Understanding the relationships between physiological and psychosocial stress, cortisol and cognition

Mental Stress: Symptoms, Prevention, And Physical Body Effects

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Do we know the reality of mental stress ? In our everyday lives, mental stress has become something many of us deal with regularly. Whether it's the pressures from work, family responsibilities, or financial problems, stress can vary and take hold. It's important to understand that this kind of stress doesn't just affect our minds; it can also have significant effects on our bodies. By learning more about mental stress, we can better control it and improve our overall well-being.

At Sunny Days Psychotherapy, they understand well that mental stress can sometimes feel powerful. You might feel like you're carrying a heavy burden filled with worries, But remember, you're not alone .That's where the support of a queer therapist can be invaluable.There are ways to understand, manage, and even reduce your stress, leading to a healthier, happier life.

Understanding Mental Stress

So, what exactly is mental stress? Firstly we should have to know about it . It's that emotional and psychological strain that Rises when we face challenges or pressures in life. It can come from various sources, like a demanding job, tension in relationships, or the constant worry about financial crises. Unlike physical stress, which you might feel during an injury or illness, chronic stress often arises from how we observe and respond to our situations.Understanding what causes our stress is crucial. Many of us may not realize that our triggers can be quite common. For instance, feeling Overloaded by work or dealing with family issues are experiences many people share.

Symptoms of Mental Stress

The signs of mental stress can show up in different ways, and it's important to be aware of them. Here are some common symptoms you might experience:

Anxiety and Irritation: You may find yourself feeling anxious or easily Irritated. Little things that wouldn't normally bother you might suddenly seem Breathtaking. This heightened sense of irritability can Burden your relationships and make you feel isolated.

Fatigue and Sleep Problems: Stress can leave you feeling constantly tired. If you're having trouble sleeping, it may be a sign that your mind is facing worries. Stress can disturb your sleep patterns, making it hard to recharge your energy during the night.

Difficulty Concentrating: When you're stressed, it can be hard to focus on tasks at hand. You might feel Disordered, making it tough to complete your daily responsibilities. This lack of concentration can lead to frustration and decreased Capacity.

Physical Symptoms: Sometimes, stress Signifies physically. You might experience headaches, muscle tension, or an upset stomach. These discomforts are your body's way of Warning that it's under strain.

How Does Stress Affect the Body?

Do you know that mental stress is also harmful for our body ? Physical effects of stress can be serious and sometimes surprising. When we're under stress, our bodies react in ways that can lead to health issues over time. Here are some of the key physical effects to be aware of them:

Weak Immune System

Chronic stress can hurt your immune system, making you more likely to get sick. When you are always stressed, your body has a hard time fighting off common infections.

Digestive Problems

Stress can upset your digestive system, leading to problems like indigestion or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). You might notice changes in your appetite, such as eating too much or not enough.

Increased Blood Pressure

Long-term mental stress can raise your blood pressure. This puts you at a higher risk for heart disease and other cardiovascular issues. It's important to watch your blood pressure, especially if you know you are under stress.

Heart Disease

The link between stress and heart health is strong. Stress can lead to unhealthy habits, like a poor diet and not enough exercise, which can increase your risk of heart problems.

Understanding how stress affects the body shows how important it is to take care of your mental health to improve your lifestyle.

How Does Stress Affect Your Musculoskeletal System?

Stress doesn't just impact your mood and general health; it can also affect your musculoskeletal system. When stressed, your muscles tend to tense up, leading to aches and pains. This tension can cause neck pain, back pain, and even headaches. Over time, chronic stress can lead to more severe issues, making it essential to manage stress effectively.

Ways to Prevent Mental Stress : strategies

Preventing mental stress is possible and important for a healthy life. Here are some easy strategies :

Regular Exercise: Doing physical activity is one of the best ways to manage stress. Exercise releases endorphins, which help improve your mood and reduce anxiety. Whether it's a brisk walk, yoga, or going to the gym, find an activity you enjoy.

Mindfulness and Meditation: Spending a few minutes each day on mindfulness or meditation can calm your mind. These practices help you stay present and can lower anxiety.

Healthy Eating: What you eat can greatly affect how you feel. A balanced diet with fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can help keep your mood and energy stable. Avoid too much caffeine and sugar, which can cause crashes and increase anxiety.

Create a Support Gathering: Being around supportive friends and family can help you feel better. Talking about your stress with someone who understands can lighten your load.

When to Seek Help ?

It's important to know when stress becomes too much. Therapists can provide support to help you deal with stress.

