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| INTERNATIONAL STRESS MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION |
www.youtube.com/user/InvictusNLP/videos
Symptoms of stress
Below are a few stress symptoms,
both in behaviour and physically.
Behaviours
Irritability
with people,
Problems making decisions,
Loss of sense of humour,
Feeling unable to cope,
lack of interest
in activities outside work,
constant tiredness,
suppressed anger.
Physical
Appetite
loss,
Insomnia,
Food cravings when 'feeling' pressured,
Frequent heartburn or indigestion,
Nausea,
Sweating,
Tense muscles,
Feeling breathless..
Above are just some of the symptoms, it is always best
to get an opinion of your doctor to rule out any other underlying causes.
What causes
stress?
Walter B Cannon, in the 1930's studied the effects of stress on animals and humans giving
special attention to ''the fight or flight response''. This is when people or animals will either stand and
fight, or attempt to flee when confronted by extreme danger.Cannon noted when his 'subjects' were exposed to
environment conditions eg; cold, or lack of oxygen, or excitement, he could notice physiological changes such as emergency
adrenaline secretions. He described these subjects as being 'under stress'.
We all have the 'fight
or flight response' it is hardwired into us as part of our survival mechanism. When a truck is going to run us over we
want to get out of the way pretty quick or...you can guess the result.
So the response is not a bad thing but,
if you have situations in your life where you may feel threatened or even under pressure, your brain and 'automatic
nervous system' will trigger the hormones adrenaline and cortisol, which sends your body the signal to run or fight.
A whole complex array of physiological symptoms then course through your body, your breathing becomes rapid and shallow,
oxygenating your blood. Glucose is released into your bloodstream for energy to fight or flee, you may feel weak,but in fact
you are more likely to be stronger, as energy is diverted to your muscles.Blood drains from your stomach (because you won't
be needing to digest anything right now in this time of crisis) resulting in ''butterflies in the stomach'' also
triggered by the vagus nerve, a feeling of a sudden lurching in your stomach.Your heart rate increases to pump the
blood faster round the body assisting in mobilising oxygen to much needed parts of the body.
But, in
these modern times we are not facing a predator that we need to fight or flee, although we have the same nervous system of
our caveman ancestors, we have other pressures. These can be paying the bills, getting a job, losing a job, meeting a new
partner, losing an old partner. The list is as endless as our imagination, because how WE personally perceive an event, our
nervous and other systems will tell us strongly that we need to do something.. or be passive. It is how we perceive a
given situation that governs how we will behave towards it.
