STRESS

Stress is a combination of protective physiological reactions that arise in the body in response to unfavorable environmental factors and difficult situations. During stress, a person encounters a problem that exceeds their mental and intellectual capabilities to solve.
Stress, with its physiological and psychological aspects, was first studied by Canadian physiologist and endocrinologist Hans Selye. The term is of English origin and means pressure or strain. It is taken from geology, where it denotes tension between layers of the Earth.

There are numerous factors (stressors) that can cause stress, and they affect different people in different ways. Therefore, when studying stress, it is important to consider an individual’s unique characteristics.

Stress manifests in various ways: changes in memory, attention, and concentration abilities, increased irritability and worry, feelings of loneliness or fear of being alone. It can also present as physical pain, appetite disturbances, sleep disorders, diarrhea, and more.

The following stages are considered:

Alarm Stage – This is primarily characterized by physiological changes such as an increase in the concentration of adrenaline in the blood, increased heart rate and breathing, intensified sweating, dilation of the pupils, and so on.

Resistance Stage – The body begins to resist the stressor, although internally it continues to expend its available reserves.

Exhaustion Stage – As a result of prolonged exposure to the stressor, the body’s available reserves are drastically depleted.

Chronic stress differs from everyday stress. The latter can be overcome through specific means, but when the duration of stress increases, chronic stress develops. This involves a constant state of tension caused by the perception that the demands of the environment exceed the individual’s resources. Additionally, it is a continuous feeling of tension because the individual perceives the demands of the environment as excessively high compared to their own resources.