Types Of Stress

Muscle pain, insomnia, migraines, concentration problems… There are different types of stress and knowing each one of them can allow us to deal more accurately with these situations. While it’s true that we sometimes experience all these physical and psychological sensations at the same time, like a kind of tangled mess, each of these varieties has a specific trigger.

We won’t be wrong if we point out that this psychological condition is on the rise. Although most of us have experienced this psychological state on occasion, the real problem comes when we don’t deal with it effectively. When stress is here to stay and you drag it along for weeks, months (and even years), the impact on your health is immense.

We have at our disposal an extensive scientific literature that alerts us to the risk of chronic stress on cardiovascular health. For example, research such as the one conducted at La Joya University in California by Dr. Joel Dismale indicates that there are many queries regarding the effects of stress in medicine. Many people seek help to relieve headaches, chest pressure, sleep problems, etc.

If these situations become chronic and adequate strategies to deal with stress are not applied, cardiovascular health may be affected. This gives us an obvious clue to the need to be much more sensitive to these kinds of realities.

What are the different types of stress?

It’s very common in our day to day to release a “I’m stressed out!”. So, although we experience this experience unpleasantly because we are under pressure and feel its effects on the body, there is something we should be aware of. Stress is a normal response to “abnormal” situations.

In other words, human beings, like the rest of animals, need this psychophysiological activation in order to respond to threats, dangers and changes in the environment. Stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol, facilitate the activation of these types of changes that allow us, among other things, to solve problems at work or overcome any difficulties in life.

However, there are times when stress ceases to be positive and useful and turns into “distress”. It is negative stress that causes imbalance, covers us with feelings of helplessness and can stick to our bodies for long periods of time. Knowing the different types of stress will allow us to better understand this type of situation.

Acute stress, when life pressures us

Acute stress is usually brief and is also the most common. Having problems at work, having a strong argument with someone, being worried about a medical appointment, being robbed or witnessing an accident are examples of this type of stress. This type of stress is the most common and is basically defined by the mental focus that focuses on the negative or challenging event.

For its diagnosis, we can follow the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).

• Intrusion symptoms: the person cannot get the worry out of his head for a certain period of time, although it gradually loses its intensity;
• Symptoms associated with mood: anguish, fear, restlessness;
• Symptoms of excitement: headaches, problems sleeping and concentrating, difficulty making decisions…

As we indicated, among the different types of stress, acute is the most common. In these cases, cognitive-behavioral therapy, cognitive restructuring strategies, relaxation techniques, and imaginary exposure facilitate progress for most patients.

Episodic acute stress or crisis-prone personality

Acute episodic stress is linked to a specific personality profile. We are referring to the type A personality, which the American cardiologists Meyer Friedman and Raymond Rosenman defined in the 1950s. These people define themselves, above all, by exhibiting a very competitive type of behavior.

Likewise, this type of stress is part of a psychological state of high stress that comes and goes. In other words, it appears in a few moments to disappear for a few months and, little by little, it starts to present its symptoms again. Let’s look at the most common traits:

• Emotional anguish: tend to feel anger or irritability, impatience, moodiness, constant tension. In their minds there is a sense of urgency, of having to do something eminently for which they must be prepared;
• Cognitive distress: Type A personality is very demanding. This guides them to be aware of several stimuli at the same time. However, living for months at this level of activation leads to memory problems and mental fatigue;
• Interpersonal relationships are always problematic;
• They suffer muscular discomfort, headaches, backaches, jaw pains, etc;

• Stomach and intestinal changes;
• Recurrent episodic stress is linked to the appearance of cardiovascular problems.

Types of stress: chronic stress or suffering that does not vary over time

Having spent many years in a harmful professional environment where we were abused. Suffering a traumatic childhood. Losing a loved one and not being able to recover from this loss and what it brought. Possessing financing and suffering too much to make payments. Being part of a family environment defined by conflicts, demands, criticisms, etc.

These and many other situations shape chronic stress, one of the most problematic and stressful psychological conditions on all levels. They are states in which suffering is a constant, a discomfort that becomes part of our lifestyle until it is completely altered and subjugated to it.

• This is one of the types of stress that can appear along with other psychological problems such as depression;
• People suffering from chronic stress demonstrate insecurity and learned helplessness (a feeling that no matter how hard they do things or try, their reality will not change);
• They suffer from insomnia, fatigue, digestive problems, muscle discomfort, tachycardia, concentration problems, etc.

The therapeutic approach for these patients always involves individualized attention that seeks to meet each particularity and need. However, in general, the following techniques are adequate:

• Favor an understanding of stress for the person;
• Emotional Management Strategies;
• Physiological deactivation techniques (diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation and thematic imagination, for example);

• Cognitive restructuring;
• Assertiveness techniques;
• Techniques for solving problems and overcoming difficult times and stressful times.

To conclude, each of the stress variants has treatment. The most decisive thing, in all cases, is to seek professional help as soon as possible to prevent the suffering from becoming constant.