Category: Anxiety

In the financial crisis in 2009 many companies had to downsize, meaning the employees who were left were expected to take on an increased workload, often without an increase in pay. Many companies have chosen not increased their staff levels, safe in the knowledge work is being handled by fewer employees.

In 2014/2015 the number of work related stress, depression and anxiety illnesses hit 440,000 cases, which equates to 1380 workers out of 100,000 suffering with an illness related to their career and their increased responsibilities.

The total number of days lost due to work related stress and illness hit 9.9 million, that equates to 23 days lost per person. This figure has a huge impact on industry as companies ultimately have to pay the price for a reduced staff rate. It also adds even more pressure for the staff that are left to pick up the additional load.

The types of careers most effected by stress related illnesses are; education, health and social care, public administration and defence, with media and public service professionals being high on the list too.

Interestingly an area situated on the outskirts have found a lot of employees are suffering from the strain of their career. Its is believed has a higher number of issues due to its close proximity to the city and the types of careers people are choosing within the area. The increase in counsellors in an area has also increased to keep up with demand.

If you are and suffering from the strains of your career, where can you turn to for help? Most people will initially seek help and guidance from their local doctors, they will typically be assessed in a short appointment. The doctor will either give medication to help with sleeping or to calm their nerves or they will be recommended to see a counsellor who specialises in work related stress.

Counsellors typically have years of experience and a number of qualifications to ensure they are able to handle your unique and individual situation. Counsellors will offer a confidential service and safe space so you can explore and talk about the difficulties you are going through in your life and career.

Looking for someone you can talk to is a huge step to ensure you can start to feel better, stress can have a huge impact on all aspects of your life. You may find your family relationships have suffered and you find it hard to talk to anyone about your condition.

It is believed men are less likely to share their problems, as they feel they have let themselves and their families down and feel embarrassed in admitting they have an issue.

Looking for a counsellor who specialises in work related stress and who is fully qualified will ensure you receive the right advice. Many will be members of the BACP, which ensures they follow and are governed by rules of ‘best practice’ for all of their patients.

There are a number of practices you will be able to approach to find the help you need. There are also practices you can contact online, simply search within or your local area and a list of practices you can choose from will be given.

Ensuring the counsellor you choose to speak with is fully qualified and has experience will make your journey to recovery even easier.

In the financial crisis in 2009 many companies had to downsize, meaning the employees who were left were expected to take on an increased workload, often without an increase in pay. Many companies have chosen not increased their staff levels, safe in the knowledge work is being handled by fewer employees.

In 2014/2015 the number of work related stress, depression and anxiety illnesses hit 440,000 cases, which equates to 1380 workers out of 100,000 suffering with an illness related to their career and their increased responsibilities.

The total number of days lost due to work related stress and illness hit 9.9 million, that equates to 23 days lost per person. This figure has a huge impact on industry as companies ultimately have to pay the price for a reduced staff rate. It also adds even more pressure for the staff that are left to pick up the additional load.

The types of careers most effected by stress related illnesses are; education, health and social care, public administration and defence, with media and public service professionals being high on the list too.

Interestingly an area situated on the outskirts have found a lot of employees are suffering from the strain of their career. Its is believed has a higher number of issues due to its close proximity to the city and the types of careers people are choosing within the area. The increase in counsellors in an area has also increased to keep up with demand.

If you are and suffering from the strains of your career, where can you turn to for help? Most people will initially seek help and guidance from their local doctors, they will typically be assessed in a short appointment. The doctor will either give medication to help with sleeping or to calm their nerves or they will be recommended to see a counsellor who specialises in work related stress.

Counsellors typically have years of experience and a number of qualifications to ensure they are able to handle your unique and individual situation. Counsellors will offer a confidential service and safe space so you can explore and talk about the difficulties you are going through in your life and career.

Looking for someone you can talk to is a huge step to ensure you can start to feel better, stress can have a huge impact on all aspects of your life. You may find your family relationships have suffered and you find it hard to talk to anyone about your condition.

It is believed men are less likely to share their problems, as they feel they have let themselves and their families down and feel embarrassed in admitting they have an issue.

