Types of Stress: The Ultimate Guide
Poppy: The California flower
It’s normal for people to feel stressed at specific points in life. Stress is a response mechanism which the body sends out when it’s subjected to tension, threats, pain, or demand. Although the body might view it as a “protective” response, it’s usually harmful.
Not all types of stress are the same, and below is an overview of different kinds of stress.
1. Emotional Stress
It’s the most common type of stress, and it affects a large number of the population. Emotional stress is also more intense, and it tends to hit very hard. It mainly results from relationships, i.e., romantic, professional, family, and social relationships.
Emotional stress causes not only significant mental distress but also a severe physical reaction. However, it can be managed using effective strategies. For instance, when you are faced with emotional turmoil, it's vital to build resilience. Furthermore, the approach you implement should allow you to process your feelings and eventually diffuse them.
Symptoms of Emotional Stress
• Constant irritability
• Anger
• Depression
• Anxiety
Managing Emotional Stress
Different people can implement various approaches which can help them cope. Some of the most effective management techniques include:
• Seeking social support: this involves talking to close friends.
• Writing a journal: it helps to pour down all your feelings without judgment. A journal is essential, especially if you want to let things out but want to maintain privacy.
• Mindfulness: this is important in keeping you rooted and mindful in your present environment.
• Listening to music: Music provides the mind with a soothing effect. It’s a form of therapy that helps to ease emotional distress by calming the nerves.
• Counseling: it’s also essential to speak to a professional who has experience and the necessary skills in handling stress.
2. Acute Stress
This is another common type of stress. In a moment, acute stress will quickly throw you off balance. It should be noted that acute stress usually occurs momentarily. Besides that, it doesn’t last for long. However, you need to find an adequate response mechanism to get out of it.
Even though it occurs for a short period of time, it will shake you up mentally and physically. An example of acute stress is a pending working deadline waiting to be completed, but you are running out of time. Apart from that, it can also affect students, especially if you are going for an exam and only have a few hours to prepare.
Overall, it occurs as a result of intense pressure arising from anticipated future demands or demands from the recent past. It’s generally exhausting. In case you experience acute stress frequently, you might end up with psychological distress. In addition to that, some people end up experiencing digestive disorders, migraines, and headaches.
Common symptoms of Acute Stress
• Muscular tension symptoms related to muscle or joint pain. They include tendon pains, muscle pull, jaw pain, and others.
• Mood changes, including depression, anxiety, anger, and irritability.
• Increase heart palpitations, sweaty palms, and rapid heartbeat.
• Digestive issues such as flatulence, acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, and others.
Managing Acute Stress
Some of the techniques that you can use to relax your mind and manage acute stress include:
• Meditation: practicing mini-meditation, which involves breathing exercises, can calm your mind.
• Cognitive changes: i.e., changing the way you look at or handle stressful situations.
• Progressive muscle relaxation: it provides deep level relaxation by engaging the muscles in the forehead, shoulders, neck, legs, and arms, among other parts.
3. Chronic Stress
This is a regular type of stress that often leaves the affected person feeling fatigued and drained. Chronic stress can even lead to massive burnout if left unmanaged. The constant stressful situation can leave the body in a worse state than ever before. This means that the body may end up staying triggered for an indefinite period of time.
It should be noted that this type of stress destroys not only the mind but also the body and eventually, life. It’s normally caused by constant stressful conditions such as family quarrels, unhealthy working environment, violent relationships, traumatic childhood experiences, and others. It’s normally internalized and tends to remain painful even after years.
Symptoms of Chronic Stress
• Low self-esteem
• Fatigue and tiredness
• Headaches and migraines
• Heart diseases
• Blood vessel problems
• Elevated blood pressure
Managing Chronic Stress
• Engaging in Regular Physical Activities: exercising regularly can help to improve tension and relax the mind.
• Meditation: constant meditation helps reduce stress and build resilience.
• Healthy diet: this is crucial in improving your overall health and reducing the level of stress hormones in the body.
• Professional Counseling: It will help you deal with your mental health and relationships. Besides that, you will get empowered on how to deal with your career, education, and overall health and wellness.
• Supportive Close Relationships: build a close relationship with trusted family members and friends. They play a significant role to help you cope with stressful situations.
4. Episodic Acute Stress
There are those people who regularly experience crises. Their lives are usually in some form of chaos, and they have to live with constant tension. Everything in their lives literally goes wrong. These people usually end up suffering from episodic acute stress.
Symptoms of Episodic Acute Stress
• A constant state of tension
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Getting over-aroused
• Anger outbursts
• Short-tempered
• Hostility
Managing Episodic Acute Stress
• Finding fulfillment in your career, relationships, and general life.
• Making every day count even the bad ones.
• Take time off to relax, re-strategize, and recharge.
Note that it’s possible to still categorize stress as:
1. Emotional: caused by relationships which may involve the loss of a loved one, divorce, and breakups.
2. Physical stress: it’s caused by physical events which may affect the body. They include injuries, lack of adequate sleep, or demanding job schedules.
3. Traumatic stress: it’s caused by traumatic events which may lead to physical or emotional pain and sometimes even death.
