a result of stress. The most common is heart disease (myocardial infarction, hypertension, angina). According to the Russian Academy of Sciences, after the collapse Soviet Union over 13 years, the number of patients with cardiovascular diseases increased from 617 to 900 people per 100,000 population. At the same time, the number of smokers and people who regularly drink alcohol, people with severe obesity or increased level cholesterol - those reasons that are key in the development of cardiac and vascular pathologies remained within the same parameters. As a result, scientists began to think about the impact of psycho-emotional state on health.

In second place are the consequences of living in a constant state mental illness, in third - obesity. Chronic stress also affects the organs of the genitourinary and digestive systems, but the changes that occur in them are not so fatal. Among other things, a person who is constantly in a state of psycho-emotional stress greatly reduces the performance and strength of his own immune system, becoming an easy target for many pathologies.

How stress develops

For the first time, the processes that occur after a person encounters traumatic events were described by the psychologist Cannon in 1932. Wide publicity of this issue and the term “stress” began to be used only in 1936, after the publication of an article by the famous 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 exposed to agents that exceed the body’s adaptive resources (stress resistance threshold), the following reactions can develop:

The adrenal cortex enlarges. It is this part of the body that is responsible for the production of the “stress hormone”; the main glucocorticoid hormone is cortisol.

Reducing the number of lipid granules in the adrenal glands (in the medulla), the main task of these structures is the release of norepinephrine and adrenaline into the blood.

A decrease in the volume of lymphatic tissue responsible for immunity provokes the reverse development of the lymph nodes, spleen, and thymus (the central organ of the immune system).

Damage to the mucous membranes of the duodenum and stomach, including the development of ulcers (also called stress ulcers).

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

an increase in blood glucose levels, which leads to a decrease in tissue sensitivity to insulin (for example, as a result of stress, you can get diabetes second type);

sodium is retained, and with it water in the tissues, while potassium, which is necessary for the normal functioning of the nerves and heart, is excreted faster than usual;

breakdown of tissue proteins that form glucose;

increased deposition of lipid tissue in the subcutaneous tissue;

the heartbeat becomes frequent and its rhythm is disturbed;

blood pressure rises.

As a result of a decrease in the volume of lymphatic tissue, there is a decrease in overall immunity. This can lead to a decrease in resistance to infections, and any virus can cause the development of severe pathology or its complications by bacterial pathogens.

The stress resistance threshold is individual for each person and depends on:

resistance of the human psyche to the effects of adverse factors;

a person's life experience;

type of nervous system (is it one of two strong or, conversely, two weak), this determines the speed of reaction when making decisions and the severity and nature of emotions.

Thus, melancholic and choleric people are more susceptible to stress, while a balanced sanguine person is less, and a phlegmatic person is even less (they require a greater strength of stress factors).

Classification

Stress is the general name for all the above-described reactions of the body, when the influence of the psyche activates the work of the adrenal glands. It may be:

Negative, which leads to distress. It will be discussed in detail below, since it is precisely this that can destroy health.

Positive – eustress. Triggered by sudden joy, for example, when meeting an old friend or receiving an unexpected gift, it can also be caused by a thirst for competition or inspiration. This type of stress does not have a negative impact on human health.

Depending on the nature of the impact, distress can be:

Psychological or neuropsychic. A special type, which is usually divided into two types:

1. psycho-emotional stress, which develops against the background of strong hatred, resentment or anger;

   information stress, which occurs when there is an overabundance of information. Most often it develops in people who, due to their occupation, must be involved in processing large quantity information.

Physical, which is divided into:

1. light (when a person is forced for a long time is in an illuminated space, when exposed to polar day conditions, lying in a hospital, at work);

   painful (as a result of injury and pain);

   food (during hunger or vice versa - forced feeding on foods that are disgusting to humans);

   temperature (for example, when exposed to cold or heat).

Distress can arise due to extreme conditions (landslides, floods, hurricanes, military operations) or extremely strong psychological events (taking an exam, breaking a relationship, death of a relative).

