Do you think you suffer from chronic stress but aren’t exactly sure? Are you struggling with different ways to cope with chronic stress?
To answer these questions for yourself, you need to know the common chronic stress examples, coping mechanisms, and treatments.
Chronic stress affects your mental state, your life, and the lives around you. Learning how to cope with it is essential to maintaining and keeping a healthy, happy life.
That is what this article is here for. Keep reading to learn how to get on a better path mentally and emotionally.
Chronic Stress Examples
A lot of people ask, “What is chronic stress?”
Chronic stress is an ongoing and constant feeling of stress due to a certain factor in your life.
It’s a prolonged and overwhelmingly unpleasant feeling of dread, usually all day and every day.
Chronic stress occurs when the body undergoes stressors with an extreme force of frequency or intensity that the autonomic nervous system does not sufficiently trigger the relaxation response regularly.
This means that the body stays in a continuous state of physiological stimulation. And this affects every system in the body.
People are naturally designed to undergo acute stress, which is short-lived. Our bodies are not made to handle chronic stress, which lasts over a long period of time.
Impact of Chronic Stress
The impact of chronic stress can be detrimental. If left untreated, it can lead to serious damages. It can not only cause mental health issues, but also physical problems.
Here are the health and mental consequences that could occur without treatment:
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Stroke
- Ulcers
- Weekend immune system
- Sexual dysfunction
- Gastrointestinal disorders
- Skin irritation
- Respiratory infections
- Autoimmune diseases
- Insomnia
- Depression
- Anxiety disorders
- Post-traumatic stress disorders or (PTSD)
- Schizophrenia
These impacts from chronic stress can last for life and can change your life for the worse if not treated.
Symptoms
As you can see, untreated chronic stress can lead to life-threatening and terrible physical and mental issues.
Physical
Here are some common symptoms that you may feel if you are struggling with chronic stress:
- Heart attack
- High blood pressure
- Irregular heartbeat
- Chest pain
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Muscle tension or aching
- Upset stomach
- Sleeping problems
- Acne
- Chronic pain
- Decreased sex drive
- Sweating
- Decreased appetite
Your physical health should come before anything else. If you are experiencing these symptoms, you need to visit the Steps for Change website.
Mental/ Emotional
Here are some mental/ emotional symptoms that you need to watch out for:
- Cognitive issues (learning issues)
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Mood swings
- Irritability
- Substance abuse issues
- Insomnia
- Anger
- Lack of motivation and concentration
- Disorganized thoughts
- Overeating
- Low self-esteem
- Nervousness
- Hostility towards others
- Withdrawal
- Obsessive behavior
These mental and emotional symptoms are unpleasant and affect your life negatively, to the point where they impact every aspect of your life.
Causes
Chronic stress can be difficult to diagnose because it can be caused by normal everyday life stressors at home or work. Everybody has different stress triggers.
The main three stresses that cause chronic stress are work, home, and life stress. Below are the probable causes of your stress.
Work
Here are the most common causes of work stress:
- You are unhappy with your job
- You feel as though your efforts are pointless or unappreciated
- You feel overwhelmed by your workload
- You have too much responsibility
- You’re dealing with poor management, your skills are not utilized properly, or you have no say in anything
- You’re working under dangerous conditions
- You feel at risk of a demotion or being terminated
- You’re dealing with harassment, embarrassment, or discrimination
Sure, every job includes stress to some degree. But when it becomes too much, it becomes a problem. It will affect your physical health, your emotional health, your social life, and your life at home.
Home
Here are some examples of home stressors that can lead to chronic stress:
- On the brink of divorce
- Fighting
- Worrying about paying mortgages or bills
- Worrying about supporting children
- Moving to a new home
- Unhappy marriage
- Children or family members having behavioral or emotional issues
- Having a messy home
- Not enough time during the week to prepare dinner
- Breakdown of home appliances
- Noisy environment
Life at home can be great, but it can also be stressful and tiring. Be aware of these causes of stress at home.
Life
Here are examples of major life stressors:
- Death of a friend or family member
- Divorce
- Loss of a job
- Chronic illness or injury
- Emotional problems
- Taking care of an elderly or sick family member
- Financial problems
- Imprisonment
- Addiction
These are the reasons why chronic stress starts in the body, whether it is emotional trauma or physical.
Types
There are four categorized types of chronic stress. These are environmental, relationship, work, and emotional.
These four categories tie into one another in some way. Below are the explained different types with examples.
Environmental
Environmental stress refers to how people respond to physical, chemical, or biological features of their environment.
These stressors may include exposure to natural disasters, pollution, electromagnetic radiation, climate change, or noise.
These stress pathogens invade the body, causing a stress response. Whether it occurs within a short time period or a long time period, environmental stress causes a strain on the body and mind.
Major Disturbance Stressor
Some examples of major disturbance stressors are natural disasters (tornados, severe storms, flooding), tragic events (losing a home to a fire), and major life changes (divorce, losing a job, death in the family).
Climate and Chemical Stressors
Common climate stressor examples are heatwaves and low-light levels in the winter. Shifts in temperature, sea levels, weather patterns, and storm intensity can also contribute to major climate stress.
Chemical stressors can be from pesticides on your food, antibiotics, or hormones.
Energetic and Biological Stressors
Energetic stressor examples are ionizing radiation (Ultraviolet, X-rays) and non-ionizing radiation (microwaves, radio waves).
Biological stressors are pathogens, allergens, and illnesses.
Physical Environment and Ergonomic Stressors
Physical environment stressors include too much or not enough light, colors, and the location of items in your apartment.
Ergonomic stressors can occur due to poor posture from work environments, heavy labor or exercise, and intellectual stress.
Relationship
Relationships are how you communicate and relate to friends, co-workers, family, partners, and everyone around you.
Oftentimes, stress from work life or other stressors can be carried into your home life, devastatingly affecting your relationships.
When stress spills into your personal life, it affects your relationships because you can become withdrawn, distracted, and less affectionate.
Relationship stress can come from a couple’s issues such as arguments, differences, neglect, dissatisfaction, and loss of trust.
Relationship conflicts can lead to serious physical and mental health issues.
Work
Work stress can be defined as harmful physical or emotional responses that occur when the requirements do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker.
It is generated due to conflicting demands in one’s job.
Below are some examples of work stress:
- Unrealistic demands
- Lack of recognition
- Change of management
- Poor management
- Lack of support
- Poor interpersonal relationships
- Heavy workload
Work stress can feel like it is taking over your whole life.
Emotional
Emotional stress includes difficult emotions such as anger, sadness, and frustration.
Emotional stress involves the experience of negative affect, like anxiety or depression, which causes a physiological stress response that includes cardiovascular and hormonal changes.
Below are some examples:
- Fears
- Frustration
- Sadness
- Anger
- Guilt
- Shame
- Self-loathing
- Anxiety
- Panic attacks
Dealing with emotional stress is one of the hardest things to cope with.
Why Choose Steps for Change for Treatment
If you are experiencing any of the chronic stress examples above, it is time for you to get help.
The therapists at Steps for Change are dedicated to putting your needs first and listening to you. They offer a variety of therapeutic, psychotherapy, and specialized treatments.
Treatment for chronic stress is necessary to improve the quality of life of you and those around you. There are many options to help you, and Steps for Change is the best place to go for treatments.
Some examples of treatments they offer are Child Therapy, Family Therapy, Teletherapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and more.
Visit the Steps for Change website to talk to a therapist and figure out a plan to improve your quality of life!