Looking for a counsellor who specialises in work related stress and who is fully qualified will ensure you receive the right advice. Many will be members of the BACP, which ensures they follow and are governed by rules of ‘best practice’ for all of their patients.

There are a number of practices you will be able to approach to find the help you need. There are also practices you can contact online, simply search within or your local area and a list of practices you can choose from will be given.

Ensuring the counsellor you choose to speak with is fully qualified and has experience will make your journey to recovery even easier.

We are entering a time where many people feel more stress and experience that their memory is becoming impaired. Our memory can get worse if we have high stress levels, cannot sleep well and feel overwhelmed all the time. Traumatic events can also cause memory loss. When we have high levels of stress or trauma, our cortisol (our stress hormone) levels change and adrenalin levels rise to give us more energy. This can cause fogginess in the brain and we can react irrationally. After a period of prolonged stress our adrenalin levels can drop down and we feel burned out on a physical and mental level, hence feeling mentally tired and not being able to think as fast as before.

When the brain has de-stressed and we feel more in control, our memory is often rejuvenated and we experience normal recall.

However, we have more and more clients in our office who feel that their memory levels have dropped significantly, their stress levels are not decreasing and would like to train their brain up to function optimally again.

One has to differentiate between stress-related memory loss and a more serious reason why memory is declining.

Here is a summary of some well-known illnesses that cause memory problems:

Alzheimer’s: There are a number of symptoms related to Alzheimer’s. The most common ones are that the person can:

• Be confused about time and space
• Have problems speaking or writing
• Lose things and forgetting what they have done with the items
• Have difficulty judging things accurately any more
• Show mood and personality changes, such as feeling depressed, angry, irritated and anxious.

Those symptoms start in a mild form initially and get more severe with time. Unlike several other chronic illnesses, the incidence of Alzheimer’s is on the rise; recent research suggest that it has become the third leading cause of death, after cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Vascular Dementia: People show signs of memory loss after having had a major stroke, or one or more “silent” strokes, which can happen without them realizing it.

The symptoms depend on the part of the brain that’s affected by the stroke.

In comparison to Alzheimer’s, which starts with memory problems, vascular dementia often starts with poor judgment, not being able to plan or organize things well any more, and making poor decisions.

The symptoms of Vascular Dementia can include:

• Memory problems
• Trouble speaking and/or understanding speech
• Problems recognizing sights and sounds that used to be familiar
• Feeling confused, restless or agitated
• Changes in behavior and mood
• Problems walking and having frequent falls

It is important to understand why our memory declines and why it is necessary for your doctor to make a proper diagnosis. The good news is that science has advanced quite a lot and there are many different treatment and training options that can be used to improve your brain functioning and memory again.

A study conducted by Dr. Dale Bredesen of the UCLA Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer’s disease Research and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging shows that: “A broader-based therapeutic approach, rather than a single drug that aims at a single target, may be feasible and potentially more effective for the treatment of cognitive decline due to Alzheimer’s.

Cognitive decline is a major concern of the aging population and people who have high levels of stress in their lives. Alzheimer’s affects approximately 30 million people globally. It is estimated that by 2050, without effective prevention and treatment, 160 million people globally would have the disease.”

There are a number of different treatment options in helping you increase your memory. Your doctor will recommend medication that can help the brain to stabilize and prevent a decline in functioning if you suffer from a specific memory related illness. In addition, it is important to learn skills to increase your brain’s functioning, such as memory techniques and emotional intelligence skills that change negative behaviors and thought patterns.

Counseling is necessary for people who have slipped into depression or anxiety due to their decline in functioning and negative changes in their lives. Your brain can be helped by taking supplements such as Omega 3, Gingko Bilbao, Vitamin C and Zink to increase your brain functioning. Make sure that you sleep enough as this can improve your memory greatly. In addition, guided meditation is another way to distress your brain and gain back your memory.

Finally, it is important to train your brain to function optimally again which can be achieved with neurofeedback/brain training where the areas in the brain that are not functioning optimally, are trained up again. Just like training your body at gym, you can train your brain – improving areas in the brain that are not working optimally. Luckily our brain has plasticity, which means it acts like a muscle that can be trained and changed to overcome negative functioning patterns.