There is even a classification of stressors (stress factors). They can be:

A life event is a long-term event: the death of a loved one, divorce, business trip, moving.

Chronic emotional stress. It develops as a result of unresolved conflicts with colleagues or family members.

Small life difficulties that accumulate over time, similar to snowball and can destroy normal relationships in the family.

These stressors are the true cause of distress.

Course of stress

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

Anxiety stage. A person ceases to control his own actions and thoughts, which creates the preconditions for a weakening of the body. The patient's behavior changes and becomes the opposite of that, which is usually characteristic of humans.

Resistance stage. The body's resistance increases so that a person can accept specific solution and cope with the situation that has arisen.

Exhaustion stage. It develops under prolonged stress, when the body is no longer able to maintain proper resistance. It is at this stage that damage to internal organs begins to develop.

There is also a more extended description of the stages that was made after Selye's work. Thus, there are 4 stages:

Mobilization: increasing a person’s activity and attention; strength is still spent sparingly. If the process at this stage fades, then this only hardens the body, and does not destroy it.

Active (sthenic) negative emotion. Rage, aggression, anger arises. To achieve the goal, the body's strength begins to be spent uneconomically, which leads to exhaustion of the body.

Asthenic (passive) negative emotion. It occurs as a result of excessive expenditure of the body’s strength at the previous stage. A person becomes sad and does not believe in own strength, as well as the possibility of resolving the situation. High likelihood of depression.

Complete demoralization. Occurs when a stressor acts on the human body all the time. A person begins to come to terms with the fact that he has lost and becomes indifferent, does not want to solve either the stressor task or any other. Such people are often described as “broken.”

What can cause stress

What causes stress in healthy person, was said above. These include moving, injuries, divorce, the death of a loved one, and even financial problems, a constant lack of time to deliver work on time, illness - a loved one or personal. Women are exposed to stress when giving birth to a child, even when the woman is sure that she will have time to prepare for this within 9 months (parturients who had complications during pregnancy, suffered a breakup with a loved one at that time, or suffered from constant conflicts).

Factors that increase the chance of stress are lack of sleep, chronic illnesses, and the unfriendly attitude of friends and surroundings. People who are true to their beliefs and their word are considered more vulnerable to stress.

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

lack of someone who could listen to problems;

imposition of hobbies by parents;

communication problems;

increased loads in school curriculum or after moving from kindergarten to first grade;

change of place of residence;

problems communicating with peers;

handling problems in kindergarten;

hypothermia;

sudden change in weather conditions;

accidentally witnessing the intimate behavior of strangers or parents;

time zone change;

sudden changes in daily routine;

loss of a pet;

initial sexual experience;

frequent hospital stays without parents;

dysfunctional family situation;

sending to a pioneer camp or sanatorium without parents.

How to tell if someone is stressed

It is customary to distinguish between acute and chronic stress. They manifest themselves in different ways.

There is also a diagnosis - an acute reaction to stress. This is the name for a disorder that occurs in a mentally healthy person in response to a strong physical or psychological stressor in which there was a serious threat to life to a loved one or the victim himself. It is marked after:

participation in hostilities that were particularly bloody;

how a person was taken hostage in a terrorist attack;

car accidents;

rape, especially in violent cases;

death of children;

fire in the house;

natural disaster (floods, tsunamis, hurricanes).

Such severe stress is a short-term disorder; it can last from several hours to 1-2 days. After this, urgent health care on the part of a competent psychotherapist or psychiatrist, otherwise stress can cause suicidal attempts or become chronic with all the ensuing consequences.

The risk of developing a reaction to severe stress is higher in people:

who are exhausted after hard work or after illness;

in the presence of brain disease;

who do not see outside help;

over 50 years old;

when people die around;

when what happened is a complete surprise.

The presence of an acute reaction to stress is indicated by symptoms that begin a few minutes after the events occurred:

A similar clouding of consciousness in which a person is disoriented in current events, but can pay attention to small details. As a result, a person is capable of committing senseless and strange actions, which for others can become a sign of the inadequacy of a particular individual.

A person is able to express delusional ideas and talk about non-existent events, and speak in the absence of an interlocutor. This behavior lasts for a short time and can end abruptly.

