People say that all diseases are from nerves. And this statement is partly true. The impact of stress on human health is one of the most serious and pressing issues today. The quick rhythm of life, psychological stress and the desire to be in time make themselves felt. People often get sick, citing overwork or stress. What is it and what are the causes of stress?
What do we know about stress?
Stress has long been an integral part of every person’s life. Psychologists under this word mean a special condition, physical and psychological stress. In modern conditions, it is almost impossible to avoid. Moreover, different people have different reactions to the same loads. For example, one group reacts actively, that is, their working productivity continues to grow to the maximum possible limit (psychologists call this type “lion stress”). Another group of people exhibits a passive reaction, i.e. their working productivity drops immediately (this is “rabbit stress”).
In addition, stress can be acute. That is, it happens once and is characterized by severe physical and mental shock. An example of this form can be accidents. A person once gets into extreme conditions, then comes rehabilitation. However, there is a long form when stress gradually accumulates, suppressing a person. This can be a long conflict in the family or a typical workload.
Stress and health are interconnected components. To find the key to recovering from illnesses, you need to understand the causes that cause stress.
Causes
Causes of stress are external stimuli, or stressors. These are uncomfortable situations in which a person falls at work, at home, at school, etc. They have a different nature, degree of impact, consequences.
The stressors include any changes in human life. But not all situations can be regarded as negative, oppressive, constraining. The severity of stress is deeply individual. And its root lies in the uncertainty and loss of control over the situation. In many respects, the impact of stressors depends on a person’s awareness of personal responsibility and the statement of personal participation in the established business case.
Classification
Experts divide the factors causing stress into two main groups: physiological and psychological. This classification is based on the nature of stressors. According to the degree of manifestation, stressors are a kind of limitation. They can be real acting and possible (or potential).
Types of stressors of the second category depend on the psychological attitudes and individual abilities of a person. Simply put, does he know how to adequately assess the degree of load and correctly distribute it without harming his health.
However, not always stressors are external stimuli. Sometimes stress arises from the mismatch between the desired and the actual. That is, the stress factor focuses on the very collision of the inner and outer world of a person. From this position, stressors are divided into subjective and objective. The first ones correspond to the incompatibility of genetic programs with modern conditions, incorrect implementation of conditioned reflexes, incorrect communication and personality settings, etc. Housing and working conditions, emergency situations, and interaction with people can be attributed to objective stressors.
As you can see, the boundaries between all categories can be called conditional. The greatest interest in the consideration are the stressors of the first category.
Physiological
Physiological factors causing stress include:
- Inappropriate exercise
- Pain
- Extreme temperatures, noise and light exposure
- Taking excessive amounts of certain medications (such as caffeine or amphetamines), etc.
The group of physiological stressors can include hunger, thirst, isolation. Depending on the degree and duration of exposure, these stressors can cause significant or minor damage to health.
A typical reaction to physiological stress can be a rapid heartbeat, muscle tension, tremors (tremors) in the limbs, and an increase in blood pressure.
Psychological
According to experts, the most destructive to the human body are psychological stressors. They are conditionally divided into informational and emotional:
- Information load (competition).
- Threat to self-esteem or immediate surroundings.
- The need for an urgent decision.
- Excessive responsibility for someone or for something.
- Conflict situations (various motives).
- Danger signal, etc.
It is known that emotional stressors are the most profound in their effects. They form resentments and fears in a person, which over time without an adequate assessment of the situation, like a weed, will only grow. Thus, stress and health will become a single, destructive mechanism.
Professional
Occupational stressors are a mixed group. They combine psychological and physiological stressors. These are external irritants and stresses that every person experiences at work. Consider the example of a rescue officer. He most clearly accumulates the maximum level of stressors. Namely, extreme situations with high responsibility, mental stress of readiness, negative environmental factors, information uncertainty, lack of time for decision-making and danger to life.
It is noteworthy that stressors tend to “infect” the masses. Using the same example of a rescue service employee, one can see that not only the task performer, but also the team and the employee’s family are exposed to stress. This is due to the psychological factors of interaction, trust, solidarity in society. Thus, a person in the distribution of internal load and reserves gets rid of the accumulated voltage.
Effects of stress
The effect of stress on human health, regardless of its degree of impact, is a negative phenomenon and has a fairly wide range of psychological, physical and social consequences. All of them can be divided into:
- Primary - appear on a psychological and intellectual level in connection with the occurrence of extreme situations (loss of attention, fatigue, psychoneurotic conditions).
- Secondary - arise as a result of unsuccessful attempts to overcome a maladaptive state. Among these consequences, there is an emotional "burnout", abuse of nicotine, alcohol or sedatives, decreased performance, aggressive or depressive conditions.
- Tertiary - combine the psychological, social, intellectual and physical aspects. They can be expressed in deformation of the person, increased conflicts with people around them due to internal disorder, in the breakdown of family and work ties, loss of work, study, pessimism and social apathy. Extreme tertiary consequences are suicides.