Breathe In...Breathe out...Breathe In....Breathe Out.....They
say higher the position an individual holds at her/his workplace higher is the
stress and whoever has said that is absolutely correct. I am Kavi, working in a
pharmaceutical company for the past 15 years and currently heading the
Marketing Department. From working on improving sales every month to supervising
my subordinates, it’s a very STRESSFUL LIFE actually.
What is Stress and Stress Management???
Stress is a normal physical response to events that make
you feel threatened or upset your balance in some way. Stress is often
described as a feeling of being overloaded, tied up, tense or worried. When you
sense danger whether it’s real or imagined the body's defenses move into high
speed rapidly, automatic process known as the “fight-or-freeze” reaction, or
the stress response. There can be many different stressful situations or
demands in an individual's life, however, the individual's experience of being
'stressed' is related to their perception of having the ability to cope with
the stressful event.
Psychologists categorize stress into three different
types: acute stress, episodic stress, and chronic stress.
Acute Stress
Any new learning activity causes acute stress. Learning
swimming for instance, is a situation that brings about acute stress, yet
brings excitement. Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress
into a positive one. However, if we experience near drowning situation during
the learning process, it can bring so much stress that you wish it would end
sooner, or that you should have not gone for it in the first place.
At the end you might feel the effects of too much acute
stress, such as dizziness, leg cramps, vomiting, tension headaches, and other
psychological and/or physiological symptoms.Because acute stress occurs only at
a very short period of time, these symptoms might only come out when the stress
has already accumulated:
• Emotional distress, such as anger, anxiety,
irritability and acute periods of depression
• Physical problems, such as headache, pain, stomach
upset, dizziness, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, hypertension and
bowel disorders.
Episodic Stress
Acute stress that is suffered too frequently is called
episodic stress. This type of stress is usually seen in people who make
self-inflicted, unrealistic or unreasonable demands which get all clamoured up
and bring too much stress in their attempt to accomplish these goals. Common example
is working with unpleasant working atmosphere in an office, or study/ exam
stress during crucial junctures of educational life.
Chronic Stress
Chronic stress is the total opposite of acute stress;
it’s not exciting and thrilling, but dangerous and unhealthy. Chronic stress
tears the life of a person apart his mind, body or spirit.This type of stress
is brought about by long-term exposure to stressors, such as unhappy marriage,
traumatic experiences, unwanted career or job, stress of poverty, chronic
illnesses, relationship conflicts, political problems, and dysfunctional families.
These stressful situations seem to be unending, and the accumulated stress that
results from exposure to them can be life-threatening, and can even lead a
person to resort to violence, suicide and self-harm. Serious illnesses like
stroke, heart attack, cancer, and psychological problems such as clinical depression
and post-traumatic disorder can originate from chronic stress.
Common physical signs and symptoms of chronic stress are:
• dry mouth
• difficulty in breathing
• pounding heart
• stomach ache
• headache
• diaphoresis
• frequent urination
• tightening of muscles
Mental signs and symptoms include:
• sudden irritability
• tension
• problems with concentration
• difficulty in sleeping
• narrowed perception
• frequent feelings of fatigue.
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