A person with an acute reaction does not understand or does not completely understand the speech addressed to him, cannot fulfill the request or does it incorrectly.

Extreme inhibition of movement and speech. It can be expressed to such an extent that a person simply freezes in one position and answers questions with an indistinct sound. Less commonly, a reverse reaction is possible: a verbal flow that cannot be stopped and severe motor restlessness. There may also be a panicky desire to harm oneself or a stampede.

Reaction from the outside autonomic system: diarrhea, vomiting, redness or paleness of the skin, dilated pupils. Such a sharp drop may occur blood pressure that the person simply dies.

Quite often the following symptoms of stress are present: despair, aggressiveness, inability to respond with full understanding of speech, confusion.

If a person with an unhealthy psyche finds himself in a similar situation, the body’s acute response to stress may not be the same as described above.

These symptoms last more than 2-3 days and are not an acute reaction to stress. It is necessary to urgently contact a neurologist, narcologist, psychiatrist or infectious disease specialist to search for the real reason such a state.

After suffering an acute reaction, the memory of such behavior quite often completely or partially disappears. At the same time, the person remains overly tense for some time and suffers from behavioral and sleep disorders. For 2-3 weeks, exhaustion is possible, from which the desire to do anything disappears, and there is even no will to live. A person can go to work and do it “automatically”.

Acute stress

The presence of stress in a person’s life is indicated by the following symptoms that occur shortly or some time after encountering a stressor:

sweating;

cardiopalmus;

feeling of discomfort and tightness in the chest;

nausea with single vomiting;

emotional explosion, which is combined with a feeling of uncontrollable fear or anxiety, or with excitement close to aggression;

numbness and sensation of cottony limbs;

stress urinary incontinence;

abdominal pain;

feeling hot or chills;

rapid breathing, which is accompanied by a feeling of lack of air.

At severe stress, which still has not reached a critical point (when there is a threat to life, which is usually the cause of an acute reaction to stress), the individual, in addition to the signs listed above, may experience:

headache;

skin rash similar to urticaria, which occurs in response to the entry of an allergen into the body;

convulsions without loss of consciousness;

a pronounced feeling of despair, hopelessness;

painful urge to have a bowel movement, followed by loose stools.

Chronic stress

A condition that is typical for modern people with a fast pace of life. The clinical picture of chronic stress is not as pronounced as in an acute reaction to stress, so quite often its manifestations are attributed to fatigue and the situation is not given due importance until serious illness occurs. When the latter occurs, a person rushes to the doctor and begins a course of treatment, which does not bring the desired result, since the main cause, life in constant stress, remains an unresolved factor.

The fact that a person has chronic stress is indicated by signs that are conventionally divided into several groups:

Associated with changes in patient physiology

When stressed, a person may experience physical suffering, which forces him to look for reasons to visit doctors of various specialties and force him to take many medications. However, the presence of the following symptoms when they occur in a person who is constantly experiencing stress does not mean that he does not suffer from angina or peptic ulcer. Therefore, they will be listed, and regarding their presence and interpretation, you need to talk in each specific case with specialists and make decisions regarding treatment.

Physiological symptoms of chronic stress include:

pain in the stomach;

• difficulty swallowing;

  cold hands;

  dry mouth;

  tinnitus;

  stuttering;

  frequent urination;

  chest pain;

  bruxism;

  backache;

  headache;

  decreased appetite;

  frequent infectious diseases respiratory tract, which is accompanied by a runny nose and cough;

  facial redness, hot flashes;

  twisting of joints;

  periodic muscle spasms: moving and unclear muscle pain, spasms of the arm muscles;

  decreased libido, erectile dysfunction;

  a rash in the form of red spots or blisters that appears out of nowhere;

  obsessive movements and tics;

  severe trembling of the upper extremities;

  increased sweating;

  blood pressure surges;

  During the next episode, body temperature may rise.

