Stress factors. Stressors are factors that cause a state of stress

Stress is a state of mental tension that occurs in a person in the most complex, difficult conditions, both in everyday life and work activity, and under special circumstances. The state of emotional stress that occurs in a person in the process of activity is associated with extreme, special working conditions (Table 5.1). In relation to professional activity, this is a situation when there is a goal, accepted, but there are no means to achieve it, to solve the task. And the result (the result of the work) practically does not depend on the person. There is a feeling of helplessness of the worker in the current conditions.

The concept of stress (from the English stress - pressure, tension) was introduced by the Canadian physiologist Hans Selye in 1936. Stress- This is a complex process that certainly includes both physiological and psychological components. With the help of the stress reaction, the body, as it were, mobilizes itself to protect itself, to adapt to a new situation. Nonspecific protective mechanisms are put into action to ensure resistance to the effects of unfavorable situations for a person and adaptation to them.

When analyzing the external causes of stress, the concept of stressors and extreme conditions is used.

Stressors– these are unfavorable external and internal influences of significant strength and duration, leading to the occurrence of stressful conditions. There are physiological and psychological stressors. Physiological stressors include strong physical, blood loss, great physical exertion, infections, ionizing radiation, sudden changes in temperature, etc. Psychological stressors are associated with mental trauma; they act with their signal meanings: threat, danger, resentment. In labor activity, according to the data given by M.A. According to Kotik, the following psychological factors are the strongest stimulants of stress: job dissatisfaction, low work motivation, depression, and lack of self-affirmation [Kotik, 1981]. Psychological stressors also include factors such as disrespect for the personality of the performer, the inability to act in his own style, unwillingness to bear the responsibility assigned to him.

Information stress occurs in a situation of information overload, when a person cannot cope with the task at hand, does not have time to make the right decisions at the required pace with a high degree of responsibility for the consequences of the decisions made.

Figure 5.2 – Types of stress

Emotional stress manifests itself in situations of threat, danger, resentment, etc. The forms of its manifestation, as well as the forms of manifestation of mental stress, are different. This can be an active form (the so-called “lion stress” - characterizes the most effective, constructive line of behavior), or a passive reaction (the so-called “rabbit stress”).

There is a well-known point of view [Bodrov, 1998], according to which any type of stress (personal, interpersonal, family, professional, etc.) is fundamentally informational. Its source is a message, information about the current (real) and expected (probabilistic) impact of adverse events, their threat, or “internal” information in the form of past ideas, information retrieved from memory about traumatic events, situations or their consequences. These reactions are usually associated with the production negative emotions. In these types of psychological stress information about an unfavorable, dangerous event is starting torque, which determines the threat of its occurrence and creates a feeling of anxiety, mental tension, etc.

Depending on the degree of development (in dynamics), the following are distinguished: phases of stress:

1) Anxiety reaction – characterizes the process of mobilizing the body’s protective properties, increasing protective properties in relation to traumatic effects. The body functions under heavy load. By the end of the first phase, most people's performance improves.

2) Resistance phase (or resistive phase) – characterized by a balanced consumption of the body’s adaptive resources.

3) The phase of depletion of the body's adaptive resources.

Thus, depending on the phase of stress and the “polarity” of its manifestation, we can talk about “good” and “bad” stress.

As numerous studies have shown, stress in work, depending on its level, gives rise to very different, and sometimes even opposite, results. Stress manifests itself in the general adaptation syndrome as a necessary and useful vegetative and somatic reaction of the body to a sharp increase in its total external load. This reaction manifests itself in an increase in the bioelectrical activity of the brain, an increase in heart rate, an increase in systolic blood pressure, dilation of blood vessels, an increase in the content of leukocytes in the blood, i.e. in a number of physiological changes in the body, contributing to an increase in its energy capabilities and the success of complex activities. Therefore, as emphasized by M.A. Kotik, “stress itself is not only an expedient protective reaction of the human body, but also a mechanism that contributes to the success of work activity in conditions of interference, difficulties and danger” [Kotik, 1981].

However, the relationship between stress level and flowing from it activation the nervous system (NS), on the one hand, and the performance of work, on the other, is nonlinear. This was noticed at the beginning of the 20th century by English psychologists R. Yerkes and J. Dodson. They experimentally showed that with increasing activation of the nervous system to a certain level, the productivity of behavior increases, while with a further increase in activation it begins to fall.

Stress has a positive effect on labor results (mobilizes the body’s energy reserves and helps overcome obstacles that arise during work) only until it exceeds a certain critical level. Such stress, which increases the body's resistance to adverse external influences, is called eustress. When this level is exceeded, the so-called process of hypermobilization develops in the body, which entails a violation of the mechanisms of self-regulation and a deterioration in the results of activity, up to its failure. Stress exceeding a critical level, which in its extreme expression can lead to illness and death of a person, is called distress.

The state of psychological stress (as well as the state of mental tension) develops in unfavorable operating conditions and extreme situations. For modern production, extreme situations of two extreme types are typical.

The first type of extreme situation occurs when the demands of work intensity and strict time restrictions force a person to exert his strength to the utmost and mobilize internal reserves. At the same time, the extreme nature of such work can often increase due to the negative effect of strong external factors - stressors (noise, vibration, etc.).

The second type of extreme situation arises, on the contrary, due to the lack or heterogeneity of incoming information, deficiencies in interpersonal contacts, and low physical activity. In such conditions, a person develops a state of monotony. In such conditions, a person has to maintain the required level of wakefulness and attention through volitional efforts.

Thus, stressful situations of both types are characterized by one common feature - the emergence in a person of an acute internal conflict between the demands that work places on him and his capabilities. In the first case, this conflict arises mainly as a result of increasing demands placed on a person. In the second - due to a decrease in the ability of a person to fulfill the requirements.

