Stress and stress disorders: symptoms and treatment

By Cristiano Antonino On Mar 30, 2023

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Stress is the psychophysical response to a number of emotional, cognitive or social tasks perceived by the person as excessive

Excessive stress can easily lead to numerous stress disorders

The term stress was first used in 1936 by Hans Selye.

He defined it as “a non-specific response of the organism to every request made on it”.

According to Selye’s model, the stress-producing process consists of three distinct phases:

1 – alarm phase: the subject signals the excess of duties and sets in motion the resources to fulfill them;

2 – phase of resistance: the subject stabilizes his conditions and adapts to the new level of requests;

3 – exhaustion phase: in this phase there is the fall of the defenses and the subsequent appearance of physical, physiological and emotional symptoms.

The duration of the stressful event leads to distinguishing stress into two categories

The acute one, which occurs only once and in a limited amount of time; the chronic one, that is when the stimulus is long-lasting.

Chronic stress

Chronic stress can be further divided into intermittent chronic stress and proper chronic stress.

The former occur at regular intervals, have a limited duration, and are therefore more or less predictable.

The latter are instead represented by long-lasting situations that invest the existence of a person.

They become stressful when they represent a constant obstacle to the pursuit of one’s goals.

In addition to the duration, the nature of the stressor is also important.

We can have beneficial stressors, called eustress, which give tone and vitality to the body.

But also harmful stressors, called distress, which can lead to a lowering of the immune system.

Stressors

Stress can be caused by:

both pleasant and unpleasant life events (for example: marriage, birth of a child, death of a loved one, divorce, retirement, sexual problems);
physical causes: cold or intense heat, smoking and alcohol abuse, severe limitations in movement;
environmental factors: the lack of a home, noisy, polluted environments are determining factors in a certain state of stress;
organic diseases: when our body is affected by a disease, the whole organism, in an attempt to defend itself, puts itself in a state of tension which, in most cases, due to the scarce defenses it can provide, leads to a stressful condition;
cataclysms.

Symptoms of stress

Stress symptoms can be divided into four categories.

Physical symptoms

Heachache
Back pain
Indigestion
Neck and shoulders tense
Stomach pain
Tachycardia
Hand sweating
Extrasystole
Agitation and restlessness
Sleep problems
Tiredness
Dizziness
Loss of appetite
Sexual problems
Ringing (ringing, whistling) in the ears

Behavioral symptoms

Teeth grinding
Attitude to bullying
Increased use of alcohol
Compulsive eating (jumpy eating)
Criticize others
Inability to get things done
Emotional symptoms
Cry
Huge sense of pressure
Nervousness, anxiety
Anger
Feeling that there is no meaning in living
Loneliness
Voltage; feel like you’re about to explode
Unhappiness without a valid reason
Feel powerless to change things
Being easily agitated or upset

Cognitive symptoms

Trouble thinking clearly
Inability to make decisions
Forgetting things or getting distracted easily
Thinking about running away
Lack of creativity
Worry constantly
Memory loss
Loss of sense of humour

Stress-related psychological disorders are: Post-traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, psychosomatic disorders (bronchial asthma, arterial hypertension, colitis, skin eczema, psychogenic alopecia, gastro-duodenal ulcer), fibromyalgia, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, sexual disorders, eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia).

Stress cure

A high level of stress can be reduced by resorting to relaxation techniques, mindfulness meditation, neurofeedback, and especially cognitive behavioral psychotherapy.

Relaxation techniques aim to control and manage physiological responses.

By learning to control these reactions, the individual can use them to his advantage for the “stress cure”, reaching a state of relaxation rather than tension.

The most effective relaxation techniques are: Jacobson’s, autogenic training, Biofeedback

Cognitive behavioral therapy, one of the best options, allows the individual to learn methods of managing anxiety and changing dysfunctional behaviors.

This approach focuses on the difficulties present “here and now” so as to be able to evaluate the framework of external or internal behaviors to be modified to cure stress.

This implies that the treatment of stress passes through the examination of the strengths and weaknesses of the subject.

A careful analysis of the events preceding and following the occurrence of any maladaptive behavior is required.

Initially, the fixed patterns and recurring thoughts that maintain the typical symptomatic picture of stress are identified.

Subsequently, the aim is to correct and enrich these patterns and thoughts, in order to correct and integrate them with thoughts that are more functional for the well-being of the subject.

Furthermore, the cognitive behavioral approach helps the individual in learning new modes of emotional and behavioral reaction.