LGBTQ+ Therapists in Chicago, IL, and other qualified mental health professionals can give you personalized help for your unique challenges. They can help you find the causes of your stress, develop coping strategies, and promote healing. Whether through individual therapy, group sessions, or couples therapy, professional help can be very valuable in dealing with stress-related issues.

Sleep Well, Live Well: A Closing Thought

As we go through life, it's important to remember how essential sleep is for our mental health and emotional balance. Good sleep helps us think better, manage our feelings, and handle our emotions. Many people face sleep issues, and reaching out for help from sunny days .They can really make a difference. You deserve to feel good, and taking care of your sleep is a great way to start!

How Tell If It Is Stress Or Anxiety? Understanding The Difference

Have you ever felt your heart race before an important meeting or found yourself lying awake at night, worrying about things beyond your control? While both experiences might feel similar, they stem from different emotional responses: stress and anxiety.

You're racing to meet a deadline, your mind is buzzing with to-do lists, and your shoulders feel tight from the tension. That's stress at play, your body's reaction to external pressure. Now, picture this: the deadline has passed, but the unease lingers. You're restless, constantly second-guessing yourself, and can't shake off a nagging sense of dread. That's anxiety.

Although they often overlap, stress and anxiety differ in their causes, duration, and effects. By understanding these differences, you can take the first step toward managing them effectively and reclaiming your peace of mind.

To understand the major difference between the two, OnlyMyHealth team interacted with Priyanka Kapoor, Psychotherapist, Psychologist, Couple and Family Counsellor, Mumbai. 

What is Stress?

Stress is a natural response to external pressures or challenges, such as work deadlines, relationship conflicts, or significant life changes. Kapoor explains, "Stress frequently results from particular circumstances or occurrences. Usually transient, it is associated with a specific situation or event and often diminishes once the stressor is resolved."

Stress tends to manifest physically and emotionally. Common symptoms include:

Physical symptoms: Headaches, muscle tension, fatigue, digestive problems, and irregular sleep patterns. These symptoms generally subside once the stressful event passes.

Emotional impact: Irritability, frustration, or a sense of urgency to solve problems. Despite feeling overwhelming at times, stress can be motivating and drive action.

For example, meeting a looming deadline might cause stress, but it also pushes you to focus and complete the task. Activities like problem-solving, exercise, or relaxation techniques such as deep breathing often help alleviate stress. Once the external challenge is addressed, stress usually resolves.

Also read: Noida Startup Fires Employees Over 'Stress' Claims: Tips to Recover from Work Stress

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety, on the other hand, is more internal and can occur without a clear external trigger. It is often characterised by feelings of unease, fear, or dread about future events or situations. Priyanka Kapoor points out, "Anxiety is more internal and frequently arises without a clear external cause. It may be associated with dread or unease about the future, often without a clear cause."

Unlike stress, anxiety is often prolonged and can persist even after the initial concern has been resolved. Common symptoms include:

Physical symptoms: Sweating, trembling, nausea, dizziness, shortness of breath, and heart palpitations. These reactions can be severe and occur without an immediate external stressor.

Emotional impact: Persistent worry, fear, or a sense of impending doom. Anxiety can severely disrupt daily activities, leading to avoidance behaviours or excessive worrying about unlikely scenarios.

For instance, someone might feel anxious about an important meeting long after thorough preparation. This lingering feeling of unease can interfere with their ability to concentrate on other tasks.

Also read: Why Does Anxiety Cause Heart Palpitations?

Key Differences Between Stress and Anxiety

Although they share similarities, the differences are notable:

Source: Stress is usually triggered by external events, while anxiety often arises internally, sometimes without a specific cause.

Duration: Stress tends to be short-term and resolves once the issue is addressed, while anxiety can be chronic and ongoing.

Intensity: Anxiety symptoms are often more severe and may include physical reactions like heart palpitations or dizziness.

Impact on life: Anxiety is more likely to disrupt daily activities and may require professional intervention, unlike stress, which is typically managed with coping techniques.

When to Seek Help

If stress becomes overwhelming or anxiety interferes with daily life, it's important to seek support. Priyanka Kapoor advises, "Seeking professional assistance, such as therapy or medical advice, is crucial if anxiety is overpowering, chronic, or interfering with day-to-day functioning." Stress can often be managed through techniques like time management, mindfulness, and exercise. However, persistent anxiety may require long-term treatment, including therapy, medication, or structured self-care routines.

Conclusion

While stress is a temporary reaction to external challenges, anxiety is a more enduring condition often arising without a clear trigger. Understanding the differences between the two can help individuals adopt effective coping strategies and seek professional help when needed. Recognising the signs early ensures better management and improved mental health.