Ways to relieve stress:

shift the responsibility

Excessive responsibility is a constant source of stress, which can ultimately lead to severe depression. And until this burden is reduced, it is almost impossible to relieve stress. Try to shift some of the responsibility onto the shoulders of another person. After all, this does not mean that you are an irresponsible person or a bad worker. Too much workload ultimately has a negative impact not only on your mental and physical health, but also on the quality of your work. If this is not possible, then you need to have a frank conversation with your boss, who often doesn’t even imagine the workload of his subordinates (because no one has complained yet). The fact that a person does not take on more work than he can handle means that he takes his responsibilities responsibly.

Try not to be overtired at work, do not take on too much responsibility and workload. In addition, every person needs regular and proper rest.

Calm down

Many satirical works depict a typical official who takes sedative pills one after another and constantly has attacks of anger. If a person has really become like this, then he is in a constant state of stress and is no longer able to cope with his professional responsibilities. In order to do your job well, you first need to calm down and concentrate. In addition, it is advisable to include foods high in magnesium (for example, vegetables, nuts, seeds) in your diet. A piece of chocolate or a portion of pasta can improve your mood. Regularly allow yourself to rest and recuperate by changing your surroundings. You can go to the sea or relax in nature by the lake. It is very useful to relax in a sanatorium or rest home.

Get help for stress relief

A person who constantly suffers from severe stress can very rarely solve all his problems on his own. Therefore, it is recommended to seek help from an experienced and qualified psychologist or psychotherapist and talk with him about your problems. The specialist, together with the patient, will try to find a way to break out of the vicious circle of problems and constant stress.

Vitamin therapy. Stress causes the human body to include all internal reserves, in order to maintain its performance, eat healthy foods rich in vitamins C (apples, tomatoes, rose hips) and B (dried fruits, cabbage, beets, almonds, chicken liver, fish, etc. ).

Aromatherapy. Since ancient times, the beneficial effects of aromatic essential oils have been known. Essential oils of rose, lavender, jasmine and cypress have a calming effect.

Intimate conversation, as a way to relieve stress is very effective. Sometimes a person in a state of emotional stress simply needs to speak out, often in order to see the problem from a different angle, it is enough just to voice it. In our conditions, they will help to cope with stress by replacing expensive medications, loved ones, best friend or friend.

Extreme in the fight against bad mood. Another effective way to relieve stress is to expose the body to a new type of stress. Take a cold shower, get an acupuncture treatment, sign up for extreme sports like dumping or skydiving.

Play some sports. Exercise helps combat stressful situations, and it also makes the body more resistant to emotional influences. This is a great way out for many people to exercise. Moreover, it doesn’t matter at all which ones. Perhaps it will be running, push-ups, cycling, strength training. Try it and you will see that it really works! The greatest effect will come from exercises that require regular repetition (for example, running) to force the body to relax. And this, in turn, forces your body and brain to respond to stress adequately. Simply put, the heart rate decreases, blood pressure decreases, and muscle tension decreases. Thirty minutes of training on the simulator is enough to reduce emotional tension caused by stress by 25%.

The oldest system is yoga. With the help of yoga, you can relax, understand yourself, and strengthen your muscles. Try meditating. Closing your eyes, breathe deeply and slowly. With each inhalation and exhalation, repeat some pleasant phrase or word. This simple exercise can bring the body into balance, help you relax and relieve stress.

be careful. Avoid situations that may lead to emotional distress.

Smile more often. If you smile more often, you can create a good mood on a subconscious level. Praise yourself. It seems simple, but many of us only make our stress worse by drowning out our inner voice. But research shows that positive feedback addressed to you stimulates the production of the hormone cortisol, which is responsible for neutralizing stress. Next time, when you catch yourself humiliating yourself, say it out loud, or even better, write something good about yourself.

State of monotony

A state of monotony occurs when a person is presented with only the means of activity in the form of raw material, equipment, technology, and work algorithm. However, excessive simplification of operations (or, conversely, excessive complexity of the process or products produced) often leads to the fact that the employee is separated from the actual goal and does not see or know the results of his labor costs, the degree of their contribution to the achievement of the overall (also unknown to him) goals. As a result - the lack of satisfaction from the embodied efforts.

The mental state of experiencing monotony is caused by the actual or apparent monotony of movements and actions performed at work. Under the influence of monotony of actions (and as a result of the emergence of monotony as a psychological state), a person becomes lethargic and indifferent to work. The state of monotony also has a negative effect on the human body, leading to premature fatigue. At the physiological level, this manifests itself in a decrease in heart rate, breathing rate, and reaction speed.

If there are inevitable monotonous movements or actions in work, a person with a higher level of intelligence experiences a feeling of monotony (state of monotony) to a lesser extent. This is due to the fact that he, having a broader outlook and the ability to analyze, better understands the need for these actions to achieve a common goal. This means that he can better activate his performance, seeing diversity in the monotonous. The ability to see diversity in the monotonous is inherent in highly qualified specialists. A low-skilled worker cannot catch the changes in what seems to him “monotony” and becomes a victim of unstimulated indifference, which sometimes manifests itself in the most cruel forms of monotony both at the psychological and physiological levels.

State of anxiety

Anxiety is an ambiguous psychological term that describes both a certain state of an individual in a limited period of time, and a stable property of a person.

The state of anxiety is associated with the peculiarities of production and has a significant impact on the success of professional activity. Not a single type of activity manages to regulate official duties, relationships, the technological process as a whole, to such an extent as to completely eliminate uncertainty. An employee is often haunted by a premonition of failure in work due to an unclearly formulated goal of behavior in the current situation and insufficient orientation in the means of resolving it.

Anxiety is understood as an individual psychological feature, consisting in an increased tendency to experience anxiety in a variety of situations, including those whose objective characteristics do not favor it. Anxiety- this is a personality property that manifests itself in the frequency, regularity and threshold of feelings of anxiety and uncertainty in one’s actions, the experience of real and perceived “omissions” in actions or deeds, worries about past or possible events, etc.

