Effects of Stress on our Health & Related Disorders:

Hello and Welcome back..!! 😃

This post is the continuation of my previous post on Stress.. We have seen what is stress and what's the mechanism behind this.. Also types of stress and symptoms of it.. If you haven't read it up, no worries, just click on this link to read (https://psychedbloggers.blogspot.com/2020/11/stress-what-actually-is-it.html)..

In this I'll be talking about the consequences of stress and also the stress related disorders.. So, first we'll see the general consequences and then we'll go into the specific disorders..

Effects/Consequences of stress on health: 

Arousal Modulation & High Performance: When an individual is in stress, the arousal level changes, which in turn affects the performance level of the individual. This change in arousal influence the psychological and physical state of the individual.

Socio-cultural Decompensation: In the face of wars, economic problems and other internal & external stressors that surpasses their adjustive capabilities society may undergo varying degrees of decomposition. At such times societies often resort to extreme measures in their attempts to maintain their organization and resist disintegration.

Cognitive Effects: When the level of stress is very high the decision maker likely to display premature closure termination, the decision dilemma without generating all the alternatives & seeking the available information about the outcomes. High stress reduces problem solving ability and person’s attention & perceptions are also somewhat impaired.

Biological Effects: Severe stress can markedly alter a person’s health. GAS model by Selye explains the biological decomposition under severe stress. Stress also activates Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) for which there some bodily changes can be seen, like, increased heart rate, dilated pupil, increase in blood sugar. Also, the adrenal glands start secreting epinephrine and norepinephrine due to fight or flight syndrome. Due to stress one’s immune system can also be affected. Robert Sapolsky said that chronic or repeated stress can potentially make one sick or can increase one’s risk of being sick.

Physiological Disorders: According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health there are several physiological disorders related to stress. These are- headache, upset stomach, irritability, sleep disturbance, difficulty in concentration, low morale and poor reactions with family & friends.

Stress Related Disorders:

Psychological effects of stress are one of the major issues nowadays. Personality decomposition under excessive stress can be seen highly. During a stressful event the body first gets alarmed and then tries to resist that stressful event. When it fails to resists then gives in and then starts the exhaustion. At this stage the person experiences stress psychologically and feels the psychological pressure as well. As a result, various psychological symptoms appear, like, anxiety, insecurity, burnout. These things again can lead to stress disorders. This category in ICD-10 consists of disorders which are temporally related to an exceptionally stressful life event (acute stress reaction and post-traumatic stress disorder). 

Acute Stress Disorder/Reaction 

According to ICD-10, in this disorder there is an immediate and clear temporal relationship between an exceptional stressor (such as death of a loved one, natural catastrophe, accident, rape) and the onset of symptoms. This disorder is more likely to develop when a person is in a situation of physical exhaustion. And also when the person is in extreme age group. Mainly the inability to cope with their situational stressors can lead to this disorder. But this is usually short-term and does not result into prolonged damaged. It is also more commonly seen in females and people who have poor coping skills.

The symptoms can be seen from a 'dazed' condition, anxiety, depression, anger, despair, overactivity or withdrawal, to even constriction of the field of consciousness. The good part is, the symptoms resolve rapidly (within few hours), if the personal can be removed from the stressful environment. If the stress continues or cannot be reversed, the resolution begins after 1-2 days and is usually minimal after about three days. (Source: A short text book of Psychiatry by Niraj Ahuja, 7th ed.)

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

According to ICD-10, this disorder arises as a delayed or protracted response to a stressful life event or situation, which is likely to cause pervasive distress in 'almost any person' (e.g. disasters, war, rape or torture, serious accident). The symptoms of PTSD may develop, after a period of coping latency, within six months after the stress or may be the delayed beyond this period of time. 

PTSD is characterized by recurrent and intrusive recollections/memory flashes of that very stressful event, either in images, thoughts, or perceptions or in the dreams. The person can have an associated sense of re-experiencing of the same stressful event. There is marked avoidance reaction of the events or situations that arouse recollections/memories of the stressful event, along with marked symptoms of anxiety and increased arousal. The other important clinical features of PTSD include partial amnesia for some aspects of the stressful event, feeling of numbness, and anhedonia (loss of interest/pleasure). (Source: A short text book of Psychiatry by Niraj Ahuja, 7th ed.)

These two are the stress related disorders. I hope I can make you understand that stress can really be dreadful and demanding. Stress disorders can also lead to other disorders which are comorbid with it. 

**Do remember, your mental health is as important as your physical health and taking a little care of it won't do any harm to you. If you really feel that something is bothering you or putting yourself in an actual stressful situation which in a way affecting your mental health or life altogether then do seek help from a mental health professional.

#Additional Knowledge for our readers:

• What is Psychological distress?

This is mainly defined from a clinical perspective in our field. Psychological distress is defined as a state of emotional suffering characterized by symptoms of depression and anxiety; these symptoms are tied with somatic symptoms that are likely to vary across cultures. The defining features of psychological distress are the exposure to a stressful event that threatens the physical or mental health, the inability to cope effectively with this stressor and the emotional turmoil that results from this ineffective coping. 

Nonspecific psychological distress (NPD) is characterized by a constellation of psychological and somatic symptoms that are common among individuals with a wide range of mental disorders but are not specific to any single disorder. (Kessler et. al.)

• What is Organizational Stress?

Organizational stress is the pattern of emotional and physiological reactions occurring in response to demands from within the organization. This is defined from an organizational perspective. When an individual is stressed, the reaction to that stress or symptoms of the stress can be same irrespective of the origin of the stress. Sometimes, this can be a good thing for an employee in the organization. A certain amount of stress can help them get through a tough situation. It makes the employee motivated towards his/her job and more resourceful. But in the long term, high level of stress is bad equally for physical and emotional wellbeing.

I hope you liked reading this post.. Will be posting more on this topic, on How to cope with stress.. For that, stay tuned and follow our blog.. If you have any queries then write in the comments and also put your feedback..

Till then, Take care and Thank you for reading..

See you in the next post.. 😃

~ Angira Gupta