What Causes Stress? What are the symptoms of stress?

Stress is a physiopsychological situation that every person experiences at different times and in different ways. This condition, which can cause many psychological problems such as poor concentration, insomnia, increased anxiety, and anger problems, also puts the person’s physical health at risk in the long term and can cause infection, muscle pain, and stomach and intestinal problems. In case of prolonged stress, the immune system weakens and the person becomes vulnerable to more serious health problems. In order to both protect physical health and improve the quality of life, it is necessary to know the stress mechanism correctly, to have information about ways to cope with stress, and to control stress with methods appropriate to the individual.

What is Stress?

Stress is a physiopsychological reaction that occurs when a person’s physical and mental health is threatened and these limits are pushed. In the face of threats and pressures, the body initiates a chain of reactions to protect itself and the response, also called “fight or flight” in psychology, is revealed. If a person is faced with a danger and thinks he can cope with it, he stays there and fights this danger; In situations of danger that he thinks he cannot cope with, he tends to move away and reacts to escape. In this way, adaptation to new conditions is achieved in both cases.

Stress is an unavoidable phenomenon that every person frequently experiences in daily life. Initially, the person may experience psychological problems such as anxiety, worry, tension and unhappiness, but in case of long-term excessive stress, physical problems may also occur. On the one hand, these make it difficult for the person to adapt to daily living conditions, on the other hand, they weaken the immune system and make the person vulnerable to many diseases.

When a person feels under stress, the factors that cause stress are perceived as a danger by the body and stress hormones are secreted from the brain. As a result, the body initiates a reaction chain consisting of 3 different stages. In the first stage, the body activates the alarm mechanism and develops various physiological reactions such as the secretion of stress hormones, increased blood pressure and sweating. The second stage is the resistance stage. When the problem perceived as a source of stress is effectively resolved, the body eliminates the damage caused during the alarm phase and the level of stress hormones decreases. As a result, physiological responses such as high blood pressure and sweating disappear. In the third stage of the stress reaction, the body may experience a state of exhaustion. When stress sources that cannot be effectively dealt with and overcome increase, the body’s adaptation capacity decreases and the reactions in the alarm phase become permanent, causing chronic stress.

What are the Types of Stress?

Stress types are defined in three different ways: acute stress, episodic acute stress and chronic stress. In case of acute stress, many signs and symptoms of stress are felt intensely, but the body manages to quickly control the stress. Acute stress is the type of stress that almost everyone experiences for short periods of time during the day and does not interrupt the functioning of daily life. In episodic acute stress, an acute stress situation that repeats frequently during the day is observed. This situation may cause the person to have a generally anxious and tense profile and to become angry very quickly. Episodic acute stress that is not controlled with correct coping methods causes chronic stress in the future, and in this case, the effects of stress on the body are felt much more seriously.

While acute stress can be exciting, energizing and stimulating, chronic stress causes the person to lose energy, become physically and spiritually tired and lose functionality. This stress picture usually occurs as a result of underlying traumatic problems rather than the routine concerns of daily life. Unresolved problems such as childhood traumas, problematic family environment and long-term health problems may result in chronic stress in the future.

What are the symptoms of stress?

Stress diseases can occur with different physiological and psychological symptoms in a person. Recognizing these symptoms correctly and noticing them quickly is extremely important to protect against diseases that can be caused by stress.

What are the Symptoms of Physiological Stress?

• In case of stress, first of all, the person’s breathing accelerates, the number of breaths per minute increases,
• Blood pressure increases, heart palpitations occur,
• Dry mouth and difficulty swallowing may occur,
• Body temperature increases, the person experiences what is described as “hot flashes”,
• Sweating occurs in the hands,
• Muscles become tense, after a while pain may occur due to tension in the muscles,
• Digestive system problems such as indigestion, heartburn, nausea, diarrhea or constipation develop,
• Fatigue and weakness in the muscles are among the physical symptoms of stress.
• Teeth grinding may occur, resulting in headache,
• Sleep problems occur, the person may show symptoms such as insomnia or excessive sleeping.

What are the Symptoms of Psychological Stress?

• The first psychological symptom that occurs in case of stress is anxiety and restlessness.
• The person has difficulty focusing during periods of stress, has concentration problems,
• Problems such as forgetfulness and absent-mindedness are frequently encountered,
• An irritable mood appears, a feeling of uncontrollability appears,
• The person feels sad, angry, under pressure.

What Causes Stress?