Disclaimer

All possible measures have been taken to ensure accuracy, reliability, timeliness and authenticity of the information; however Onlymyhealth.Com does not take any liability for the same. Using any information provided by the website is solely at the viewers' discretion. In case of any medical exigencies/ persistent health issues, we advise you to seek a qualified medical practitioner before putting to use any advice/tips given by our team or any third party in form of answers/comments on the above mentioned website.

Why Your Body Hurts During Times Of Stress

Source: Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels

Key Points: Health problems including headaches and back pain are on the rise. Negative emotions can exacerbate pain, so it's important to develop effective strategies to cope with stress and anxiety.

As a pain expert, the question I get asked most is, "Do you treat physical pain or emotional pain?" My answer is always, "Yes!"

If you're experiencing pain during this time of stress and sheltering—headaches, migraine, low back pain—you're not alone. Pain is commonly triggered, and amplified, by negative emotions like stress, anxiety, anger, and depression. And that's no coincidence: It's biology.

Contrary to popular belief, emotions don't just live in your head but also in your body. Nervousness before a presentation creates "butterflies" in your stomach. Depression can make your limbs feel heavy, and make you walk and talk slowly. Fear makes your heart race, eyes widen, breath quicken, palms sweat, and your body feel jittery. Anger can make your face hot, your jaw clench, and your muscles tighten.

Anxiety and stress—emotions commonly experienced during life events from pandemics to politics—also manifest physically, and in different ways for different people. While the human stress response evolved to protect you, it can also wreak havoc on your body—particularly when sustained over long periods. Anxiety and stress can trigger headaches, stomachaches, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, muscle tension, back pain, chest pain, trouble breathing, dizziness, breakouts, hair loss, weight gain/loss, and a whole mess of other physical symptoms (Mayo, 2019).

It's easy to attribute these issues to other causes, and we usually do! But there are multiple biological explanations for these physiological responses:

1. Stress hormones

When in a state of distress, the body releases the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol into the bloodstream. These ready your body for an emergency, triggering the fight-or-flight response so that you can either flee the source of danger or fight it off.

This involves multiple involuntary changes: blood pressure goes up (which can trigger headaches and migraines), breathing becomes shallow (often resulting in light-headedness and dizziness), digestion halts and the enteric nervous system is disrupted (triggering stomachaches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or constipation), blood rushes away from your extremities to your core (causing cold hands and feet), heart rate increases and muscles tighten, including those in your back. These physiological changes can result in body pain from head to toe.

2. Brain changes

The neuroscience of pain helps explain why emotions impact the pain we feel, and why times of stress can be particularly painful. There's a mechanism in your central nervous system, comprised of the brain and spinal cord, that acts as a pain dial, operating much like the volume knob on your car stereo (Zoffness, 2020).

Many factors regulate pain volume, including stress, anxiety, and mood. When stress and anxiety are high, brain sites that regulate pain—including your cerebral cortex (the part of your brain responsible for thoughts) and limbic system (your brain's emotion center!)—send messages to your pain dial, turning pain volume up (Martucci & Mackey, 2018). This makes your body feel worse. The opposite is also true: when you're calm and relaxed, experiencing positive emotions like joy and gratitude, the brain sends messages to the pain dial lowering pain volume, making pain feel less bad.

The conclusion: Pain, whether it's in your foot or your jaw, is both physical and emotional, 100 percent of the time.

How to Change Pain

This doesn't mean that pain is "all in your head." But it does mean that to regulate pain, we must find ways to regulate our emotions—particularly our stress, anxiety, and mood. If you're one of the millions of people living with pain, it's critical to connect the brain with the body, emotional with physical.

One way to do this is to identify coping mechanisms that help your body feel better. A list of effective strategies can be found here, which includes going outdoors, exercising, finding ways to safely be with friends, using relaxation and mindfulness techniques, and finding a therapist. Indeed, research shows that cognitive behavioral therapy is a particularly effective treatment for chronic pain, is non-addictive and has zero side effects (Murphy and colleagues 2020; Skelly and colleagues 2018). CBT is even associated with a reduced need for pain medications, including opioids (Garland and colleagues 2019). Pain workbooks like this one, rooted in science and research, also offer effective tools for pain management.

Pain is always influenced by thoughts and emotions, and never solely a physical experience. This is good news for anyone experiencing pain and for anyone treating it: To change pain, we can target the brain in addition to the body.

This article is adapted from The Pain Management Workbook, a workbook for people living with pain and the healthcare providers who treat them.

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