A distinction is made between personal anxiety (PT) and situational or reactive anxiety (RT).

Personality anxiety characterizes a person’s readiness to experience fear and anxiety about a wide range of subjectively significant phenomena. Personal anxiety can be considered, on the one hand, as a fairly stable personality trait, and on the other hand, as one of the results of the state of “chronic” mental stress “accumulated” by the individual, arising in the process of interaction between the individual and his environment.

Situational (or reactive) anxiety– this is a temporary, transitory state, which is a form of an individual’s emotional reaction to a situation that contains a real or imagined danger for him. The state of reactive anxiety is characterized by tension, anxiety, concern, and nervousness.

Experienced anxiety to varying degrees determines the effectiveness of various types of professional activities, the success of social and professional adaptation. It should be understood that anxiety itself is not a negative state or personality trait. A certain level of anxiety is a natural and obligatory feature of an active, active personality. At the same time, each person has his own optimal level of “useful anxiety.” Normal levels of anxiety are necessary for effective and coordinated behavior. A person who has a significant deviation in the values ​​of RT and LT indicators from the average or moderate level of anxiety requires special attention.

High anxiety, in particular, implies a tendency for a person to develop a state of anxiety in situations of assessing his professional competence. In this case, the manager needs to somewhat shift the focus from external exactingness to the employee, categoricalness in setting professional tasks - to a meaningful understanding of the upcoming activity by the performer and specific planning of it for subtasks, and also help to form the performer's sense of confidence in success. An overestimated, hypertrophied development of anxiety (as a chronic, "accumulated" state of mental stress and as a personality trait) can turn into a clinical form of neurosis.

Low anxiety, on the contrary, requires the manager to make efforts to encourage the activity of the individual, to pay more attention to the motivation of activity, to arouse the interest of the performer, to emphasize social and personal significance to the employee and the need to solve certain problems.

Everyone knows firsthand what stress is. The very fact of being born is stressful for a newborn. In the future, this state is repeated more than once, because external stimuli are present in the life of every person. City residents are tired of the bustle, transport, and traffic jams. People get tired of constant work and a list of obligations to family, society, colleagues. What is stress? Let's figure it out.

The term "stress" was introduced, or rather borrowed from the science of the strength of materials in 1936 by the Canadian physiologist Hans Selye. Initially, it was a technical term for tension, pressure and pressure. Hans Selye decided that this also applied to humans. Then stress was considered as an adaptive reaction of the organism in extreme conditions (high temperatures, illnesses, injuries, etc.). Today, the problem of stress is considered more broadly, the list of stress factors includes socio-psychological elements, such as surprises.

Stress is a special form of experience. In terms of psychological characteristics, stress is close to affect, and in terms of duration, it is close to mood. This is a mental state, the body’s response to environmental conditions and the requirements put forward by the environment to. In English, the word “stress” is translated as “tension”. In psychology, stress is usually considered as a period of human adaptation.

Depending on how a person assesses the current conditions, stress has a disorganizing or mobilizing effect. However, in any case, there remains a danger of exhaustion of the body, since at the moment of stress all systems work to the limit. Here's how it happens:

1. Adrenaline increases, this stimulates the production of cortisol, due to which additional energy accumulates, strength and endurance increase. The person experiences a surge of energy.
2. The longer the first stage of arousal lasts, the more adrenaline and cortisol accumulate. Gradually they replace seratonin and dopamine, and these hormones are responsible for good mood, joy and self-confidence (calmness). Accordingly, mood worsens and anxiety is noted. In addition, excess cortisol provokes a decrease in immunity and the development of diseases. The person is often sick.
3. Attention gradually decreases, fatigue and irritation accumulate. Trying to cheer yourself up with coffee, energy drinks, sports or pills only makes things worse.
4. The hormonal balance is so disturbed that every little thing freaks me out. Stress resistance finally drops.

From the point of view of the individual’s perception, stress goes through 3 stages:

1. Feelings of anxiety associated with specific circumstances. Accompanied first by a loss of strength, and then by an active struggle with new conditions.
2. Adaptation to previously frightening conditions, maximum functioning of body systems.
3. The stage of exhaustion, which is manifested by disruption and disorientation in life. Anxiety and a number of other negative emotions and feelings arise again.

In moderation, stress is beneficial (emotional shock). It increases attention and interest, and activates. But in large quantities, stress inevitably leads to a decrease in productivity. In addition, it negatively affects health and stimulates diseases. Regardless of the nature of stress, the body’s reaction at the biological level is the same: increased activity of the adrenal cortex (caused by the hormonal changes described above), atrophy of the lymph nodes and thymus gland, and the appearance of ulcers in the gastrointestinal tract. Obviously, frequently repeating such changes are harmful to health; it is not without reason that they say that all diseases are caused by nerves.

Conditions for stress

You can talk about stress when:

• the subject perceives the situation as extreme;
• the situation is perceived as demands that exceed the abilities and capabilities of the individual;
• a person perceives a significant difference between the costs of fulfilling requirements and satisfaction from the results.

Types of stress

You might be surprised, but stress can be beneficial. Precursors of stress are emotions, as we know, they can be positive and negative. In this regard, stress can be pleasant or unpleasant. For example, a surprise (surprise) can be pleasant and unpleasant, but at the biological level it looks the same.

Unpleasant and dangerous stress is called. Positive stress is called eustress. Their features:

• With eustress, a person experiences positive emotions, he is confident in himself and is ready to cope with the situation and the emotions that accompany it. Eustress awakens a person and makes him move forward. This is positive excitement and joy.
• Distress is the result of critical overexertion. It hinders human development and causes deterioration in health.

In addition, stress can be short-term, acute and chronic. Short-term ones are usually beneficial. Acute stress borders on a state of shock, it is an unexpected and severe shock. Chronic stress is exposure to various minor stressors over time.

