Stress, one of the best known problems in psychology, is an adaptive process that generates a rapid and energetic response to the demands of the situation that the person is facing, increasing their ability to cope with them through stress hormones (adrenaline and cortisol) that are released into the blood.
When a person suffers stress, it is activated on several levels:
- At the cognitive level we begin to lose concentration and thoughts such as “What if I’m late?”, worries such as “What do I tell my boss if he gets mad at me?” or even anticipations such as “What if I get fired from my job and can’t find another one? How am I going to pay the mortgage?” can be generated.
- On a physiological level we start to increase our heart rate, muscle tension (which can cause contractions) and breathing. We may also suffer from excessive sweating, digestive problems, dizziness and other problems.
- At the behavioral level we may have faster movements, more fluent speech, smoking and/or drinking in excess or avoid certain situations for fear of not being able to do them well, etc…
Causes of stress
The causes of stress are very varied, but the most frequent are: work problems (66%), followed by family problems (50%), health problems (31%), major life events (29%), financial problems (27%), pressure to perform at school (19%) and traffic (12%).
How many people suffer from stress
84% of Spaniards have felt really stressed at some point in their lives, while 28% of men and 39% of women have felt stressed many times.
Is suffering stress serious for your health?
Stress in itself is not harmful, it is not a disease, as long as we know how to manage it. It is clear that a person is capable of handling stress in the short term if he or she then rests and recovers (by sleeping well, eating correctly, avoiding excesses, playing sports, relaxing with family and friends or with any leisure activity that we like). However, it will have difficulty in resisting prolonged exposure to intense or difficult to control pressure if it is sustained over time and there is a perceived loss of a sense of control.
When we suffer from stress for months or even years, our performance in our studies or at work is reduced, our negative emotions increase (anxiety, sadness, irritability, aggressiveness, frustration, tiredness, etc.) and with them the risk of suffering from diseases. When you have negative emotions, you have less tolerance to stressors and you are more affected by everything in general.