So don’t just think that your memory is bad due to age. We can train our brains and increase our memory, feel better and gain our confidence back when needing to recall facts, names, numbers or events. You are never too old to train your brain!

We are entering a time where many people feel more stress and experience that their memory is becoming impaired. Our memory can get worse if we have high stress levels, cannot sleep well and feel overwhelmed all the time. Traumatic events can also cause memory loss. When we have high levels of stress or trauma, our cortisol (our stress hormone) levels change and adrenalin levels rise to give us more energy. This can cause fogginess in the brain and we can react irrationally. After a period of prolonged stress our adrenalin levels can drop down and we feel burned out on a physical and mental level, hence feeling mentally tired and not being able to think as fast as before.

When the brain has de-stressed and we feel more in control, our memory is often rejuvenated and we experience normal recall.

However, we have more and more clients in our office who feel that their memory levels have dropped significantly, their stress levels are not decreasing and would like to train their brain up to function optimally again.

One has to differentiate between stress-related memory loss and a more serious reason why memory is declining.

Here is a summary of some well-known illnesses that cause memory problems:

Alzheimer’s: There are a number of symptoms related to Alzheimer’s. The most common ones are that the person can:

• Be confused about time and space
• Have problems speaking or writing
• Lose things and forgetting what they have done with the items
• Have difficulty judging things accurately any more
• Show mood and personality changes, such as feeling depressed, angry, irritated and anxious.

Those symptoms start in a mild form initially and get more severe with time. Unlike several other chronic illnesses, the incidence of Alzheimer’s is on the rise; recent research suggest that it has become the third leading cause of death, after cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Vascular Dementia: People show signs of memory loss after having had a major stroke, or one or more “silent” strokes, which can happen without them realizing it.

The symptoms depend on the part of the brain that’s affected by the stroke.

In comparison to Alzheimer’s, which starts with memory problems, vascular dementia often starts with poor judgment, not being able to plan or organize things well any more, and making poor decisions.

The symptoms of Vascular Dementia can include:

• Memory problems
• Trouble speaking and/or understanding speech
• Problems recognizing sights and sounds that used to be familiar
• Feeling confused, restless or agitated
• Changes in behavior and mood
• Problems walking and having frequent falls

It is important to understand why our memory declines and why it is necessary for your doctor to make a proper diagnosis. The good news is that science has advanced quite a lot and there are many different treatment and training options that can be used to improve your brain functioning and memory again.

A study conducted by Dr. Dale Bredesen of the UCLA Mary S. Easton Center for Alzheimer’s disease Research and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging shows that: “A broader-based therapeutic approach, rather than a single drug that aims at a single target, may be feasible and potentially more effective for the treatment of cognitive decline due to Alzheimer’s.

Cognitive decline is a major concern of the aging population and people who have high levels of stress in their lives. Alzheimer’s affects approximately 30 million people globally. It is estimated that by 2050, without effective prevention and treatment, 160 million people globally would have the disease.”

There are a number of different treatment options in helping you increase your memory. Your doctor will recommend medication that can help the brain to stabilize and prevent a decline in functioning if you suffer from a specific memory related illness. In addition, it is important to learn skills to increase your brain’s functioning, such as memory techniques and emotional intelligence skills that change negative behaviors and thought patterns.

Counseling is necessary for people who have slipped into depression or anxiety due to their decline in functioning and negative changes in their lives. Your brain can be helped by taking supplements such as Omega 3, Gingko Bilbao, Vitamin C and Zink to increase your brain functioning. Make sure that you sleep enough as this can improve your memory greatly. In addition, guided meditation is another way to distress your brain and gain back your memory.

Finally, it is important to train your brain to function optimally again which can be achieved with neurofeedback/brain training where the areas in the brain that are not functioning optimally, are trained up again. Just like training your body at gym, you can train your brain – improving areas in the brain that are not working optimally. Luckily our brain has plasticity, which means it acts like a muscle that can be trained and changed to overcome negative functioning patterns.

So don’t just think that your memory is bad due to age. We can train our brains and increase our memory, feel better and gain our confidence back when needing to recall facts, names, numbers or events. You are never too old to train your brain!

