In order to begin managing stress, we must first look at the symptoms of stress to help determine its causes. These symptoms and causes can be vastly different from person to person.
Symptoms
The symptoms of stress can take various forms. Usually we think of the physical symptoms: headaches, backaches, upset stomach, etc. There are also emotional and behavioral symptoms as well.
The three categories of stress symptoms are listed below with various examples of each.
Physical
- · Headaches
- ·. If one of these symptoms becomes severe, seek professional help. They may be symptoms of other types of disorders or ailments.
Causes
Although the symptoms of stress may be relatively easy to identify, we probably do not always realize what exactly is causing it in our lives. It may be a variety of things. When we think of what causes stress, we automatically think of events that upset or frustrate us. Or things that make us angry. Although these may be some of them, there are many more.
Negative and Positive Events
Stress is not always a result of major negative events of life (i.e. death, divorce, job problems, etc.”. It can result from positive events as well (i.e. getting married, having children, getting a job promotion, etc.). Positive events can also create a psychological threat if we perceive a lack of resources or “know how” to deal with them.
Accumulating Events
The series of reactions that result in stress may not be caused by major negative or positive events. Stress can result from an accumulation of various unrelated little aggravating hassles of life. One or two little hassles or problems may not result in stress. However, many seemingly insignificant events that build up can overcome our natural immune system. Without the proper stress management techniques, these minor events can result in stress.
Internal and External Events
Another way of looking at the events that can result in stress is to determine if they are self-imposed or imposed by outside sources. We must ask ourselves the question: What is the source of these stressful events?
The external sources of stressful events are more obvious. They are the events or situations created by other people or things. These are events created by the boss at work, by our family members, by life changes, etc.
The internal sources are the events we create for ourselves. We can create them by deferring difficult decision, not taking action on certain matters, waiting to the last minute to do things, etc. Other types of internal sources include our wants, our desires, and our goals. They can also be aspirations for our jobs, our families, or our personal lives. These self-imposed demands can exceed realistic expectations. When they do, we feel threatened by not having the resources or “know how” to fulfill them.
The internal and external events that can result in stress can often have a cause and effect relationship with each other. For example, say you se a goal to advance rapidly in the company. So you volunteer for special projects and additional work, take classes at the local college, take time to learn the business, etc. When your goal is not reached, you perceive and react to it as a threat to your ability and it results in stress from and internally created event. To deal with the situation, you try to do even more and the added hardship of trying to do too many things causes a drop in the quality of your work. Your boss calls you in to discuss your drop in performance. The discussions results in an external source of stress for you.
Common Causes
Some common events that can cause stress are:
- · monetary problems
- · getting married
- · having children
- · loneliness
- · personal goals
- · your job or boss
- ·. Each of us must individually determine what the cause of stress in our lives is.
Increasing Your Awareness
Up to this time we’ve looked a lot at different symptoms and various causes of stress. Keep in mind that everyone’s symptoms and causes can be, and probably are, different. Therefore, each of us must individually increase our awareness of the events that can cause stress in our lives and recognize our reactions to them. Through this increased self-awareness, we will be better prepared to manage stress before it manages us.
Change and Stress
The relationship between change and stress can be cause and 3effec: change can lead to stress. Events that create any type of change cause a potential mismatch when the resources or “know how” to deal with them. Although stress is caused by a wide variety of events, change is probably tone of the most frequent causes.
Think about all the changes that are taking place around us. Our jobs are constantly changing to meet the demands of greater productivity, increased workloads, and beating the competition. Our families are going through a constant state of change as they grow and mature. And face the pressures of society. Relationships with others change as greater and greater demands are placed on our time. Rapid technological changes are taking place that affect every aspect of our lives.
It is easy to see how change can lead to stress. By nature, we are creatures of habit and strive for continually in our lives. We naturally resist change. As a result, we perceive the demands caused by change as threats, and can lead to stress.
Sources:
“Understanding Stress : Signs, Symptoms, Causes, and Effects”, http://helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm
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