Stress, symptoms, causes & management skills

Stress refers to the way one’s body responds to any kind of demand while stress management is the ability to maintain control when situations, people and events make excessive demands.

Anything that poses a challenge or a threat to our well-being is a stress.

Life is full of frustrations and demands. For many people, stress is so commonplace that it has become a way of life. Some stresses get you going and they are good for you – without any stress at all many say our lives would be boring and would probably feel pointless.

Stress within your comfort zone can help you perform under pressure and motivate you to do your best. However, when stress becomes overwhelming, it can damage your health, mood, relationships and quality of life.

In this text we shall focus on stress that is bad for you.

You can protect yourself by understanding the different levels of stress, recognizing the signs and symptoms of stress overload, and taking steps to reduce its harmful effects.

Levels of stress

There are different categories of stress.

Hypo stress- This is when you don’t have energy and interest of doing something.
Euestress- This is the type of stress that you feel being excited and ready to do something for instance when you are ready to do exams.
Distress- This affects personality and relationships for instance you are called by teachers in school that your daughter has sneaked out of school.
Hyper stress- This is a very dangerous level since mostly it is associated with rape, murder, over indulgence i.e. drunkenness. It can lead to madness if not well managed.

Symptoms of stress

Insomnia- lack of sleep
Mental decay- Imagine a state where you even forget the name of your wife or husband.
Lack of concentration- One becomes absent minded.
Ever annoyed or irritated.

Result of stress

Leads to hypertension
Blindness
Hallucinations/ Imaginations
Delusion/ suspicion
Unco-operative

Causes of stress

Financial problem
Work place stress

Feel undermined- When colleagues look down upon you.
Demotion/ Promotion
Unclear job description
Failure to give task priority
Feeling personally inadequacy
Being overworked
Sense of loosing job.

Personal relationship

Relationship with your children, neighbors, youths, being dumped by somebody you loved and colleagues at work.
Childlessness/ Barrenness

Health problems

Hypertension
Diabetes
Development stages

Other causes

Working in a strenuous environment
Feeling discriminated i.e. body structure, age, gender etc.

How to manage stress

Stress management is all about taking charge: of your lifestyle, thoughts, emotions, and the way you deal with problems. No matter how stressful your life seems, there are steps you can take to relieve the pressure and regain control.

When you’re feeling anxious or stressed, these strategies can help you to cope:

The first step in managing stress is to understand where these feelings are coming from. Keep a stress diary to identify the causes of short-term or frequent stress in your life.

As you write down events, think about why this situation stresses you out.

Next, list the things that stress you in order of their impact. Which affect your health and well-being most? And which affect your work and productivity?

Then, consider using some of the approaches below to manage your stress. You will find that you can likely be able to use a mix of strategies from each area.

Eat balanced diet
Have exercise
Have enough rest
Shake your body
Attend parties
Learn to delegate duties
Avoid setting high expectations
Be honest
Co-operate, compromise, compete and reconciliation
Have positive thinking
Be flexible- Accept things that cannot be changed
Learn to forgive- If somebody wronged you never hold grudges forgive and forget.
Avoid people who stress you – Limit time with such fellows.
Make new friends
Do something you enjoy everyday