Mental Health can be overlooked in our everyday lives but it plays a huge role in our health. Our mental state can affect us in many ways both positively and negatively. This article will be discuss the importance of Mental Health with a concentration on stress management. Stress is a significant cause of mental illness today and although we can’t eradicate it, we can manage it. It is important to understand that not all stress is negative. Stress may occur prior to weddings, graduations, or even social gatherings, but no matter the source of stress, your bodies respond the same. Also, some stress is good for you in order to manage skills needed for survival such as fight or flight. Experts suggest a combination of physical, social, environmental, and psychological approaches to managing stress. When we are stressed, we encounter General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). GAS is your complex physiological responses that happen as a result of the stress and has three phases. The first phase of GAS is the alarm phase. The alarm phase occurs when we sense there is a stressor present (Body doesn’t sense whether it is a good or bad stressor), everything becomes heightened and hormones respond. The seconds phase of GAS is called the resistance phase. During the resistance phase your body resists stress to get your it back to homeostasis. If you can’t rid the stress you move into exhaustion The last phase, exhaustion, occurs when your body is tired and can’t fight anymore to get it back to homeostasis. Physical or emotional tension is often a good indicator of stress. Below is a short list of symptoms from stress.

• Tension and irritability
• Fear and anxiety about the future
• Difficulty making decisions
• Being numb to one’s feelings
• Loss of interest in normal activities
• Loss of appetite
• And many more.

We all experience some level of stress on a regular basis but as I mentioned before, too much can be harmful to your body. Below I have listed ways in which you can deal with and reduce stress levels.

• Take Care of Yourself

Taking care of yourself seems self-explanatory for many but as we enter the exhaustion phase our attention to self-care begins to decline. Eat a healthy diet, get plenty of sleep, treat yourself, and maintain your normal routine.

• Stay Active

It is often said that exercise is the most underused stress reliever and this is 100% true. Working out forces you to take your mind off of the stressors and focus on what you are doing and nothing else. Get in a gym or go for a run to lower your stress levels.

• Social Support

Being able to talk to someone during stressful times is very important. Connect with a friend or family member that you will listen to what you want to get off your mind. This can be very helpful for stress reduction.

• Avoid Alcohol or Drugs

People often turn to drugs and alcohol in times of stress but fail to realize they only provide temporary relief. Once your “high” or “buzz” wears off, you will more than likely feel worse than before. Alcohol and drugs add to stress and do not help to reduce its impact.

I hope this information helps you to recognize when you are stressed and how to handle it. Stress is a serious issue that we tend to overlook. Stress is usually a catalyst for other illnesses such as anxiety to occur. For this reason, be mindful of your stressors and take relieve yourself from your daily burdens.

Mental Health can be overlooked in our everyday lives but it plays a huge role in our health. Our mental state can affect us in many ways both positively and negatively. This article will be discuss the importance of Mental Health with a concentration on stress management. Stress is a significant cause of mental illness today and although we can’t eradicate it, we can manage it. It is important to understand that not all stress is negative. Stress may occur prior to weddings, graduations, or even social gatherings, but no matter the source of stress, your bodies respond the same. Also, some stress is good for you in order to manage skills needed for survival such as fight or flight. Experts suggest a combination of physical, social, environmental, and psychological approaches to managing stress. When we are stressed, we encounter General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). GAS is your complex physiological responses that happen as a result of the stress and has three phases. The first phase of GAS is the alarm phase. The alarm phase occurs when we sense there is a stressor present (Body doesn’t sense whether it is a good or bad stressor), everything becomes heightened and hormones respond. The seconds phase of GAS is called the resistance phase. During the resistance phase your body resists stress to get your it back to homeostasis. If you can’t rid the stress you move into exhaustion The last phase, exhaustion, occurs when your body is tired and can’t fight anymore to get it back to homeostasis. Physical or emotional tension is often a good indicator of stress. Below is a short list of symptoms from stress.

• Tension and irritability
• Fear and anxiety about the future
• Difficulty making decisions
• Being numb to one’s feelings
• Loss of interest in normal activities
• Loss of appetite
• And many more.

We all experience some level of stress on a regular basis but as I mentioned before, too much can be harmful to your body. Below I have listed ways in which you can deal with and reduce stress levels.

