Types of stress and their triggers

What are the different types of stress and how do they affect our mind?

Today, stress is considered to be mental fatigue caused by performance and demands beyond what we can handle..

It usually causes various pathologies, both physical and psychological. From Psychology and Mind we want to address the different types of stress and the causal agents that cause it.

Types of stress, its characteristics and effects

Stress is a reaction that can cause serious health problems.. It has been shown that various chronic conditions, psychosomatic and mental health disorders (heart problems, anxiety, depression, etc.) are closely related to stress. Although the term stress seems very modern, the etymological origin of the word is very old.

History of the concept

In the Middle Ages it was already used to describe an endless number of negative experiences. But it was in the 18th century when the concept spread among engineers and physicists in order to describe certain characteristics of solid bodies. This characteristic refers to the internal force present in a specific area on which an external force acts that can alter that solid state, a definition that a priori has nothing to do with the current concept of stress.

In the 1920s, the renowned Dr. Hans Seyle introduced the term in the health sciences to refer to a global response of our body to a situation that causes us distress.

But stress does not always have to be harmful, as there is positive stress, which is the one that helps us to face a task with all our strength (an adaptive stress, very present in animals, including humans). However, when that emotion exhausts us, apart from having noticeable psychological and physical consequences, it does not help us cope with the stressful task, it does not help us to cope with the stressful task..

The stages of stress

In 1956, Seyle theorized that the stress response consists of three distinct phases:

1. Alarm reactionIt starts right after the threat is detected. In this phase, some symptoms appear such as low body temperature or an increase in heart rate.

2. ResistanceThe organism adapts to the situation but activation continues, although to a lesser extent than in the previous stage. If the stressful situation is maintained over time, the activation eventually succumbs because resources are consumed at a faster rate than they are generated.

3. ExhaustionThe body eventually exhausts resources and gradually loses the adaptive capacity of the previous phase.

Types of stress

Different types of stress are classified on the basis of certain criteria.. We will explain the types of stress based on their usefulness, maintenance and duration.

1. Types of stress based on their sign

1.1. Positive stress

Contrary to what people believe, stress does not always harm the person who suffers from it. This type of stress arises when the person is under pressure, but unconsciously interprets that the effects of the situation can bring some benefit.

This stress makes the affected person to be motivated and with much more energy, a good example would be a sport competition.A good example would be a sporting competition where the participants must have a point of vitality to be able to emerge victorious. This stress is associated with positive emotions, such as happiness.

1.2. Distress or negative stress

When we suffer from distress we anticipate a negative situation believing that something will go wrong.which generates anxiety that paralyzes us completely.

Negative stress unbalances us and neutralizes the resources that in normal situations we would have at our disposal, which ends up generating sadness, anger, etc.

2. Types of stress based on its duration

Acute stress

This is the stress that most people experience and is caused by the demands that we impose on ourselves or on others.. These demands are fed by a recent past, or in anticipation of a near future. In small doses it can be positive but in higher doses it can end up exhausting us, with severe consequences on our mental and physical health.

Fortunately, this type of stress does not last long and leaves no after-effects, apart from being easily cured. The main signs of acute stress are

1. Muscular painsHeadaches, backaches and contractures, among other conditions, usually appear.

2. Negative emotions: Depression, anxiety, fear, frustration, etc.

3. Gastric problemsStress can cause a great oscillation in stomach symptoms; constipation, acidity, diarrhea, abdominal pain, etc.

4. Overexcitation of the nervous systemStress: causes symptoms such as increased Blood pressure, tachycardia, palpitations, nausea, excessive sweating and migraine attacks.

2.2. Episodic acute stress

This is also one of the most common types of stress treated in psychological consultations. It appears in people with unrealistic demands, both their own and those of society..

They are people who are irritated and belligerent, apart from having a permanent anguish because they cannot control all the variables that are demanded of them. Another symptom of people suffering from episodic acute stress is that they are always worried about the future. As they are hostile, they are difficult to treat unless they go to a specialist and receive treatment.

Chronic stress

It is the stress that appears in prisons, wars or in situations of extreme poverty, situations in which one must be continuously on alert. This kind of stress can also come from a trauma experienced in childhood. By causing great hopelessness, it can modify the beliefs and the scale of values of the individual who suffers from it..

It is undoubtedly the most serious type of stress, with severe destructive results for the psychological health of the person who suffers it. People who suffer from it on a daily basis mental and physical wear and tear that can have lifelong consequences.. The person cannot change the stressful situation, but neither can he/she flee, he/she simply cannot do anything.

The person who has this type of stress is often not aware of it, because they have been suffering for so long that they have become accustomed to it. They may even like it because it is the only thing they have known and they do not know or cannot cope with the situation in any other way. Because of this, it is normal that they reject the possibility of treatment because they feel so identified with stress that they believe it is already part of them.

• There are studies that demonstrate the relation between stress with diseases of the digestive of the digestive system, cancer, skin diseases and heart problems.
• With stress often comes insecurity and a feeling of helplessness (helplessness). and the feeling of helplessness (they always throw in the towel because they believe, or really cannot, do anything).
• Stress can lead to anxiety and depression.
• Suffering from anxiety increases the risk of suicide.

Stress risk factors

They are classified into psychological causes or environmental causes.. Although, in reality, stress usually arises from both factors at the same time, combined to a greater or lesser degree.

Psychological or internal agents

• Internal and external locus of control: Locus of control refers to the firm belief that the events that happen to us are controlled by what we do (internal locus of control) or by external causes that the individual cannot modify (external locus of control). If a person suffers from external locus of control, he/she will probably suffer stress because he/she believes that there is absolutely nothing he/she can do about a dangerous situation.
• Shyness: Some studies indicate that introverted people are more sensitive to a stressful situation and suffer more pressure than highly sociable people by withdrawing into themselves and not coping with a given situation.
• Self-influenceWhen we believe that a situation is threatening, we internalize that same pattern in our way of thinking. For this reason, in the same context, one person may react with serenity and another with stress.
• Predisposition to anxietyAnxiety: These are people who are prone to feeling uneasy in the face of uncertainty. As a result, they are inclined to suffer from stress.

Environmental or external agents

• Suspension of habitWhen something suddenly ends, it is difficult to adapt to a new routine (which is what gives us a certain stability in our lives) because the psyche deploys all its resources to adapt to the new context. For example, ending a vacation.
• The eventuality of the unexpectedThe alteration of some aspect of our life always destabilizes us to a greater or lesser extent (even if the change is for the better) and therefore causes us stress. For example, being hired in a new job.
• The contradiction of conflictIt is a mental confusion that causes our internal balance to go to pieces, producing chaos in our mind. Re-establishing the order that existed before the chaos requires the person to use all the tools at his disposal, thus producing a remarkable mental fatigue. For example, suffering a serious illness.
• Helplessness in the face of the immovableIn this context, the person can do nothing because the circumstances exceed the resources available to the person. For example, the death of a family member.

In conclusion...

The occurrence of stress can lead to serious problems in the future if it is not adequately combated, therefore it is necessary to seek treatment and to take care of it.It is therefore necessary to seek treatment and learn practical tools to cope with it. Seeing a clinical psychologist can be the key to learning how to manage the negative emotions and sensations associated with stress.

Bibliographical references:

• Cano, A. (2002). The Nature of Stress. IV international congress of the Spanish Society for the study of Anxiety and Stress. Madrid: SEAS.
• Hüther, Gerald (2012). Biology of fear. Stress and feelings. Barcelona: Plataforma Editorial.
• Wulf SAur. (2012). Job-associated diseases. Biomedical Therapy