Stress is a physical and/or emotional response to a difficult, painful, or challenging experience; it may affect children, teenagers, and adults. Stress-related illnesses are physical or mental disorders that may be brought on or made worse by stress.
Stress is often associated with negative thoughts or events that people find unpleasant, frightening, or anxiety-producing. It may come about as a result of being bullied or teased by peers, being anxious about a test, feeling disappointed about not achieving a goal, or trying to bundle too many activities into too little time. Sometimes life events that cause stress lead to initial anxiety that turns instead into positive excitement. An audition, a game point, or a date to the prom are positive stressors. Stress is the body's natural response to the difficult demands or exciting new challenges it encounters everyday.
Some events are so stressful that they overwhelm people, and no amount of deep breathing or positive thinking may help. Accidents, natural disasters, injuries, abuse, violence, war, serious threats to physical safety, or the sudden death of a loved one are examples of traumas that cause stress responses within the body.
Stressors, both good and bad, set off a series of events within the body's neuroendocrine (NUR-o-en-DO-krin) system. Often called the fight or flight response, these events are triggered by the brain, which alerts the body's autonomic nervous system
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to prepare all systems to react to an emergency. The autonomic nervous system sends a message in a split second through nerve fibers that signal all the other body systems.
During this alarm period, various hormones
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What Is Stress-Response Syndrome?
While psychiatrists have identified post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder (ASD) as specific mental illnesses ever since the 1970s, they have had some difficulty classifying a third type of stress-related problem known as adjustment disorder. This term was used as a catchall category for people who did not meet the diagnostic criteria for major depression or PTSD, but were clearly having difficulty coping with a specific major life stressor, such as a death in the family or job loss. Adjustment disorders were known to affect children and teenagers as well as adults, and often resulted from such stressors as changing schools or having trouble in school.
When the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) was replaced by DSM-5 in 2013, adjustment disorders were redefined as stress-response syndromes; that is, as simple responses to some type of life stress, which may or may not be a traumatic or catastrophic event.
About 20 percent of Americans receiving outpatient mental health treatment are diagnosed with adjustment disorder/stress-response syndrome, according to the American Psychiatric Association. Treatment for this condition usually includes short-term psychotherapy as well as medications. It is important to note, however, that adolescents diagnosed with an adjustment disorder/stress-response syndrome are at higher risk than adults of being diagnosed with major depression or another severe mental disorder within the next five years.
What Are the Effects of Stress?
Researchers have found that chronic
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stress and post-traumatic stress can suppress the immune system
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, interfering with the body's natural ability to defend itself against infection. Chronic stress may also contribute to many other problems of mind and body, including:
- Headaches or stomachaches
- Such allergic responses as skin rashes or asthma
- Irritability, aggression, or conduct disorders
- Bruxism (grinding the teeth)
- Sleep disorders
- Eating disorders
- Alcoholism or substance abuse
- Anxiety disorders
- Phobias
- Depression
Long-term stress (chronic stress), frequently recurring stress, or extreme stress from a life-threatening event can keep the body's stress response system activated for a long time. Long-term stress may lead to emotional or behavioral problems, post-traumatic stress disorder, or the development of stress-related illnesses. Chronic stress is believed to be a factor in many cases of abuse, violence, and suicide. Over the long term, chronic stress may contribute to the development of such cardiovascular problems as high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke
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. People who experience chronic stress can benefit from working with a doctor or therapist to learn stress management techniques.
How Is Stress Treated?
The treatment for stress is relaxation, leading to a state of ease, rest, and repose within the body. Taking a deep breath almost always is the first step toward relaxation, allowing individuals to recognize that the emergency that triggered the body's stress response has ended.
At the end of a stress response cycle, the body begins to relax: Breathing slows down, the heart stops racing, muscles loosen, the mind becomes peaceful, and levels of stress hormones return to their baseline values. In addition to the body's automatic relaxation, people can consciously choose to use various techniques to achieve a relaxation response. Some people listen to music or sing, go for a long walk or a run in the park, or practice meditation. Other techniques and approaches that promote a relaxation response include yoga, abdominal breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, biofeedback
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, guided imagery or visualization, hypnosis
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, prayer, attending support groups, or spending time with pets or loved ones. Because stress is an inevitable part of living, the long-term antidote for stress is learning to use coping strategies that make it possible to live with stress successfully.
Resilient people who experience high levels of stress but recover quickly and show low levels of illness are said to have stress-resistant personalities. According to researchers, such resilient people seem to have several characteristics in common:
- They view change as a challenging and normal part of life rather than a threat.
- They have a sense of control over their lives; they believe that setbacks are temporary; and they believe that they will succeed if they work toward their goals.
- They have commitments to work, family, friends, support networks, and regular activities that promote relaxation, including hobbies, vacations, sports, yoga, and meditation.
Some people seem to be born with resilient personalities and good stress management skills. They know instinctively how to manage and how to find the help they need from others. However, at times when a even a resilient person needs additional support, or when a person needs some coaching to improve coping skills, it may be useful to turn to a doctor, counselor, or therapist.
See also Addiction
• Alcoholism
• Allergies
• Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders: Overview
• Asthma
• Depressive Disorders: Overview
• Eating Disorders: Overview
• Fears and Phobias
• Headache
• Heart Disease: Overview
• Hypertension
• Insomnia
• Panic Disorder
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Repetitive Stress Syndrome
• Sleep Disorders: Overview
• Suicide
• Trauma
* autonomic nervous system is the part of the nervous system that acts largely unconsciously and controls such functions as heart rate, breathing rate, digestion, and urination.
* stroke is a brain-damaging event usually caused by interference with blood flow to the brain. A stroke may occur when a blood vessel supplying the brain becomes clogged or bursts, depriving brain tissue of oxygen. As a result, nerve cells in the affected area of the brain, and the specific body parts they control, do not function properly.