• Take Care of Yourself

Taking care of yourself seems self-explanatory for many but as we enter the exhaustion phase our attention to self-care begins to decline. Eat a healthy diet, get plenty of sleep, treat yourself, and maintain your normal routine.

• Stay Active

It is often said that exercise is the most underused stress reliever and this is 100% true. Working out forces you to take your mind off of the stressors and focus on what you are doing and nothing else. Get in a gym or go for a run to lower your stress levels.

• Social Support

Being able to talk to someone during stressful times is very important. Connect with a friend or family member that you will listen to what you want to get off your mind. This can be very helpful for stress reduction.

• Avoid Alcohol or Drugs

People often turn to drugs and alcohol in times of stress but fail to realize they only provide temporary relief. Once your “high” or “buzz” wears off, you will more than likely feel worse than before. Alcohol and drugs add to stress and do not help to reduce its impact.

I hope this information helps you to recognize when you are stressed and how to handle it. Stress is a serious issue that we tend to overlook. Stress is usually a catalyst for other illnesses such as anxiety to occur. For this reason, be mindful of your stressors and take relieve yourself from your daily burdens.

Many of us experience a certain degree of stress in our day-to-day lives and it can help to use one of the stress-relieving gadgets to reduce it. Stress can have a long-term impact on the health and lead to degenerative diseases, so it makes sense to take the necessary action to control it. Here are four of the most effective tools and gadgets to relieve stress:

Stress ball

The stress ball is usually sized about 6-8 cm in diameter, which is small enough to easily fit in the hand. The stress ball is designed to be squeezed and manipulated by the hands to help with relieving stress. By focusing on the ball it is possible to forget about issues that are causing the stress, which means the body has time to relax in a similar way to mediation. Other benefits of squeezing this light, pliable ball are the ability to exercise the hands and ease muscle tension. Many of these balls are made to be hard-wearing and include a soft foam putty type material in the center and a resilient rubbery membrane on the outside. Plus, the compact size means it is easy to fit in the pocket and take with you when on the go.

Sound machine

For all stressed people, the sound machine is a simple, yet effective solution to shut out all types of unwanted noise in the home or office. These machines are practical relaxation tools and sleep-aids, and play plenty of calming and soothing sounds such as white noise, rainfall, waterfall, ocean or fireplace. By creating the more relaxing environment it is possible to enjoy better sleep, decrease anxiety, calm the mind and ease depression.

Magnetic balls

A great tool to relieve office stress is the magnetic balls. The magnets are really powerful and easily stick together. They are intended to be used to create awesome shapes and can provide hours of entertainments. By focusing on building the simple to complex shapes it is possible to cure boredom, develop the brain and think about something unrelated to what is causing the stress.

Massage mat

Massage mats are simple to use and can be placed on a couch, bed, floor, or other surface to provide a completely natural way to relax the entire body. Most of these mats have plastic discs or spikes that are designed to put pressure on the meridian points. A 20-30 minute session on the mat each morning has the potential to provide plenty of benefits, such as increasing blood circulation, relaxing stressed muscles and producing endorphins.

Many of us experience a certain degree of stress in our day-to-day lives and it can help to use one of the stress-relieving gadgets to reduce it. Stress can have a long-term impact on the health and lead to degenerative diseases, so it makes sense to take the necessary action to control it. Here are four of the most effective tools and gadgets to relieve stress:

Stress ball

The stress ball is usually sized about 6-8 cm in diameter, which is small enough to easily fit in the hand. The stress ball is designed to be squeezed and manipulated by the hands to help with relieving stress. By focusing on the ball it is possible to forget about issues that are causing the stress, which means the body has time to relax in a similar way to mediation. Other benefits of squeezing this light, pliable ball are the ability to exercise the hands and ease muscle tension. Many of these balls are made to be hard-wearing and include a soft foam putty type material in the center and a resilient rubbery membrane on the outside. Plus, the compact size means it is easy to fit in the pocket and take with you when on the go.