Symptoms that are related to emotions

The presence of chronic stress in a person is indicated by changes in his character when a previously balanced person begins to manifest:

hostility towards others;

impulsive actions;

outbursts of anger;

tearfulness;

anxiety;

irritability;

moodiness;

low self-esteem;

memory impairment;

change in sleep length and significant deterioration in its quality (frequent nightmares);

the emergence of suicidal tendencies and thoughts of committing suicide;

increased sensitivity to flashing, bright lights, loud sounds;

a feeling of inexpressible melancholy, hopelessness, loneliness;

tendency to shout commands;

lowering the threshold for anxiety;

concentration only on unpleasant events;

touchiness;

a feeling of unreality of what is happening around;

pessimism;

constant criticism of loved ones;

guilt;

disappearance of incentives, goals, life interests;

deceit;

suspicion.

Social-behavioral symptoms

The fact that a person has chronic stress can also be indicated by changes in his communication and behavior:

the person becomes conflicted;

workaholism and constant stress at work and even at home are an independent attempt to escape the situation;

constant lack of time;

effort is isolated;

addiction to use medical supplies, drugs, alcohol;

nervous laughter;

loss of previous interests: hobbies, work;

loss of interest in one's own appearance;

inattention;

while driving, a person quite often behaves inappropriately, speaks rudely towards other road users;

Many minor mistakes are made in normal work.

Intelligent traits

These include:

difficulties in making decisions;

viscosity of speech;

obsessive thoughts, often negative;

repeating what was said earlier;

difficulty in analyzing new information;

memory impairment: forgets quickly and remembers poorly, memory lapses may occur.

Features of stress in women

Women are more vulnerable to stress. In addition, in an attempt to become an ideal mother and wife, women try to hide their own experiences and begin to accumulate them within themselves. This can cause the manifestation of certain symptoms, most of which were presented above and which are no different from the “male” clinic. As a result, endocrine, cardiac or gynecological diseases, as well as obesity.

Signs of stress in women that will allow you to guess its presence:

deterioration of coordination;

stomach pain;

panic attacks;

spasms that are accompanied by pain first in one and then in another part of the abdomen;

the appearance of strange ulcers or red elements;

back pain;

twitching of the eyelid in one of the eyes, which lasts several minutes;

sudden mood swings that were previously unusual for a woman;

disruptions in the menstrual cycle;

joint pain;

headache (usually in one side of the head);

change in attitude towards loved ones and towards oneself (emotional coldness, guilt);

irritability;

thoughts of suicide;

decreased instinct of self-preservation;

decreased level of performance;

clicking, whistling, tinnitus;

hair loss (possibly immediately or 3-6 months after stress);

according to the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a symptom of stress that occurs under the influence of cortisol can be vaginal thrush with frequent relapses;

addiction to certain types of food (usually dairy products and sweets) or alcohol.

It is especially worth paying attention to such symptoms after childbirth. They will indicate that the onset of postpartum depression or even more dangerous postpartum psychosis is likely.

Features of the course of stress in children

Signs of stress in a child are also faintly noticeable, especially if the baby has not yet reached a conscious age.

If a child is under 2 years of age, refusal to eat, irritability and tearfulness may indicate that he has suffered stress. Similar symptoms develop with any non-inflammatory or inflammatory pathology, so the latter must be excluded first.

Children aged 2 to 5 years report experiencing stress by returning to old habits: fecal or urinary incontinence, refusal to feed themselves, pacifier or thumb sucking. A child may begin to cry when circumstances change (for example, from being woken up to go to the toilet at night), as well as when new people appear in the house. It is also quite possible to develop stuttering.

Stress in children 2-5 years old is indicated by a decrease in activity, or vice versa, hyperactivity, an unreasonable short-term increase in body temperature, frequent mood swings, vomiting, the emergence of many fears (dogs, loneliness, darkness, people of a certain profession). A stressed child has trouble falling asleep.

