Stress-a common and regular term. Almost every individual uses the phrase ”I am so stressed!”. Instead of doing something about it, people keep on adding to their ‘Stress pile’.
When our coping skills do not accept the challenges posed on us from the external world(mentally and physically),we say or feel that we are stressed. Stress can be Eustress – that is good stress, which keeps one under pressure but also has a positive outcome. For example, planning for a wedding or a trip can lead to eustress. The other one is Distress-where the threats from the external world can make it detrimental for us and there is no positive outcome. For example, not being able to handle pressure at work and being effected.
Being stressed is normal but not managing it-could lead to health hazards or a challenging lifestyle. A fast life complimented by wrong eating habits with entangled emotional problems often leads to stress and anxiety and stress affects health.
A number of physical problems have been studied from a psychophysiological standpoint. The various psychosomatic disorders (stress,anxiety,depression and emotional problems which can bring about various diseases and problems in the body) are:
• Coronary heart disease
Clotting of blood takes place more rapidly under stressful situations and there is a positive relationship between clotting of blood and emotional stress.So stress,anxiety and worry tend to increase heart palpitation.This resists the flow of blood and increases clotting of blood causing obstruction to heart arteries which can lead to death.
• Asthma
Asthma may be caused due to various reasons but it has also been reported that some people who suffer from severe asthmatic attack have difficulty in handling aggression and hostility aroused due to various problems.It thus suggests that certain types of asthma are related to emotional stress and are called psychophysiological disorder.
• Peptic ulcer
Though there are several organic causes of ulcer;chronic repressed hostility, worry and anxiety,constant resentment,anguish and stressful states stimulate the flow of stomach acid than what is needed for digestion.Various studies reveal that certain specific types of emotional problems may lead to ulcer.
• Menstrual disorder
A menstrual disorder is called psychophysiological when it is related to emotional stress.
• Migraine
Researches also prove that a typical migraine headache victim could be tensed and an inflexible personality maintaining ‘a store of bottled up resentments that can neither be expressed nor resolved’.Many patients suffering from migraine have also reported that they were in an emotionally stressful situation before suffering from it.
There are many other diseases which crop up from stress.So if one is stressed and worried,most of the times he/she can be victimised by such diseases or health issues.Stress can interfere into our lives in many ways.Through counselling, one can find out ways of managing stress which can lead to a physically and mentally healthy life.