An example of positive, short-term and beneficial stress is competition and public speaking. An example of distress (dangerous and prolonged stress) is, for example, the death of a loved one.

The following types of stress are distinguished by areas of occurrence:

• intrapersonal stress (unfulfilled expectations, senselessness and purposelessness of actions, unfulfilled needs, painful memories, etc.);
• interpersonal stress (problems in relationships with people, criticism and evaluation, conflicts);
• financial stress (inability to pay rent, salary delays, lack of funds, etc.);
• personal stress (difficulties associated with the implementation, compliance and non-compliance with duties);
• family stress (all the difficulties associated with the family, intergenerational relationships, and performance of marital roles, etc.);
• environmental stress (unfavorable natural conditions);
• social stress (problems relating to the whole society or the category of people to which the person considers himself);
• work stress (problems in the work sphere).

In addition, stress can be physiological and psychological. Physiological stress is a reaction to unfavorable environmental conditions. In essence, this is environmental stress. Physiological stress can be:

• chemical (the influence of substances, lack of oxygen, hunger);
• biological (disease);
• physical (professional sports and high loads);
• mechanical (damage to the body, violation of the integrity of the integument).

Psychological stress occurs in the social sphere, during the interaction of a person with society. Psychological types of stress include intrapersonal, interpersonal, personal, work and informational.

We haven't mentioned the last type yet, let's pay attention to it. Information stress involves information overload. Every day people are forced to process large amounts of information; a high-risk group consists of people whose profession involves searching, processing and recording information (students, accountants, teachers, journalists). Television, the Internet, vocational training and the performance of duties force us not only to receive information, but also to analyze it, assimilate it, and solve problematic problems. The chaotic flow of information provokes fatigue, absent-mindedness, decreased concentration, and distraction from goals and professional responsibilities. Overload is especially dangerous in the second part of the day, before going to bed. Sleep problems are a common consequence of information overload.

Causes of stress

The cause of stress is new and unusual living conditions for the individual. Obviously, it is impossible to list all stress factors; they are subjective in nature and depend on the norm familiar to a particular person. Both the unstable economic situation in the country and the lack of the desired product in the store can cause stress.

Which factor turns out to be stressful depends on the person, personal experience and other individual personal characteristics. For example, a child from a dysfunctional family will react calmly to swearing and fighting in the future than a person who has never encountered such treatment.

The cause of adult stress is often difficulties at work. Among the work stress factors, the following are distinguished:

• Organizational factors: overload or underemployment, conflicting demands (role conflict), uncertainty of requirements, uninteresting work, extreme or unfavorable working conditions, inadequate process organization.
• Organizational and personal factors: fear of mistakes and dismissal, fear of losing your job and your “I”.
• Organizational and production factors: unfavorable psychological climate in the team, conflicts, lack of social support.

Personal stressors include:

• conflicts and misunderstandings in the family;
• illness;
• crises;
• a loss ;
• etc.

Stress is a response to demand. Regardless of the character (positive or negative), a restructuring of the body occurs. Biochemical changes are a protective reaction developed by evolution. In fact, it is these biochemical changes that cause the feelings and emotions that we feel during times of stress. What worries us is not the stress itself, but its consequences - emotions that do not receive an outlet.

Signs of stress

Signs of stress include:

• feeling and tension;
• feeling of being unable to overcome the current situation;
• sleep problems;
• fatigue and apathy;
• lethargy;
• passivity;
• hot temper;
• inadequate reactions;
• depression;
• yearning;
• dissatisfaction with oneself, work, other people, the whole world.

The effects of stress

Stress makes a person nervous and fussy. The accumulating energy asks for release, but remaining unrealized, it destroys a person from the inside. All psychological complications are caused by stagnation of physical energy. After all, a person as a social being is forbidden to openly splash out his negativity, we cannot act like animals in a situation of stress: fight, run. Although some people can afford it, there are still some situations that require such behavior. But, for example, it is difficult to solve the problems of an office worker in this way. This is where the tension accumulates.

So, stress can cause:

• cardiovascular diseases;
• colds and impaired immunity;
• allergies;
• diseases of the gastrointestinal tract;
• other ;
• diseases and disorders of the genitourinary system;
• pain and discomfort in muscles and joints;
• decreased bone density;
• decreased activity and ability to work.

Experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) suggest that by 2020 (the main danger of stress) will come out on top in popularity, bypassing infectious and cardiovascular diseases. In addition, WHO notes that already 45% of all diseases are caused by stress.

But this is dangerous for chronic stress and stress at the stage of distress. In moderate doses, stress acts as a hardening for the psyche, increases the body's resistance. But this does not mean that such “hardening events” should be specially carried out.

Afterword

At times of stress, our body is prepared for two options: fight or flight. This is dictated by the animal part of us, the biological tension of the body. Of course, in real life, people don't always literally run away or attack when they're stressed (although that's not uncommon). More often this is understood abstractly: flight, for example, means going into drunkenness or depression.

It should be understood that stress cannot be avoided. This is a variant of the body's reflex response to difficult or unpleasant (unfavorable) circumstances. A developing active personality will have to face the new and unknown, unusual, frightening all his life. And the body will react with appropriate hormonal changes, it will reflexively defend itself.

It's hard to think through all the causes of stress. In people, they are individual, and in each case they manifest themselves differently depending on experience, position in life, and even gender.

But there are common features that allow you to recognize, connect and systematize cases when a person is nervous. Although the factors leading to this condition are always different, the mechanism of the body's reactions is the same.

invisible enemy

An acute reaction to stress is a reaction to the demands that are placed on the body. A person sweats during hard work - the body produces sweat to cool the body. A person swims against the current, the body has to make efforts and demand more from the cardiovascular system and muscles, increase the heartbeat, increase the pressure in order to improve the blood supply to the muscles.

