What is stress?

Stress chemicals

When faced with a situation that makes you stressed, your body releases chemicals, including cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline. These invoke the ‘fight or flight’ feelings that help us to deal with the situation. However, when you are in a situation that prevents you from fighting, or escaping, such as being on an overcrowded train, these chemicals are not used.

If the chemicals that are released during stressful situations build up from not being used, their effects are felt by the body. A build-up of adrenaline and noradrenaline increases blood pressure, heart rate, and the amount that you sweat. Cortisol prevents your immune system from functioning properly, as well as releasing fat and sugar into your blood stream.

Causes of stress

Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations, and a situation that one person finds stressful may not be stressful to someone else. Therefore, almost anything can cause stress, and it has different triggers. Sometimes, just the thought of something that triggers stress, or several small things that build up.

Some common causes of stress include:

  • money matters,
  • job issues,
  • relationships,
  • bereavement,
  • family problems, and
  • moving house.

However, sometimes there are no clear causes of stress. Some people naturally feel more frustrated, anxious, or depressed than others, which can lead to them feeling stressed more often.

Symptoms of stress

Stress affects different people in different ways, and everyone has a different method of dealing with it.

The chemicals that are released by your body as a result of stress can build up over time and cause various mental and physical symptoms. These are listed below.

Mental symptoms

  • anger,
  • depression,
  • anxiety,
  • changes in behaviour,
  • food cravings,
  • lack of appetite,
  • frequent crying,
  • difficulty sleeping (mental),
  • feeling tired, and
  • difficulty concentrating.

Psychical symptoms

  • chest pains,
  • constipation, or diarrhoea,
  • cramps, or muscle spasms,
  • dizziness,
  • fainting spells,
  • nail biting,
  • nervous twitches,
  • pins and needles,
  • feeling restless,
  • a tendency to sweat,
  • sexual difficulties, such as erectile dysfunction, or a loss of sexual desire,
  • breathlessness,
  • muscular aches, and
  • difficulty sleeping (physical).

If you have been experiencing some of these symptoms for a long period of time, you are at risk of developing high blood pressure, which can lead to heart attacks and stroke.

Experiencing even one, or two, of these symptoms can make you feel frustrated, or anxious. This can be a vicious circle – for example, you want to avoid stress, but symptoms such as frequent crying, or nervous twitching, can make you feel annoyed with yourself, and make you feel even more stressed.

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