Tension and anxiety are very common problems in society today, and many people will suffer from symptoms of stress at some time in their lives.  You may encounter stress from a number of sources including:

Personal Stress which may be caused by the nature of your work, changes in your life or personal problems.

Stress in family or friends, which in turn may affect you.

Stress in your colleagues, which also may affect you. (See Workplace Stress)

As the effects of stress can be, at the very least, unpleasant this article sets out to give an overview of stress, together with its causes and consequences, and the means by which it can be avoided, confronted. managed and reduced.

What is Stress?

Stress is a response to an inappropriate level of pressure.

Stress can be described as the distress that is caused as a result of demands placed on physical or mental energy.  Stress can arise as the result of:

Anxiety

Anxiety is caused when life events are felt to be threatening to individual physical, social or mental well-being.  The amount of anxiety experienced by an individual depends on:

• How threatening these life events are perceived to be.
• Individual coping strategies.
• How many stressful events occur in a short period of time.

Tension

Tension is a natural reaction to anxiety.  It is part of a primitive survival instinct where physiological changes prepare the individual for ‘fight or flight’.  This sympathetic response, as it is known, results in a chemical Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) being released in the body and causes muscles to tense ready for action. 

Blood vessels near the skin constrict, to slow bleeding if injury is sustained, and to increase the blood supply to the muscles, heart, lungs and brain.  Digestion is inhibited, the bladder relaxes, the heart rate and breathing speed increase, the body sweats more.  The person affected becomes more alert, their eyes dilate and a surge of adrenaline gives rise to an increase in energy.

These responses are extremely useful in situations of physical danger but, unlike for primitive humans, many of the anxieties of modern life are not ones that can be solved by a ‘fight or flight’ reaction or by any physical response. Modern day stressful situations tend to continue for much longer periods of time and an immediate response does not relieve the anxiety-provoking situation. Therefore, prolonged states of anxiety can lead to symptoms of stress which prevent the individual from returning to his or her normal, relaxed state.

Physical Signs of Stress

In addition to feeling uneasy, tense and worried, physical sensations of continued stress can include:

• Palpitations
• Dizziness
• Indigestion or heartburn
• Tension headaches
• Aching muscles
• Trembling or eye twitches
• Diarrhoea
• Frequent urination
• Insomnia
• Tiredness
• Impotence

People are often unaware that they are suffering from stress and visit the doctor with symptoms of indigestion, muscle pain, headaches, etc.  Severe stress can lead to panic attacks, chest pains, phobias and fears of being seriously ill.

Continued stress can lead to feelings of lethargy and tiredness, migraine, severe stomach upset and sleeplessness.  As with all such symptoms, medical help should be sought.  However, once symptoms are recognised as being caused by stress it is possible to control and reduce stress levels.  This can be done through learning a number of stress reduction techniques.

Different people find different events and situations more or less stressful than others, individuals have a range of events or situations that are particularly stressful to them, most people would agree that major events such as losing a job, divorce or money problems would be stressful for anyone. Many of the most stressful situations are unplanned changes in personal circumstance.

The following list is compiled from the answers given by a large number of people as to how hard it is to readjust to different life changing events.  A high score shows that people find it hard to readjust to that event, which in turn indicates a high stress factor.

Event:	Score out of 100
Death of a spouse or partner	100
Divorce	73
Marital separation	65
Death of a close family member	63
Personal injury or illness	53
Marriage	50
Loss of a job	47
Marital reconciliation	45
Retirement	45
Change in health of a family member	44
Pregnancy	40
Sexual problems	39
Addition of a new family member	39
Death of a close friend	37
Change to a different kind of work	36
Taking on a large mortgage	31
Change of responsibilities at work	29
Son or daughter leaving home	29
Spouse starts/stops work	26
Starting or leaving school	26
Trouble with the boss	23
Change in residence	20
Taking on a loan	17
Change in eating habits	15
Holiday	13
Christmas	12
Minor violations of the law	11

Life changes can have a direct effect on health, either good or bad.  Of people who have a ‘life change score’ of 200-300, half exhibit health problems in the following year.  Of those with a score over 300, 79% become ill in the following year.  The most stressful change is the death of a spouse.  Widowers have a 40% higher death rate than normal and have high rates of illness and depression.

It is not only unpleasant events that can be stressful.  It seems that almost any change involves stress in readjusting and, if possible, it would seem wise to not have too many changes in life at the same time if this is at all possible.

In addition to stress being caused by events, certain situations can lead to an individual feeling stressed; although as mentioned before the degree of stress will depend, amongst other things, on that individual’s coping strategies.  The environment can also serve to make us stressed: for example, noise, crowds, poor lighting, pollution or other external factors over which we have no control can cause us to feel anxious and irritable. Adjusting to modern-day life can also be a source of stress. We now communicate with people in many different ways, e.g. through the Internet, mobile phones, and various broadcast media, and the expectation of a quick response has increased.  We also have many more commodities available to us and some people feel an expectation to maintain a certain lifestyle and level of consumerism.  In addition, for many women it is now the norm to manage a full or part-time job and to be the primary carer nurturing a family. 

All of these changes mean that stress is now unfortunately commonplace in both our personal and professional lives.  Indeed we could argue that a programme of stress management, focussed on stress prevention as much as relief, is an essential part of modern living.

Next: Avoiding Stress