It is possible to experience signs and symptoms of stress and depression not only because of external or internal damage to the body. A person can fall into this state, for example, playing dominoes or feeling a surge of joy. If stress carries a negative emotional background and creates discomfort, leading to discord in the body, this situation is called distress.

Often in a person, stress enhances productivity, increases returns and increases the efficiency of the body. For example, during school exams, submitting reports, on the eve of competitions. In such cases, stress is more beneficial by acting as a stimulus. Trying to completely eliminate the subjective causes and consequences of stress from your life can even be harmful. It is enough to minimize the impact of distress on quality of life.

What is stress

The danger of the consequences of stress will increase not so much because of the duration of the reaction, but because of the density of experiences.

According to the results of the test, scientists found that even short-term powerful stress plays a role in the formation of a serious illness. To prevent unwanted consequences, you need to train resistance and prepare the body to deal with stress.

Stress factors

For a clear understanding of the causes that provoke the psychological symptoms of stress, there are situations called stress factors. Stress factors are a reflection of events that affect the state of the body, both negative (losing a phone, a quarrel in the family) and positive (buying a laptop, marriage). These factors cause stress to the extent that a person reacts to them. The impact of stress will be less if the marriage was a long-awaited event, and stronger when it was concluded under the yoke of external influence.

In cases where a person perceives failures more easily and regards them as life experiences to be gained, stress can be caused in the form of mild anxiety. But if even minor troubles unsettle a person, this can lead to serious complications for the health of the body, including depression and clouding of consciousness. Based on this, we conclude that behavioral signs of stress are strictly individual for each person.

Let's divide stress factors into two types: internal and external. External are events and changes that can be controlled. Internal ones are a game of our imagination, a projection of the subconscious. Let's make a popular list of causes of stress.

Types of causes of stress

External reasons:

• drastic changes in a person’s life;
• difficulties in relationships with people;
• material problems;
• high employment;
• personal life (family and children).

Internal reasons:

• pessimism;
• negative self-talk;
• unrealistic expectations;
• lack of diligence and perseverance;
• perfectionism.

The most common stress factors:

• divorce from spouse;
• separation from a partner;
• imprisonment;
• illness or injury;
• illness or death of a loved one;
• dismissal from work;
• marriage;
• reconciliation of spouses in marriage;
• retirement.

Consequences of stress

When a person is exposed to stress for a long time, it can lead to:

• stroke;
• diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (ulcers, appetite disturbances, constipation, diarrhea);
• sleep disorders (insomnia, drowsiness);
• impotence;
• accelerated aging, sharp deterioration in the condition of hair, skin, nails;
• the appearance of cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, tachycardia, angina pectoris); the occurrence of certain skin diseases, such as eczema;
• cancer diseases.

Consequences of stress

Main Causes of Stress

In addition to stress factors, there is also an underlying cause of stress. There is an opinion among scientists that educated people, as well as those who receive high salaries, suffer the most serious damage from stress. Let us note the most popular reasons.

Finance	The first place is occupied by financial relations. Our society reacts extremely sharply to all transactions, as a result of which they are forced to part with a large sum. For example, buying an apartment, household appliances, renovations, losing a wallet, etc.
Job	Second place can rightfully be assigned to work, since it is intertwined with the field of finance. Career advancement or simply direct communication with colleagues sooner or later causes clinical forms of stress. Moreover, most of the population considers work a priority in life.
Health and Safety	Due to the fact that any illness is associated with a threat to life, society perceives this cause as extremely painful.
Family	Conflicts with loved ones are inevitable, and they take fourth place, because not a single family has yet managed to avoid them. Such experiences often leave an imprint for years, and invariably cause harm to health, provoking or exacerbating illnesses.
Personal relationships	We will give fifth place to the people around us, friends, employees and strangers whom we encounter day after day. It is these sources of stress that leave an emotional imprint on us and provoke conflict situations.
Personal problems	People stubbornly try to control both their lives and the lives of loved ones every day. But it is impossible to maintain constant control over oneself and related factors; as a result, a breakdown causes stress and is sixth on the list of causes.
Impossibility of self-expression	In seventh place you can put a person’s desire to express himself, to show his uniqueness. But alas, not everyone succeeds, which leads to stress.
Death	Nowadays, death is perceived differently by everyone, leaving no one indifferent. Even the death of a beloved hamster can plunge a person into depression for many years. Not to mention the passing of a loved one.

Finance is a common reason

Signs of stress

From the variety of factors, 4 main groups of stress symptoms can be distinguished.

PHYSIOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS	INTELLIGENT (COGNITIVE)	EMOTIONAL	BEHAVIORAL
Persistent headaches, migraines	Indecisiveness	Irritability	Loss of appetite or overeating
Indigestion	Memory loss	Anxiety	Speech Impairment
Palpitations (a feeling that the heart is beating irregularly or rapidly)	Decreased concentration	Suspicion	Increased problems in the family
Feeling short of breath when inhaling	Increased distractibility	Fussiness	Poor time management
Convulsions	"Tunnel" vision	Feeling tense	Avoidance of supportive, friendly relationships
Fatigue	Bad dreams, nightmares	Exhaustion	Ungroomed
Excessive sweating	Mistakes	Susceptibility to attacks of anger	Antisocial behavior, deceit
Clenched hands or jaw	Losing Initiative	Cynical, inappropriate humor	Failure to develop
fainting	Constant negative thoughts	Feelings of nervousness, fearfulness, anxiety	Low productivity
Rapid gain or loss of body weight	Impaired judgment, confused thinking	Loss of confidence	Sleep disturbance or insomnia
Feeling of a lump in the throat.	Impulsive thinking, hasty decisions	Decreased life satisfaction	Heavy smoking and alcohol consumption

If the signs of stress are not recognized in time and appropriate measures are not taken, they risk developing into a more severe form.

