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The
Different Kinds of Stress
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| Author: Lyle H. Miller
and Alma Dell Smith
The Different
Kinds of Stress
Stress management can be complicated and confusing because there are
different types of stress--acute stress, episodic acute stress, and
chronic stress -- each with its own characteristics, symptoms, duration,
and treatment approaches. Let's look at each one.
Acute Stress
Acute stress is the most common form of stress. It comes from demands and
pressures of the recent past and anticipated demands and pressures of the
near future. Acute stress is thrilling and exciting in small doses, but
too much is exhausting. A fast run down a challenging ski slope, for
example, is exhilarating early in the day. That same ski run late in the
day is taxing and wearing. Skiing beyond your limits can lead to falls and
broken bones. By the same token, overdoing on short-term stress can lead
to psychological distress, tension headaches, upset stomach, and other
symptoms.
Fortunately, acute stress symptoms are recognized by most people. It's a
laundry list of what has gone awry in their lives: the auto accident that
crumpled the car fender, the loss of an important contract, a deadline
they're rushing to meet, their child's occasional problems at school, and
so on.
Because it is short term, acute stress doesn't have enough time to do the
extensive damage associated with long-term stress. The most common
symptoms are:
 | emotional
distress--some combination
of anger or irritability,
anxiety, and depression, the three stress
emotions; |
| muscular problems including tension
headache, back pain,
jaw pain, and the muscular tensions that lead to
pulled muscles and tendon and ligament problems; |
| stomach, gut and bowel problems such
as heartburn, acid
stomach, flatulence,
diarrhea, constipation, and
irritable bowel syndrome; |
| transient over arousal leads to
elevation in blood pressure, rapid
heartbeat, sweaty
palms, heart
palpitations, dizziness,
migraine headaches, cold hands or
feet,
shortness of breath, and chest
pain. |
Acute stress can crop up in anyone's life,
and it is highly treatable and manageable.
Episodic Acute Stress
There are those, however, who suffer acute stress frequently, whose lives
are so disordered that they are studies in chaos and crisis. They're
always in a rush, but always late. If something can go wrong, it does.
They take on too much, have too many irons in the fire, and can't organize
the slew of self-inflicted demands and pressures clamoring for their
attention. They seem perpetually in the clutches of acute stress.
It is common for people with acute stress reactions to be over aroused,
short-tempered, irritable, anxious, and tense. Often, they describe
themselves as having "a lot of nervous energy." Always in a
hurry, they tend to be abrupt, and sometimes their irritability comes
across as hostility. Interpersonal relationships deteriorate rapidly when
others respond with real hostility. The work becomes a very stressful
place for them.
The cardiac prone, "Type A" personality described by
cardiologists, Meter Friedman and Ray Rosenman, is similar to an extreme
case of episodic acute stress. Type A's have an "excessive
competitive drive, aggressiveness, impatience, and a harrying sense of
time urgency." In addition there is a "free-floating, but
well-rationalized form of hostility, and almost always a deep-seated
insecurity." Such personality characteristics would seem to create
frequent episodes of acute stress for the Type A individual. Friedman and
Rosenman found Type A's to be much more likely to develop coronary heat
disease than Type B's, who show an opposite pattern of behavior.
Another form of episodic acute stress comes from ceaseless worry.
"Worry warts" see disaster around every corner and
pessimistically forecast catastrophe in every situation. The world is a
dangerous, unrewarding, punitive place where something awful is always
about to happen. These "awfulizers" also tend to be over aroused
and tense, but are more anxious and depressed than angry and hostile.
The symptoms of episodic acute stress are the symptoms of extended over
arousal: persistent tension headaches, migraines, hypertension, chest
pain, and heart disease. Treating episodic acute stress requires
intervention on a number of levels, generally requiring professional help,
which may take many months.
Often, lifestyle and personality issues are so ingrained and habitual with
these individuals that they see nothing wrong with the way they conduct
their lives. They blame their woes on other people and external events.