In children 5-9 years old, stress is manifested by the following symptoms:

causeless worries and fears;

aggression;

behavior like children early age(the appearance of lisping, likening to a baby, the child begins to caress);

nightmares;

decline in academic performance;

fatigue;

if the baby begins to lie, it is quite possible that this is also a manifestation of stress;

challenging behavior for several days;

nervous tics or bad habits of scratching the skin, picking the nose, pulling out hair, biting nail plates or objects (pens, erasers, rulers);

the child may partially forget about the events that stressed him;

splitting of nails;

seizures in the corners of the mouth;

pain in the chest area;

headache;

nausea and sometimes vomiting;

decreased or increased appetite;

attempts to run away from home, or the desire to constantly stay within the house, avoidance of other children, refusal to attend school.

What symptoms indicate stress?

The main symptoms after stress are manifestations of exhaustion of the body. Namely:

negative thoughts;

difficulty concentrating;

indecision;

deterioration of memory and attention;

indifference to one's own appearance;

decreased libido;

decreased appetite;

drowsiness during the day and insomnia at night, but constant drowsiness is also possible;

fatigue that occurs faster than before and may not go away even after a long rest;

causeless nausea;

the appearance of heat intolerance;

sweating, headaches, blood pressure surges, increased heart rate;

the person becomes irritable and hot-tempered.

However, if the strength of the stimulus was quite high, then in the absence of an acute reaction to stress after several weeks or months, the development of post-traumatic stress disorder syndrome of stress genesis is quite possible. It manifests itself:

inadequate (usually a complete absence or very weak) reaction to ongoing events;

anxiety;

aggressiveness;

distrust of others;

alienation from others;

a person begins to live in his own problem - during the day he constantly thinks about it, and at night he experiences nightmares about it;

if a person associates a traumatic situation with any specific events, then when they reappear he becomes extremely aggressive and experiences panic attacks;

panic attacks are possible on their own and decrease when communicating with other people; accordingly, at such moments the patient is very willing to make contact even with strangers;

a person may experience pain in the head, heart, or stomach. Therefore, quite often in such situations, during the examination, doctors do not find anything due to such pain. This forces a person to constantly look for a suitable doctor and consult with many specialists. If none of the doctors can bring relief to the patient, he quite often loses faith in medicine and begins to self-medicate, and for a better result begins to get carried away drugs and alcohol.

Thus, it is very often possible to suspect a clinic provoked by stress in the presence of pathologies of internal organs. We can talk about stress by the fact that most often its symptoms affect several body systems at once (for example, heartburn and joint pain). It is possible to clarify the diagnosis only with the help of an examination: in such cases, with the help of laboratory (tests) and instrumental (x-ray of the gastrointestinal tract, ultrasound of the heart, cardiogram, fibrogastroscopy) studies, minimal changes or a complete absence of changes in the organs will be detected. The presence of stress can be confirmed by a psychiatrist or psychotherapist during a conversation with a person and conducting some special tests (usually oral). Also, the presence of a stress response in the body will be indicated by changes in the level of the hormone ACTH and cortisol in the blood.

English pressure) - denotes a wide range of human conditions that arise in response to various extreme influences. Leads to changes in the course of mental processes, emotional shifts, disturbances in motor and speech behavior. There is a distinction between positive stress and negative stress. The discovery and description of the mechanism of stress belongs to the Canadian scientist Hans Selye (1907-1982).

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Stress

English - voltage) - emotional reaction, arising in response to extreme (unexpected, destructive, painful, etc.) environmental influences. Stress manifests itself as a violation of the physiological, psychological and social harmony of the individual. Stress can be informational, emotional, or physiological. People with the most stress are high level pretensions, overloaded with work and unable to live in unity with nature. Signs of stress: inability to concentrate, mistakes, memory impairment, feeling tired, slow or accelerated pace of speech, wandering thoughts, physical pain, increased excitability, work without joy, loss of a sense of humor, etc. Stress plays a dual role in a person’s life. On the one hand, it destroys harmony, suppresses mood, causes fear and irritation, but, on the other hand, it “teaches a lesson,” i.e. forms patience and “combat readiness” and adaptation to new conditions. Stress can not only reduce, but also increase performance, especially in art, sports, and creativity. Stressful situations are inevitable in life; they allow a person to experience suffering, leading to spiritual growth, to wisdom, and humility

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