Symptoms of stress

Acute stress

Acute stress is the body’s immediate response to something that is happening that causes strong anxiety. For example, death, skydiving, interview. All these situations provoke a number of symptoms that make it easier to determine your condition.

Here are the main ones:

• nausea;
• emotional numbness;
• headache;
• cardiopalmus;
• chest pain;
• sharp aggression.

If you feel one or more of the above symptoms, then the first thing you need to do is calm down and take a few deep breaths. This is how you can quickly adapt to what is happening and collect your thoughts. After all, such a prolonged reaction can become chronic.

Symptoms of Chronic Stress

All illnesses that become chronic are extremely dangerous. Chronic stress significantly reduces performance and drains vitality. The symptoms of the disease will not disappear on their own; serious treatment is required. But first, you need to highlight the symptoms:

1. Fatigue becomes a constant companion, manifesting itself both physically and mentally.
2. Neither long sleep, nor rest in nature, nor even vacations help anymore.
3. The joy of being with family and friends disappears. In the worst state of affairs, communication begins to depress and irritate.
4. Dissatisfaction with life and appearance is growing stronger and stronger every day.
5. The feeling of hopelessness increases.
6. Health is deteriorating, previously suffered illnesses begin to worsen, migraines and insomnia take strong positions in the body’s condition.
7. Concentration is scattered, memory begins to fail, information from the outside is perceived sluggishly, without interest. Irritation and anger at everyone and oneself accompany us always and everywhere.

Neglected stress is fraught with various psychoneurological diseases and can also lead to alcoholism or drug addiction. Therefore, after diagnosing such stress, you need to immediately take measures to eliminate it.

It can be difficult to cope on your own, so you need to turn to specialists, because the principle: “the main thing is not to do harm” is always relevant.

How to deal with stress

7 ways to protect yourself from stress

By improving the body's resistance to stress, you prolong life and improve its quality. To achieve this, simple recommendations have been developed to reduce stress:

Take everything easier

The more nervous you are about every little thing in your family and at work, the more harm you will do to your body. Try to imagine that you are a sieve, and all the main problems pass through you without leaving a trace.

Learn Positive Thinking

Watch more positive programs, read good books, watch good films. These impressions will help you strengthen your emotional background.

Free yourself from negative emotions

Negativity accumulates in the body, and if you don’t give it an outlet, you can have a nervous breakdown. This doesn’t mean you need to take it out on your loved ones or co-workers. There is a simpler emotional or physical way: hit a punching bag, go for a run, find a secluded place where you can throw it out.

Go on a trip

First of all, people go on trips for a change of scenery and new experiences. If you can’t afford long trips, take a drive or walk around your hometown; there are definitely corners of it that you have never been to. Use all your imagination in organizing such a vacation.

Take baths

Baths are the best way to relax. Turn on pleasant music, light candles, add aromatic oil. Take a professional massage course. In general, do whatever you enjoy and that brings you a feeling of peace and tranquility.

Find your passion

Doing what you love will distract you from bad thoughts and give you a dose of positive emotions. For an activity to bring you joy, you must really enjoy it.

Dream and fantasize

Visualize your dreams and deepest desires more often. The more detailed and real the picture, the more positive emotions the visualization process will bring. Dream with pleasure.

Problems at work - stress factor

Post-traumatic state

But, in addition to stress, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is present in our lives. The feeling of helplessness, threat, hopelessness of the situation can develop a post-traumatic state. This can be triggered by a traumatic event. Such events include natural disasters, military operations, and terrorist attacks. All those events that are beyond our control. Most often, the people who suffer are those involved in these events and the liquidators of the consequences: emergency services workers, rescuers, law enforcement officers.

Post-traumatic disorder develops differently for everyone, depending on mental stability, but still quite quickly, but symptoms can appear a month or two after the incident, depending on the level of stress. They can be triggered by any reminder of the tragedy: smell, sound, picture. But most often the symptoms go away after some time.

But if you realize that these symptoms do not go away or get worse, then you have post-traumatic stress.

Signs of post-traumatic stress disorder:

• sleep problems (difficulty falling asleep; waking up in the middle of the night);
• irritability and/or outbursts of anger;
• difficulty concentrating/focusing attention;
• hypervigilance/hypercontrol;
• a feeling of nervousness and rapid excitability;
• anger and/or irritability;
• guilt, shame and/or self-flagellation (self-accusation);
• abuse of harmful substances (alcohol, nicotine, drugs);
• feelings of distrust and/or betrayal by others;
• depression and/or hopelessness;
• thoughts and/or feelings about suicide;
• feeling of loneliness and/or isolation from the world;
• physiological (physical) pain and/or tension.

The clinical manifestations that recognize stress may vary depending on the situation and the individual.

But there is a set of rules that can reduce the source of stress and help cope with the situation:

• Please be patient and understanding. Any healing takes time; physical wounds are sometimes easier to heal than spiritual ones. A person may have a desire to constantly talk about what happened, do not refuse, this is one of the treatment methods to reduce the likelihood of stress. The more a person speaks out, the easier it will be for him. By doing this, he will, as it were, remove some of the burden from himself.
• All memories associated with the tragedy are more difficult to bear, the condition may worsen on the anniversaries of the events, when visiting the scene. This is also facilitated by similar images, sounds, and smells. The list of irritants can be very long. Any connection to the incident will carry a potential threat. Try to limit the possibility of contact with them as much as possible.
• Don't assume that PTSD symptoms are directed in your direction. Do not rush to be offended if a person becomes withdrawn, tries to avoid you with all his might, often gets annoyed and even rude. This difference in behavior has nothing to do with you or your relationship.
• Do not force a loved one to talk. Such conversations can cause both improvements and, on the contrary, aggravate stress syndrome. It is difficult for many to talk about it, and even more difficult to remember. If a person wants or is mentally prepared, he himself will tell you about everything. But that doesn't mean you have to leave him alone. Just being there will be enough.