Frequently, they see their lifestyle, their patterns of interacting with
others, and their ways of perceiving the world as part and parcel of who
and what they are.
Sufferers can be fiercely resistant to change. Only the promise of relief
from pain and discomfort of their symptoms can keep them in treatment and
on track in their recovery program.
Chronic Stress
While acute stress can be thrilling and exciting, chronic stress is not.
This is the grinding stress that wears people away day after day, year
after year. Chronic stress destroys bodies, minds and lives. It wreaks
havoc through long-term attrition. It's the stress of poverty, of
dysfunctional families, of being trapped in an unhappy marriage or in a
despised job or career. It's the stress that the never-ending
"troubles" have brought to the people of Northern Ireland, the
tensions of the Middle East have brought to the Arab and Jew, and the
endless ethnic rivalries that have been brought to the people of Eastern
Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Chronic stress comes when a person never sees a way out of a miserable
situation. It's the stress of unrelenting demands and pressures for
seemingly interminable periods of time. With no hope, the individual gives
up searching for solutions.
Some chronic stresses stem from traumatic, early childhood experiences
that become internalized and remain forever painful and present. Some
experiences profoundly affect personality. A view of the world, or a
belief system, is created that causes unending stress for the individual
(e.g., the world is a threatening place, people will find out you are a
pretender, you must be perfect at all times). When personality or
deep-seated convictions and beliefs must be reformulated, recovery
requires active self-examination, often with professional help.
The worst aspect of chronic stress is that people get used to it.
They forget it's there. People are immediately aware of acute stress
because it is new; they ignore chronic stress because it is old, familiar,
and sometimes, almost comfortable.
Chronic stress kills through suicide, violence, heart attack, stroke, and,
perhaps, even cancer. People wear down to a final, fatal breakdown.
Because physical and mental resources are depleted through long-term
attrition, the symptoms of chronic stress are difficult to treat and may
require extended medical as well as behavioral treatment and stress
management.
Adapted from The Stress Solution by Lyle H. Miller, Ph.D., and
Alma Dell Smith, Ph.D.
Hypertension (High Blood Pressure)
Your heart pumping blood through your
arteries puts pressure (tension) on the artery walls. Hypertension
(high blood pressure) occurs when blood pressure stays elevated over time.
The increased pressure of hypertension puts a strain on your circulatory
system, which can ultimately lead to serious problems, such as stroke,
heart disease, and kidney failure. About 50 million Americans have
hypertension.
Because hypertension usually does not
cause symptoms until there is serious physical damage, it is often called
the “silent killer.” It is important to detect high blood pressure
before it causes damage.
Blood pressure is measured by a quick and
painless test using an inflatable cuff around the upper arm attached to a
pressure gauge (sphygmomanometer). A stethoscope
is used to listen to the sounds of blood pulsing through an artery. Blood
pressure is recorded as two numbers measured in millimeters of mercury,
for example; 120/80 mm Hg.
| The top number is systolic
pressure, the maximum pressure in the artery as the heart
contracts. |
| The bottom number is diastolic
pressure, the lowest pressure in the artery when the heart is
between contractions. |
Hypertension exists if the systolic
pressure (top number) is 140 or higher or the diastolic pressure (bottom
number) is 90 or higher. Optimal blood pressure is less than 120 systolic
and less than 80 diastolic.
Learn to manage stress
and hypertension
See your doctor regularly and have your
blood pressure checked. Hypertension cannot always be prevented, but
following the steps below can help lower your blood pressure.
| Stop smoking and
do not use illegal
drugs. |
| Lose excess body weight and follow a
healthy, low-salt, low-fat diet. |
| Stay physically active and develop an
exercise program under your doctor’s supervision. |
| Limit alcohol intake to 1 drink per
day for women and 2 drinks per day for men. |
| Once hypertension develops, it usually
requires treatment with medication that must be taken every day to
prevent damage from high blood pressure. Your doctor can prescribe the
right medication for you. |
| Help your body by complementing your
treatment with all natural herbal remedies.
Source: www.stressdirections.com |
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Therapeutic
Dosage