Sound machine

For all stressed people, the sound machine is a simple, yet effective solution to shut out all types of unwanted noise in the home or office. These machines are practical relaxation tools and sleep-aids, and play plenty of calming and soothing sounds such as white noise, rainfall, waterfall, ocean or fireplace. By creating the more relaxing environment it is possible to enjoy better sleep, decrease anxiety, calm the mind and ease depression.

Magnetic balls

A great tool to relieve office stress is the magnetic balls. The magnets are really powerful and easily stick together. They are intended to be used to create awesome shapes and can provide hours of entertainments. By focusing on building the simple to complex shapes it is possible to cure boredom, develop the brain and think about something unrelated to what is causing the stress.

Massage mat

Massage mats are simple to use and can be placed on a couch, bed, floor, or other surface to provide a completely natural way to relax the entire body. Most of these mats have plastic discs or spikes that are designed to put pressure on the meridian points. A 20-30 minute session on the mat each morning has the potential to provide plenty of benefits, such as increasing blood circulation, relaxing stressed muscles and producing endorphins.

How does stress harm both the body and the mind?

For many years now, medical doctors have been warning people of the dangers of poor stress management.

Many people still believe that stress doesn’t affect the body and it’s “just a state of mind.” What the majority of stressed individuals do not know is that the body’s natural stress response is mainly a physiological event.

This means that the effects of stress have never been limited to our minds. When a person is stressed, the whole body experiences it, too. So the idea that stress is essentially harmless because it’s somehow limited to our imagination is actually a dangerous belief.

Why? Because a person who experiences chronic stress for many, many years has a much higher risk of making health conditions such as high blood pressure worse. So if you want to be physically healthier, you have to understand how stress actually affects the body.

How does stress come about?

The modern stress model gives us a simple and clear explanation of how physiological stress is roused:

1st Phase: Mental and Emotional Triggers are Engaged. A person perceives an event, situation, action or idea as negative and stressful.

2nd Phase: Psychological Stress Engaged. If a person does not release their emotions and negative thinking, the present situation causes psychological stress.

3rd Phase: Physiological Stress or “Fight or Flight” Response. Unmitigated psychological stress often leads to actual, physiological stress.

When the instinctual “fight or flight” response comes into play, a person feels an immediate surge of adrenaline, which temporarily increases a person’s speed, strength and stamina.

A person’s breathing rate and pulse rate also increase in preparation for sudden, intense physical activity (e.g. running away from a real, physical danger).

Stress normally abates when the perceived threat or danger finally passes. Thousands of years ago, the instinctual “fight or flight” response was extremely useful for our hunter-gatherer ancestors as they had to battle wild animals, and each other, in pre-modern society.

Scientists believe that the stress adaptation came about because our ancestors were almost always exposed to threatening or dangerous situations.

What are the signs that a person is experiencing stress?

Below are some common physical symptoms that a person is experiencing stress:

1. Inexplicable exhaustion or fatigue
2. Acute headaches that have a tendency to disrupt work or chores at home
3. Shallow chest breathing
4. Increased heart rate even when the person is not performing strenuous or challenging physical activities
5. Minor muscular pain
6. Twitches
7. Facial tics
8. Hand and arm tremors
9. A general feeling of nervousness and anxiety
10. Insomnia
11. Oversleeping
12. Inexplicable perspiring of the hands and feet
13. Turning to different substances such as caffeine, alcohol, nicotine and even recreational drugs

The list of symptoms doesn’t stop there. Here is a breakdown of the mental symptoms associated with moderate to extreme stress:

1. Short temper
2. Feeling angry all the time
3. Inexplicable mood swings
4. Feeling of isolation and helplessness
5. Short term memory problems
6. General decrease in work productivity
7. Lowered sexual desire
8. Distracted thinking

The psychological signs of stress often manifest when a person has been under stress for a long period of time. These signs come about because the mind is trying to escape the stressful situation however it can.

This is one of the main reasons why stressed individuals are often less productive in the office.

Their minds are so sick of the prolonged stress response that their own thought patterns are preventing them from focusing on the things they have to do.

The same thing happens to university students who are overwhelmed with the nature and volume of work they have to complete to pass different course subjects.

How severe are stress-related symptoms in the general population?

