One of the problems of chronic stress is that it can cause depression. One definition I found for depression is “An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts, that affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things.” To say the least [...]
One of the problems of chronic stress is that it can cause depression. One definition I found for depression is “An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts, that affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things.” To say the least this leaves the interpretation of depression pretty wide open.
Today many times people feeling sad, blue, unhappy or just plain down in the dumps tell others that they are “feeling depressed”. While these might be symptoms of one of many loosely defined types of depression, they probably are not clinically depressed.
How would you know if you are clinically depressed? Clinical depression can be defined as depression that is not a normal, temporary mood caused by life events or grieving. A person who is clinically depressed actually has a mood disorder that interferes with their ability to function normally on a day to day basis. You are clinically depressed when your feelings of sadness, loss, anger or frustration interfere with your everyday life for an extended period of time.
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Her eyes had deep, dark circles. She told me, “I haven’t slept in weeks.” I asked her why. She responded that it was because she “was all stressed out.” It was stress from her job and stress from her kids. She was stressed out from driving an hour each way to work and her boss [...]
Her eyes had deep, dark circles. She told me, “I haven’t slept in weeks.” I asked her why. She responded that it was because she “was all stressed out.” It was stress from her job and stress from her kids. She was stressed out from driving an hour each way to work and her boss was “driving her crazy.” Her stress was eating her alive.
People come to me with similar stories, of how stress is negatively affecting their lives, all the time. Stress is a killer. It has been linked to everything from headaches and digestive problems to reproductive ailments and even heart disease. Stress can age you both mentally and physically. If you experience long term or chronic stress, over time can it will kill you.
Chronic stress causes your body to release stress hormones. These hormones can cause inflammation to your cardiovascular system and, if left unchecked, can affect your immune system, metabolism as well as other body systems. Bruce McEwen, PhD head of the neuroendocrinology lab at Rockefeller University says, “Normally, in small amounts, these substances help the body adapt, but when they are chronically elevated they cause wear and tear.”
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When the pressure is too intense or when it lasts too long you can feel overloaded by stress. Stress overload can negatively affect you both mentally and physically. This is known as chronic stress. Chronic stress, simply put is being overloaded with stress on an ongoing basis. It’s when your fight or flight response is [...]
When the pressure is too intense or when it lasts too long you can feel overloaded by stress. Stress overload can negatively affect you both mentally and physically. This is known as chronic stress. Chronic stress, simply put is being overloaded with stress on an ongoing basis. It’s when your fight or flight response is sent into hyperdrive.
So what pushes you into the hyperactive fight or flight mode? Stress can be triggered by how you work, how you play or even how you relax. You don’t have to have some major triggering event – like losing a job or a significant other – to push you into a state of chronic stress. It’s possible to become over stressed just by being bored!
Now it’s important to remember that all stress isn’t bad for you. For example stress that accompanies a deadline to complete a project on time can help you focus and motivate you to work just a little harder. Being anxious and stressed out about the project or the deadline you are under, on the other hand, causing you to be chronically stressed can paralyze you and dull your ability to accomplish anything.
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Lately, stress has received a lot of bad press causing a lot of people to believe that all stress is bad. This simply isn’t true. While stress can be bad, or at least perceived as bad, it’s not necessarily bad. Some stress is actually positive and can be helpful, depending on the situation. All stress [...]
Lately, stress has received a lot of bad press causing a lot of people to believe that all stress is bad. This simply isn’t true. While stress can be bad, or at least perceived as bad, it’s not necessarily bad. Some stress is actually positive and can be helpful, depending on the situation.
All stress is not the same. The type of stress you are experiencing depends on the situation you find yourself in. Let’s take a look at the different categories and classifications of stress and how they affect you.
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