Many factors can be a source of stress depending on the person’s circumstances. A situation that is not considered a cause of stress for one person may be a cause of serious stress for another. Therefore, when identifying factors that cause stress, it should be known that each factor may vary depending on people and situations. In this regard, factors that cause stress can be listed as follows:

• Major life events and changes in daily life are the most common environmental stressors. For example, starting university, moving to a new city, losing a family member, or experiencing serious health problems are situations that greatly change the course of a person’s daily life and require readjustment. The readjustment process causes stress in the majority of people.
• Ordinary problems of daily life are also important sources of stress. Communication problems with close circle such as resentment and separation, the tiring pace of business life, economic problems and many other problems related to daily life can cause a person to experience extreme stress symptoms and even develop stress-related diseases. The increase in the frequency of these events weakens the person’s immune system and increases susceptibility to diseases.
• Personal sources of stress are as important as environmental sources. A person’s mental activities, perspective on events and way of perceiving events can greatly increase a person’s stress level. The intensity of stress experienced during an event is directly related to the way a person approaches the event and the internal dialogue he has with himself while experiencing this event. Therefore, in some cases, a person may be the source of his own stress. This attitude is an important problem that greatly affects the individual’s self-confidence and makes it extremely difficult to cope with stress. Such stress charts often require expert support.

What Diseases Does Stress Cause?

When the effects of stress on human health are examined, it has been seen that long-term stress causes disruptions in the functioning of many systems of the body and that stress wears out the person physiologically as well as psychologically.

Stomach ulcer is one of the diseases that is directly related to stress and is one of the most common diseases caused by stress. In case of stress, the cortisol hormone, also called the “stress hormone”, is secreted in the body and this hormone rapidly increases stomach acid secretion. At the same time, when the cortisol hormone, which reduces the blood flow to the digestive system organs, is secreted excessively, a common ulcer problem occurs in the stomach. This may cause various health problems such as pain, digestive difficulties, nutritional problems and stomach bleeding in the future. Therefore, in case of common stress, it is necessary to take care to consume healthy foods and avoid acidic drinks in order to control stomach acid.

In case of stress, adrenaline and noradrenaline hormones are secreted along with cortisol. These hormones increase the amount of fatty acids circulating freely in the blood, and this causes the vascular wall to become fatty in the long term. As a result, the risk of vascular occlusion and heart attack increases significantly. Cardiovascular health is directly related to stress. It is especially important for those with any heart disease and those over the age of 65 to control their stress level to protect their cardiovascular health. Hormones such as cortisol, which increase due to stress, also suppress the person’s immune system and make him vulnerable to many infection-related diseases. Stress does not directly affect the development of cancer, but the spread of cancer in the body and its recurrence in the later period are directly related to the stress factor.

How to Relieve Stress?

Controlling stress correctly is extremely important to protect the integrity of a person’s mental and physical health. Especially in today’s world, it is necessary to have a strong immune system to provide full protection against various infectious diseases such as Covid-19. In order to live a calm, peaceful and healthy life, it is important to develop methods to cope with stress and turn them into daily life habits.

In order to properly deal with factors that cause stress, a person must first recognize the problem and develop a solution-oriented approach. For this, it is necessary to be planned and programmed in the area where stress is experienced, to ask for help if necessary to solve the problems, to meet with people who can help, to avoid situations that intensify stress, to create calmer and peaceful environments to encourage coping, and to apply the self-suggestion method to achieve the desired behavior. In the autosuggestion method, a person should always try to organize his thoughts in a positive way. It is important to look at things from the most positive perspective possible and fight unrealistic thought patterns.

In addition, in some cases, even if a person recognizes the problem correctly, it may not be possible to eliminate it with a solution-oriented approach. For example, losing a loved one is one of the situations that puts a person under serious stress and cannot be changed. At such moments, coping methods that focus on emotions are preferred to make it easier for the person to adapt to the new situation and to reduce the level of stress experienced. In this regard, it is recommended that the person avoid situations that remind him of painful events, exercise to reduce muscle tension, practice deep breathing exercises for mental calmness, engage in activities that give him pleasure in his free time, and get social and psychological support if necessary.

Methods of coping with stress are largely beneficial, but in some cases the person may need expert support. If you are experiencing one or more of the physical or psychological symptoms of stress, it may be useful to choose coping methods that are suitable for you. However, in order for stress not to become chronic and serious physical problems to occur, it is important to follow the signs and symptoms closely and seek help from expert psychologists and psychiatrists without wasting time.