Stress is a natural process. There is a positive type of stress, eustress, which can motivate people to keep working and deal with urgent issues. The negative type, distress, causes problems and can affect your physical and mental health. Fortunately, distress can be controlled if you detect symptoms early.
Comfortable work is one of the main conditions for a good emotional state. If you feel uncomfortable, your job may be toxic.
Very often, a person does not know how to properly cope with stressful situations at work or at home and tries to neutralize their condition with the help of alcohol. Such people remain socially active: they go to work and cope with daily tasks. However, they continue to experience stress and find no internal psychological tools to cope with it.
In such situations, it is very important to get help from a family and professional treatment in reliable rehabs for couples. Nowadays, it is possible to stay with your loved one even during the treatment and get double support.
Symptoms of stress to be aware of
Physical signs of stress include primarily fatigue, headache, indigestion, poor appetite, unhealthy weight gain or loss, muscle aches, dizziness, teeth grinding, loss of sex drive, rapid breathing, and arrhythmias.
The psychological symptoms of stress are depression, anxiety, mood swings, confusion, irritability and anger, insecurity, forgetfulness, insomnia, and a host of other negative mental and behavioral signs.
Stress also weakens the immune system, leading to frequent colds and infections.
These signs may seem natural. However, if these symptoms describe exactly how you feel, admit it to yourself. The first step of stress management is to acknowledge it. The second step is to act.
Effects of stress on the body
As already mentioned, stress is a natural reaction to vivid life circumstances. However, constant or extreme stress can cause serious health problems.
The negative impact of stress affects all aspects of a person’s life: emotions, behavior, thinking ability, and physical health. Because people deal with stress differently, the symptoms and severity of stress may differ. However, the signs of stress have a lot in common, these are:
- vegetative-vascular symptoms – headache, tremors, sweating, cold extremities, fatigue;
- tachycardia and chest pain, other muscle tension, bruxism;
- gastrointestinal disorders – colic, diarrhea, constipation, nausea;
- eating disorders lead to weight gain or loss;
- colds and infectious diseases arising from a decrease in immunity;
- emotional problems – feelings of depression, anxiety, isolation, inability to relax, pessimism, decreased libido;
- cognitive impairment – forgetfulness, low concentration of attention;
- sleep problems.
At first, these symptoms may appear separately. However, prolonged stress can easily exacerbate many health problems or cause new ones, including:
Hypertension, arrhythmia, heart attacks. People with existing diseases of this group are in a special risk group, since stress, as research shows, significantly worsens their course.
Acquired immunodeficiency. Increased activity of stress hormones, which are secreted by the adrenal cortex, inhibits the work of cells of the immune system.
Irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, gastritis.
Psoriasis, acne, alopecia (hair loss).
Metabolic syndrome. Long-term hormonal imbalance can reach such proportions that weight cannot be controlled independently even with the help of diets.
Depression, neurosis, cognitive and behavioral disorders. Activity hormones suppress stem cells in the hippocampus, there is a violation of connections between neurons, as well as the process of formation of new nerve cells and the work of nerve circuits.
Alcohol and drug addiction
Studies have shown that there is a link between the state of constant stress and substance abuse. In this case, nice drug rehab for families can help.
Experiencing severe stress (distress), a person wants to relax and be distracted. Some people cannot find a better solution than drinking alcohol, playing a computer game, or even taking drugs. Under the influence of chemicals, they experience a state of euphoria, feel lightness, elation. When they realize all these sensations are temporary and the consequences are irreversible and tragic, the addiction has already been formed and a person needs help from single or couples rehab.
How to get rid of stress at the workplace
To reduce stress at work, you need to make an unbiased assessment of your job and your workplace. You need to find out:
– which conditions at work create negative emotions,
– which conditions you can change independently,
– which situations cannot be changed and must be accepted as they are.
An elementary work organization can significantly reduce stress:
– Analyze your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. Remember, your job doesn’t have to be a survival game. Try to find a balance between social activities and hobbies, daily responsibilities and leisure.
– Take regular breaks from work. Try to leave your workplace at lunchtime. Taking a short break can help you relax and be productive.
– Break large projects into pieces. If a large project seems impossible, do not be afraid, just break it down into a large number of small step-by-steps and carry them out gradually. Focus on completing each step individually, instead of thinking about everything at once.
– Be friendly with colleagues and subordinates.
– If you notice you started drinking or taking drugs, do not be afraid of asking for help. Rehabilitation centers are not as scary as you can imagine. You can even get treatment in drug rehab for married couples if you do not want to stay alone.
