Stress

What is Stress?

Stress is a condition that activates a feeling of tension, pressure or strain in a person’s mind. When you sense or face any kind of threat, provocation, danger or challenge, some chemicals and hormones (such as adrenaline and cortisol) flow in your body. The flow of hormones creates a feeling of stress in the body and it provokes you to choose from a fight-or-flight response.

Normally after a stressful situation, your body and mind get relaxed but if the feeling stays for a longer time then it could affect your health.  It makes the heart beat faster and increases the blood flow in all the organs

Everyone experiences small amounts of stress in their life and it is useful in many aspects of life like sports and helps in adapting to adverse conditions. An excessive amount of stress could be harmful to them and could even lead to depression and other mental problems.

Causes and Symptoms of Stress

Causes:

There could be many causes of stress. Everyone reacts to a stressful situation differently, some person can handle it easily while some could struggle with it all their life. You can never what may cause stress in a person, there could be personal, mental or any emotional reason behind it. Some of the common reasons which create stress are:

1. Overthinking about anything( even some very small issues).
2. Major life events like marriage, the death of a loved one, becoming a parent
3. Chronic diseases.
4. Relationship issues.
5. Life-threatening accidents.
6. Natural disasters.
7. An abusive relationship, Unhappy marriage, Prolonged divorce proceedings, child custody issues.
8. Crime victim.
9. Someone in the family is affected by dangerous diseases like cancer, dementia, etc.  
10. Poverty, jobless, homeless, financial problems.
11. Lack of work-life balance, long working hours, unwanted job, military deployment.
12. Family problems.
13. Miscarriage, unwanted pregnancy, abortion.

Symptoms:

A person suffering from stress shows many signs and symptoms which can help in identifying the medical condition and in starting the treatment. Symptoms could range from emotional, physical or behavior-related issues. Some common symptoms of stress are:

1. Pain and fatigue for a longer period of time.
2. Low sex drive and lack of interest in sex.
3. Sleep problems
4. Digestion and appetite-related problems
5. Lack of concentration and decision making.
6. A headache, low blood pressure.
7. Anger issues
8. Anxiety, feelings of  fear, overwhelm, memory problems, irritability depression
9. Social withdrawal, substance abuse.

Preventive Measures for Stress:

• Learn to manage stress than skip or escape it through unhealthy means like drinking or smoking. A healthy diet, habits, and routine will give you the real strength to battle and overcome challenges. 
• Learn to accept that you cannot control everything, you can just control your reaction and response to it. Try to focus on what is within your control than things that are out of your bounds. 
• Practice gratitude and whenever it gets tough try to focus on better or good parts of your life than otherwise. 
• Include relaxation activities like games, meditation, pranayama for stress, and similar other exercises in your routine.