Conclusion

If you recognize the symptoms of your condition in at least a few points in this article, you can, of course, try to cope with this situation yourself. But it’s not worth the risk, because there are enough good specialists who can help you effectively deal with the problem. And remember, self-medication is dangerous to health.

Introduction

Stress - this term is used to refer to a wide range of conditions that arise in response to a variety of extreme influences.

This concept was first introduced by psychologist G. Selye to denote a nonspecific reaction of the body in response to any adverse impact.

Later it began to be used in psychology to describe the states of an individual under extreme conditions at the physiological, psychological and behavioral levels.

Depending on the type of influences and the nature of their influences, stress in psychology is classified into several types: physiological stress and psychological stress. Moreover, the latter is divided into: informational stress and emotional stress.

Information stress occurs in situations of information overload, when the subject cannot cope with any task, does not have time to make decisions at the required pace - with high responsibility for the decisions made and their consequences.

Emotional stress manifests itself in situations of threat, danger, resentment... At the same time, changes occur in emotional states (hysterics often occur), in speech and motor behavior ("loses the power of speech", "stands rooted to the spot").

However, stress can also have a positive, mobilizing effect on activity - distress.

In this case, a person is able to solve many security-related problems in an instant and find non-standard approaches. At such moments, you feel a surge of strength and energy coming from nowhere. And although a long stay in this state is extremely undesirable and dangerous for the body, for many it is a great opportunity to stay in good shape.

Factors that cause stress

The concept and essence of stress, types of stressors

According to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, stress (from the English stress - “pressure, tension”) is a state of an individual that arises as a response to various extreme types of influence from the external and internal environment that unbalance a person’s physical or psychological functions.

The author of the doctrine of stress, G. Selye, wrote: “Stress is life, and life is stress. Without stress, life is practically impossible.” At the same time, an indispensable condition for a free and independent life, according to Claude Bernard, is the constancy of the internal environment, and according to V. Cannon, the body’s ability to maintain this constancy (homeostasis, homeostasis, homeokinesis, that is, dynamic constancy). Taking into account this view of life, stress is a state of temporarily disturbed homeostasis, and stressors are various factors that can cause disruption of the body’s homeostasis. Stressors are any new, sufficiently informative, especially personally significant, and stimuli of varying intensity, duration and nature (quality) that can cause disturbances in the body’s homeostasis of varying severity.

So let’s define that stress is a nonspecific (general) reaction of the body to an impact (physical or psychological) that disrupts its homeostasis, as well as the corresponding state of the body’s nervous system (or the body as a whole).

Factors that cause a stress response are called stressors. They can be physical (high and low temperature, poison, excessive physical activity, etc.) and psychological (conflict situation in the family, death of a loved one, resentment, information overload, etc.).

Stressor (from the English stress - pressure, pressure, pressure, oppression, load, tension; synonyms: stress factor, stress situation) - a factor that causes a state of stress. A nonspecific irritant or stress-inducing influence.

Stressors can be external (exogenous) and internal (endogenous, i.e. formed in the body itself). By nature, stressful stimuli can be very different: physical, chemical, biological, informational, psychogenic and emotional.

An important place among physical, chemical and biological stressors (group 1) is occupied by mechanical, chemical and infectious influences, lack or excess of food, water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, cations, anions, salts, PAS and other substances that cause damage to cell-tissue structures and disturbances of homeostasis at various levels of organization of the body. Their main characteristic is the absoluteness (intensity) of the impact. Thus, the stressogenicity of these factors is determined by the quantitative characteristics and degree of disruption of the body’s homeostasis.

Social (informational, psychogenic and emotional) stressors (group 2) are characterized by both absoluteness (quantity) and relativity (quality) of influences in the form of unfavorable effects for the body, especially conflict ones (at work, at home, in the family, etc.) situations. Moreover, modern life not only increases this group of stressors on a person, but also often does not provide opportunities to avoid the effects of these stressors on the body, forcing it to adapt to them.

Conventionally, stressors can be divided into:

1) controlled (depend on us);

2) uncontrollable (out of our control);

3) those that are not stressors in their essence, but cause a stress reaction as a result of our interpretation of the factor as a stressor.

The key to coping well with stress is the ability to distinguish between stressors that we can control and stressors that we cannot control. The most common manageable stressors are interpersonal in nature. People's behavior is often determined by factors of health and illness. Stereotypes of behavior, unconscious actions, inability to manage one’s emotions, lack of knowledge of the norms of interpersonal relationships, and inability to manage conflict can become a source of stress.

A person under stress is capable of incredible (compared to a calm state) actions: at the moment of stress, a large amount of adrenaline is released into the blood, all the body’s reserves are mobilized and a person’s capabilities increase sharply, but only for a certain time.

The duration of this period and the consequences for the body are different for each person. In general, it is believed that small and short-term stress can even be useful for performing work and is harmless to a person, while long-term and significant stress can lead to various undesirable consequences. According to research by physiologists, if stress lasts a month or a year and has already become the cause of any disease, it is almost impossible to return the physiological functions of the body to normal.

The most common forms of stressors:

1) physiological (excessive pain, loud noise, exposure to extreme temperatures, taking certain medications, for example, caffeine or amphetamines);

2) psychological (information overload, competition, threat to social status, self-esteem, immediate environment, etc.).

Types of stressors:

5) fatigue;

6) insulation.

Factors that cause stress are the impact on a person from the external and internal environment, which leads him to a state of stress. The main factors influencing the occurrence of human stress in an organization: organizational, intra-organizational, personal.

Organizational factors are determined by the position of the individual in the organization, in particular, the lack of work corresponding to his qualifications; poor relations with employees; lack of growth prospects, competition in the workplace, etc.