In the United States alone, it is estimated that 90% of all physician visits are associated with symptoms related to chronic stress. It has also been estimated that on a monthly basis, 400 million people take medication to ease these symptoms.

Of course, we know now that medicating a stress-related symptom is a futile effort because you’re not addressing the main cause of the symptom – you’re just padding the symptom itself.

Now, it should be noted that the symptoms we discussed earlier may also be genuine signs of other health conditions (and not just stress). Consulting with your physician is still your best option if you experience symptoms such as racing heart rate or persistent headaches.

How does stress harm both the body and the mind?

For many years now, medical doctors have been warning people of the dangers of poor stress management.

Many people still believe that stress doesn’t affect the body and it’s “just a state of mind.” What the majority of stressed individuals do not know is that the body’s natural stress response is mainly a physiological event.

This means that the effects of stress have never been limited to our minds. When a person is stressed, the whole body experiences it, too. So the idea that stress is essentially harmless because it’s somehow limited to our imagination is actually a dangerous belief.

Why? Because a person who experiences chronic stress for many, many years has a much higher risk of making health conditions such as high blood pressure worse. So if you want to be physically healthier, you have to understand how stress actually affects the body.

How does stress come about?

The modern stress model gives us a simple and clear explanation of how physiological stress is roused:

1st Phase: Mental and Emotional Triggers are Engaged. A person perceives an event, situation, action or idea as negative and stressful.

2nd Phase: Psychological Stress Engaged. If a person does not release their emotions and negative thinking, the present situation causes psychological stress.

3rd Phase: Physiological Stress or “Fight or Flight” Response. Unmitigated psychological stress often leads to actual, physiological stress.

When the instinctual “fight or flight” response comes into play, a person feels an immediate surge of adrenaline, which temporarily increases a person’s speed, strength and stamina.

A person’s breathing rate and pulse rate also increase in preparation for sudden, intense physical activity (e.g. running away from a real, physical danger).

Stress normally abates when the perceived threat or danger finally passes. Thousands of years ago, the instinctual “fight or flight” response was extremely useful for our hunter-gatherer ancestors as they had to battle wild animals, and each other, in pre-modern society.

Scientists believe that the stress adaptation came about because our ancestors were almost always exposed to threatening or dangerous situations.

What are the signs that a person is experiencing stress?

Below are some common physical symptoms that a person is experiencing stress:

1. Inexplicable exhaustion or fatigue
2. Acute headaches that have a tendency to disrupt work or chores at home
3. Shallow chest breathing
4. Increased heart rate even when the person is not performing strenuous or challenging physical activities
5. Minor muscular pain
6. Twitches
7. Facial tics
8. Hand and arm tremors
9. A general feeling of nervousness and anxiety
10. Insomnia
11. Oversleeping
12. Inexplicable perspiring of the hands and feet
13. Turning to different substances such as caffeine, alcohol, nicotine and even recreational drugs

The list of symptoms doesn’t stop there. Here is a breakdown of the mental symptoms associated with moderate to extreme stress:

1. Short temper
2. Feeling angry all the time
3. Inexplicable mood swings
4. Feeling of isolation and helplessness
5. Short term memory problems
6. General decrease in work productivity
7. Lowered sexual desire
8. Distracted thinking

The psychological signs of stress often manifest when a person has been under stress for a long period of time. These signs come about because the mind is trying to escape the stressful situation however it can.

This is one of the main reasons why stressed individuals are often less productive in the office.

Their minds are so sick of the prolonged stress response that their own thought patterns are preventing them from focusing on the things they have to do.

The same thing happens to university students who are overwhelmed with the nature and volume of work they have to complete to pass different course subjects.

How severe are stress-related symptoms in the general population?

In the United States alone, it is estimated that 90% of all physician visits are associated with symptoms related to chronic stress. It has also been estimated that on a monthly basis, 400 million people take medication to ease these symptoms.

Of course, we know now that medicating a stress-related symptom is a futile effort because you’re not addressing the main cause of the symptom – you’re just padding the symptom itself.

Now, it should be noted that the symptoms we discussed earlier may also be genuine signs of other health conditions (and not just stress). Consulting with your physician is still your best option if you experience symptoms such as racing heart rate or persistent headaches.