Stress: Causes, Effects and Coping

Stress has become an extremely common thing these days Stress has become a part of every age group as well for young and the old. Right from children, adolescents and young adults with their education and their career. For the adults with managing family, kids, career simultaneously. We keep hearing people say “god this is so stressful”, so what exactly is stress? I’ll give you a little history.

So, stress as a concept was first studied in 1950s. Studies were conducted by Hans Selye who defined it as the “non-specific response of the body to any demand”. Other definitions that are a little more concrete could help us understand it better. So, here’s one by Brody and Dwyer (2002) who defined it as

“A state of physiological and physical tension produced, according to the transactional model, when there is a mismatch between the perceived demands of a situation (the stressor) and the individual’s perceived ability to cope.”

Stressors

Stressors are the factors that trigger stress in a person. So, when a person thinks that he/she does not have the necessary ways to cope or the capacity to cope with the demands of the stressful situation then the person feels stress. Some of the physical reactions to stress

1. Headaches

2. Cold and sweaty hands

3. Increased heart beat

4. Muscle tension

5. Increased (stress eating) or decreased appetite

6. Dry mouth

7. Difficulty breathing, sighing

8. Irritability, Frustration

9. Feeling overwhelmed

10. Faintness, dizziness, fatigue etc.

Effects of Stress

When the person is stressed the Nervous system especially the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) (part of the autonomic nervous system) goes into a Flight or fight mode which is an evolutionary response. The SNS sends a signal to the pituitary and the adrenal glands through the HPA Axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) to release cortisol. These hormones and autonomic nerves together cause the heart to beat faster, respiration to increase, digestive processes to change, blood vessels to dilate to send more blood to them glucose levels to increase for more energy to deal with the emergency. And when the stress passes, the body returns to the previous state which is facilitated by the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS).

But with prolonged stress with the constant producing of the hormones, the pressure on the blood vessels can have serious effects on the blood vessels, heart, lungs, digestive system, nervous system etc. Chronic stress has been associated with hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and gastrointestinal issues. It interferes with the functioning of the immune system, which might weaken it and cause a range of other problems and diseases like having frequent colds, allergies etc. As blood flows more to the heart, brain It might reduce the digestive activity and can cause diarrhea, constipation, colitis etc. It is also associated with HPA Axis dysregulation which leads to severe hormonal imbalances and is strongly associated with depression and other mood disorders. It is also associated with a range of psychological effects like depression, anxiety, insomnia, worthlessness, forgetfulness, overreactions to little things (sensory overload), difficulty concentrating, reduced productivity, smoking, drinking, drug use etc.

Causes of stress:

1. Exams, competitive exams

2. Work

3. Family or Friend Disputes

4. Divorce

5. Traffic

6. Major life transitions- marriage, birth of a child

7. Loss of a family member etc.

Coping

Stress has become very common and how we deal with it is very important because that decides whether stress becomes something manageable or turn into something worse. People deal with stress in their own different ways. Before we go on to talk about different ways to manage stress; lets first understand coping a little bit more. Coping can be defined as

“the thoughts and behaviors (coping styles) mobilized to manage the internal and external stressful situations."

Coping styles are the different ways people use to cope with a stressor. Four major types are:

1. Problem focused coping style: This involves active coping in trying to solve the problem. It might involve planning a solution, applying it etc. This approach is usually seen as most beneficial. This coping is usually employed when change is possible.

2. Emotion focused coping style: Emotion focused is mostly used when change is not possible. It involves reducing the negative emotions that come as a result of the stressor. So, emotion focused coping may involve building acceptance, positive reframing; that is trying to see the situation in a positive light, relaxation techniques like guided imagery, breathing exercising etc., religion etc.

3. Social focused coping style: This style involves turning towards seeking support from their social support systems.

4. Meaning focused coping style: This coping style involves a person trying to sustain coping and well-being through a stressor by turning to his/her values, beliefs and goals. This may involve benefit finding where a person tries to see the benefits that come out of a stressor which maybe wisdom, lessons learned as a result of the experience, competence, patience etc., benefit reminding where the person reminds himself of the benefits to sustain coping and well-being, setting goals and letting go of goals that no longer work and re-ordering priorities.

Coping with stress- what to do?

Don’t Use maladaptive coping styles:

Coping mechanisms like avoiding the stressor, suppressing emotions that are a result of the stressor are all maladaptive because they have poor mental health outcomes and result in a more severe stress in the long term and its mental and physical health outcomes.

So, why do people use them?

One reason is because they have positive short-term effects. Avoiding studying for an exam or planning for it could relieve the student of the stress and anxiety associated with it; but it won’t work in the long term. It will build up pressure and lead to a last-minute studying and panic and poor performance; which in turn has negative consequences. Suppressing grief after the loss of a loved one because it’s too painful and distressing leads to pent up emotions and a range of mental health problems. Depression, anxiety, somatic symptoms and PTSD are all associated with avoidant coping mechanisms.

So, it becomes extremely important to know how to deal with stressors; what are the adaptive coping mechanisms, maladaptive coping mechanisms and to look at yourself and see what coping mechanisms you are using. And if its maladaptive it is important to change them into more adaptive ones and seek support.

Problem-focused coping:

When you are faced with a stressful situation, try problem solving it. Understand the problem faced, try planning a solution, implement the solution and evaluation the results. If the solution worked continue it, if it didn't go back to re-evaluation of the solution (why it didn’t work), plan a new solution and implement and evaluate. It's a cycle. This is mostly used when the problem can be solved or when change is possible. Such as problems with time management or problems at work, problems with education like low performance etc. Emotion-focused coping:

This is mostly used when change is not possible. When faced with the loss of a family member, or they are faced with terminal chronic illness, irreversible problems. It involves reducing the emotions that come as a result of the stressor through relaxation techniques like guided imagery, breathing exercises, building acceptance, trying to look at the situation positively through another lens or giving a more positive perspective etc.

Learn to differentiate between things you can control and things you cannot and use coping strategies accordingly.

Social focused coping:

This style involves seeking support from their social support systems such as family, friends, colleagues, professors or teachers, doctors, psychologists etc. It can be done when you need to employ emotion focused coping or problem focused coping as well. A combination of emotion focused coping and problem focused coping can be used as well. To reduce the anxiety and stress we can use emotion focused coping like talking about the stress to someone to vent out a little and seek support and advice from them as to how it can be solved (problem focused) Set realistic goals: Set SMART goals.

S- Specific- Make goals as concrete as possible for good planning

M- Measurable- Plan in a way that helps you to have evidence of your progress and re-evaluation

A-Attainable- Break down tasks and set deadlines for them which are realistic.

R- Realistic or Relevant- Goals should be relevant to your long-term plans and objectives

T- Time Bound- Set a realistic final deadline for task.

Be realistic about your capacities, the situation and time considerations. Don't set goals that are impossible to reach. So, think before you implement a plan is it possible, is it realistic etc.

Prioritize your work

Prioritizing work is very important. Doing most important and can’t wait first, then doing what is important and can wait, then doing things that have sometime left etc. is very important. Here planning and time management are very important.

Re-evaluate the situation

Learn to differentiate between normal reactions from reactions based on irrational beliefs. Sometimes people tend to catastrophize situations which is an irrational belief; where things are better off than they are thinking. Try and reduce your worry through emotion focused coping and think about the situation and solve if change is possible. So be aware of your thoughts; stop and think if your thoughts are rational or irrational.

Exercise regularly

Resources for Stress and Coping

For theory on stress, coping strategies and relaxation techniques

SMART goal worksheet