Let's look at examples of organizational factors:

1) insufficient workload of the employee, for which the employee does not have the opportunity to fully demonstrate his qualifications;

A situation that is quite common in domestic organizations that have switched to a reduced work schedule or are forced to reduce the amount of work due to non-payment by customers;

2) the employee does not have a good understanding of his role and place in the production process, the team; this situation is usually caused by the lack of clearly established rights and responsibilities of a specialist, task ambiguity, and lack of growth prospects;

3) the need to simultaneously perform various tasks that are not related to each other, but urgent; this reason is often found among middle managers in an organization in the absence of delineation of functions between departments and levels of management;

4) non-participation of employees in the management of the organization, making decisions on the further development of the organization’s activities during a period of sharp changes in the directions of its activity; this situation is typical for a significant number of large domestic enterprises, where the personnel management system has not been established and ordinary employees are disconnected from the decision-making process.

Many Western companies have entire programs for attracting personnel to the affairs of the company and developing strategic decisions, especially when it is necessary to increase production volume or improve the quality of manufactured products.

Changing the tasks of a hired worker after moving to work in private structures, this worker realizes his main task is to increase the profit of the owner of this company.

Intraorganizational factors cause stress as a result of the following circumstances:

1) lack of work or a long search for it;

2) competition in the labor market;

3) the crisis state of the economy of the country and the region in particular;

4) family difficulties.

Personal factors that cause stress begin to act under the influence of unfulfilled individual needs, emotional instability, low or high self-esteem, etc.

There are quite a large number of types of stress.

Chronic stress presupposes the presence of constant (or one that exists for a long time) significant physical and moral stress on a person (long-term job search, constant success, clarification of relationships), as a result of which his neuropsychological or physiological state is extremely tense.

Acute stress is a person’s state after an event or phenomenon, as a result of which he lost his psychological balance (conflict with his boss, quarrels with loved ones).

Physiological stress arises from physical overload of the body and exposure to harmful environmental factors (high or low temperature in the work area, strong odors, insufficient lighting, increased noise levels).

Psychological stress is a consequence of a violation of the psychological stability of the individual for a number of reasons: offended pride, work that does not correspond to the qualifications.

In addition, such stress can be the result of a person’s psychological overload: performing too much work and responsibility for the quality of complex and lengthy work. A variant of psychological stress is emotional stress that occurs in situations of threat, danger, or resentment.

Information stress occurs in situations of information overload or from an information vacuum.

In addition, today there is a so-called “managerial type of stress”; it is caused by many factors related to the activities of managers and their relationships with people in complex market conditions.

When the environment and market conditions change dynamically, competition intensifies, and therefore it is necessary to make prompt, adequate management decisions to ensure the sustainable development of the enterprise and its competitiveness.

For a legal assessment of a person’s behavior under stress, it should be borne in mind that in a state of stress, a person’s consciousness may not narrow - a person may be able to mobilize his physical and mental capabilities to the maximum to overcome extreme impacts in reasonable ways.

Human behavior under stress is not completely relegated to an unconscious level. His actions to eliminate the stressor, the choice of tools and methods of action, speech means preserve social conditioning. A narrowing of consciousness during affect and stress does not mean its complete disorder.

Stressful situations happen to each of us almost every day: from minor troubles that we barely notice to serious traumatic events, the impact of which is felt for many years. Stress can also be caused by an unexpected pleasant event or news or something very expected, for example, the planned wedding of a daughter.

All stressful situations can be divided into three categories:

1. Spicy
These are mostly short episodic events that can have lasting consequences if the situation was psychologically traumatic.

2. Episodic
Quite short-term mini-stresses that we encounter regularly, for example, when we are late for work.

3. Chronic
Low-grade stress, such as that associated with illness or divorce.

The main stressors that cause us the most distress

The first and very significant factor that causes stress and tension in almost every person concerns his appearance. Who among us has never experienced worries about the appearance of wrinkles, excess weight or an unattractive figure?

Psychologist Allen Kanner and his colleagues developed a "highs and lows" scale that grades stress in terms of its impact on a person's life. More than half of the respondents to this survey ranked this stress factor and concern about their appearance in first place.

Work as a stress factor
Professional breakdowns happen to every second employee in the world. It has been noted that many sick leaves are associated precisely with the production stress factor.

Social stressors
These include: the desire to be popular, successful, and achieve physical perfection at all costs. Social minorities are also at risk and are often subject to prejudice: exclusion from society, bullying, discrimination. Ian Meyer from the University of California found that such stressors can lead to mental health problems.

Health Stressors
Fear for the health of loved ones, the experience of one’s own illness and loss of control over what is happening can become a source of constant anxiety and chronic stress.

Any major changes in life can act as a factor of emotional stress
Adaptation to new circumstances is another stress factor. And it doesn’t matter what changes they are, for the better or for the worse.

American psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and Richard Reich developed a rating scale for the difficulty of adapting to social changes. According to her, the most stressful factors are the death of a loved one or divorce, and they rank first on the scale. And the move was in 28th place.

Financial stressors
The appearance of stress, tension, anxiety is influenced by all kinds of debts, bills, loans, as well as the need to financially support other people, the lack of opportunity to live in abundance and retire peacefully - all these factors lead to a feeling of financial insecurity, which provokes stress.

Relationships as a stress factor
Even the happiest relationships can be a source of stress for both partners. When people start living together, they need to adapt to each other's habits and get used to the invasion of personal space.

People also face everyday problems, which, oddly enough, are to blame for most breakups and divorces, which naturally causes stress. However, good relationships with loved ones and friends are the two most significant factors (according to the Kanner scale) that improve our emotional state and help fight stress.

Loss of a loved one as a stress factor
Psychological trauma from loss, mental pain or fear of losing a loved one is an obvious stress factor. Caring for a dying person, organizing a funeral, and other situations associated with this sad event certainly adds to the stress.

And another significant stress factor is traumatic events in the past. Trauma caused by events in the past can reverberate for years to come. About a third of people exposed to trauma subsequently develop post-traumatic stress disorder.