Stress Levels
By Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, ND, DACBN
updated on 11/19/2007 at 03:03PM
It starts with a crying child, who can't find their homework. You rush all around the house in search of her school project, acutely aware of the time on the clock. You're already running late, and now you won't have time for breakfast. Next, your husband gets a call that he needs to be at the office early for a breakfast meeting. He dashes out of the door and suddenly there's no one to help you load up the kids in the car for school. Your cell phone is ringing with a call from the office and your child is still crying. You've only been awake for an hour, and already you're sure you'll never make it through the day in one piece!
We all experience some degree of stress in our lives. It comes in many different shapes and sizes and develops from a wide variety of sources. So in order to understand stress, and the effects it can have on us, it's important to understand the different types of stress and the characteristics, symptoms, duration, and treatment approaches of each one.
Acute Stress
Acute stress is the intense, short-term stress that can often be exciting and thrilling in small doses. A challenging maneuver on a mountain bike trail can bring about acute stress that the body recognizes as interesting and exciting. But after hours and hours on the bike, that same challenging maneuver could be recognized as exhausting and overwhelming. By the same token, a new assignment at work may be seen as either an interesting challenge or a stressful project depending upon the capabilities and the time constraints of the employee. The body can recover fairly quickly from acute stress, but when it occurs repeatedly or when it is persistent, it can cause psychological distress, tension headaches, upset stomach, and other symptoms.
Because it's short term, acute stress doesn't usually have enough time to do the extensive damage associated with long-term stress. Although it may cause physical symptoms that require short term medical attention such as headache, back pain, jaw pain, and digestive disorders such as heartburn, acid stomach, flatulence, diarrhea, constipation, and irritable bowel syndrome.
Episodic Acute Stress
Some people suffer from frequent episodes of acute stress. For these people, the body may not have a chance to fully recover from one stressful situation before they're suddenly immersed in another. This type of episodic acute stress often causes people to be over aroused, short-tempered, hypersensitive, irritable, anxious, and tense. This type of stress can easily affect an individual's performance at work as well as their relationships and daily activities. The symptoms of episodic acute stress are persistent tension headaches, migraines, hypertension, chest pain, and heart disease. People who experience this type of stress are also much more likely to develop coronary heat disease than those who can recover from stressful situations more effectively. Treating episodic acute stress may require changes in both an individual's behavior and coping mechanisms.
Chronic Stress
Chronic stress is the persistent stress which wears away at people slowly…day after day...week after week...year after year. Chronic stress can significantly affect an individual's personality, work performance, mental capacity, and physical health. Poverty, illness, miserable employment, unhappy relationships, and dysfunctional families breed chronic stress. It usually occurs when the individual feels helpless and hopeless in their situation. Often, people give up on finding relief from this type of stress and just assume it is something they'll have to endure. Long-term chronic stress can cause heart attack, stroke, cancer, and suicide. As with many such extended and multifaceted conditions, treatment of this type of stress often requires behavioral and stress management changes on a number of levels over long periods of time.
Assess Your Stress Level
Do you think you may be suffering from chronic stress? Take this test to determine your level of stress.
Do you feel run down and drained each day?
Do you think of your job in a negative light?
Are you easily irritated by your co-workers, your spouse, or your children?
Do you feel misunderstood or unappreciated by your family or your supervisor?
Do you feel like you're alone, with no one with which to share your problems?
Do you feel like you are out of physical, mental, and emotional energy?
Do you wish you could get more out of each day?
Do you feel that you are in the wrong profession?
Are you frustrated with your family life?
Do you feel that there is more for you to do on a daily basis than you could ever possibly get done on your own?
Do you experience frequent chronic physical symptoms such as headaches, heartburn, or jaw pain?
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you may be showing signs of stress. Slow down, get help where you need it, and take action to manage the stress in your life. If you answered yes to most of these questions, you may be suffering from chronic stress. Seek the advice of a qualified mental health specialist, or your family physician to learn how you can reduce the stress in your life before it permanently damages your physical and mental health.
