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A Quick Overview

In today's day and age, where stress has become a major part of everyone's life, stress management has become crucial. According to a 2014 study, around 75% of people in the United States have been known to have the symptoms of it. But before we delve further into the ways of managing and treating this condition, let's understand what it is.

Stress refers to the body's natural response to any adverse situation. It's a form of physical or emotional tension due to any unpleasant event. In fact, it's a coping mechanism of the body and mind that is meant to protect you from any further danger. Short-term stress is not that harmful, but if you experience it long-term, it takes a toll on your physical and mental health, leading to diseases like depression and anxiety. Hence it's important to identify what triggers you and eventually work toward reducing and managing it.

Major Causes

Though various factors contribute to it, the causes can be classified into a few major categories, which are as follows:

• Work stress – This is considered one of the biggest causes of stress. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 40% of the people in the United States feel stressed out due to their work. The study also revealed that 26% of people in the United States feel burnt out due to their work. The main reason for job stress includes:
  • Unfair treatment at the workplace
  • Placing your work life over other aspects of your life
  • Lack of support from your peers, a toxic boss, and a toxic work environment.
  • Excessive workload or taking up way too much responsibility
  • Longer working hours
  • Lack of proper management in the workplace
  • Facing workplace discrimination or harassment
• Financial stress – This is the biggest cause of worry in the lives of people. This has been proved in a survey by the American Psychological Association (APA) that reported that money is the cause of stress for at least 72% of Americans. It has been known to cause diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, skin problems, depression, anxiety, etc. Here's how you can identify if you are experiencing it:
  • Your arguments are often related to money.
  • You often feel guilt while spending money.
  • You have constant bouts of anxiety when thinking about money.
  • You worry a lot about money.
• Relationship-based stress – Another major source of stress stems from relationship issues. Wondering how? Out of all the people in your life, there are few who might trigger this in you. It can be anyone like a family member, toxic ex, that friend who betrayed you, or that toxic co-worker who is always out to get you. These people drain your energy and cause you excessive worry. Here're a few common causes of relationship-based troubles:
  • Lack of time for each other and inability to share responsibilities
  • Presence of control issues and abuse in relationships
  • Lack of effective communication between the partners
  • Divorce issues among couples
  • Use of drugs and over-dependence on alcohol
  • Lack of emotional and sexual intimacy among the partners
  The common symptoms of this are quite similar to general symptoms you might experience. This includes symptoms like physical health issues, sleep disorders, and mental health issues like problems, depression, and anxiety. Relationship-based stress also includes things like self-esteem and self-worth issues, which are increasing quite a lot lately due to increased social media usage.
• Parenting-based stress – Parenting is considered to be one of the toughest jobs on the planet for a reason. It involves managing your job, daily chores, financial responsibilities, and raising your children single-handedly. All this takes a toll on the physical and mental health of the parents. This can lead to behavioral changes in the parent toward their children. It makes them adopt harsh and authoritative behavior towards their children leading to a strained relationship between the parent and the child. Here're a few causes of this:
  • Low-income levels
  • Long working hours
  • Being a single parent
  • Strained married life
  • Having a child who has been diagnosed with a certain kind of rare behavioral disability
• Daily life stress – This includes daily struggles like running late for work, multitasking between various activities, misplacing your commonly used items like keys or spectacles, or even burnt breakfast. These minor daily setbacks are easy to handle but, if ignored, can take a huge toll on your mental health, further leading to worry and anxiety. Another common reason for this is due to the busy lifestyle of people these days. Common reasons for it include working more than one job, inability to say no to people, and lack of setting boundaries in personal and professional relationships.

Common Symptoms

The symptoms can be classified into the following four categories:

• Physical symptoms – The first way in which symptoms manifest is through the body. These include symptoms:
  • Low energy
  • Upset stomach
  • Insomnia
  • Muscle pain and aches
  • Heart issues
  • Frequent headaches
  • Frequent colds and allergies
  • Nervousness
  • Sweaty hands and feets
  • Lack of sexual desire
• Emotional symptoms – Emotional symptoms include symptoms like:
  • Moodiness
  • Constantly feeling frustrated and agitated
  • Feeling of overwhelm and lack of control
  • Constantly having rampaging thoughts
  • Low self-esteem and self-worth
  • Feeling disconnected from others and avoiding them
• Cognitive symptoms – Cognitive symptoms include symptoms like:
  • Worrying too much
  • Having spiraling thoughts all the time
  • Being disorganized and scattered
  • Lack of focus
  • Viewing the world through a negative lens
  • Lack of proper judgment
• Behavioral symptoms – The behavioral symptoms include symptoms like:
  • Procrastinating too much
  • Excessive indulgence in alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes
  • Changes in appetite – either low or high
  • Feeling the symptoms of nervousness like fidgeting, nail-biting, etc.

How to Effectively Manage Your Stress

Though there are a lot of factors that can't be eliminated right away, there are ways to manage them effectively. Here're a few ways that help in managing it effectively:

• Exercise often – Exercise is one of the best ways that can help you feel better. It instantly helps you alleviate your mood due to the release of endorphins – the feel-good hormones which help you feel uplifted. Exercise also helps you stay grounded at the moment and thus helps you detach from your intrusive thoughts of worry and anxiety. You can pick up any exercise of your choice. It can be strength training, weight training, Zumba, aerobic exercise, or even yoga.
• Focus on nutrition – This condition can lead to a lot of eating disorders. It can either make you binge eat or eat too little or not at all. It can make you reach for that extra packet of chips or sweet and savory donuts. Hence it's important to not give in to these nudges and refrain from indulging in them. You need to make sure you have a healthy, well-balanced meal during the day. Make sure you eat whole foods like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. This will ensure you get ample vitamins, minerals, and vital nutrients.
• Make time for self-care – As cliché as it may sound, self-care can make or break the game for you. You feel stressed because you spend your maximum time doing things you hate. But what if you could spend some time doing things you love? So, make sure you spend some time doing things you love and indulging in self-care activities. It can include things like painting, gardening, singing, dancing, writing, having a spa session, etc.
• Practice Mindfulness – The real reason you feel stressed is that you are way too caught up in your thoughts. It can be either thoughts of the past or future. But what if you could actually stay in the moment? Yes, you definitely can stay present in this very moment. If you are wondering how - it's possible due to a technique called mindfulness. So, what exactly is mindfulness? Mindfulness is a technique in which you stay aware of the present moment. You focus on the "here and now." The events happening in the present moments, the sounds you hear, the work you are doing, etc. There are a lot of ways in which you can practice mindfulness. You can either focus on your breath or focus on the sounds you hear in your vicinity. There are different techniques and ways of practicing mindfulness using various meditation techniques.
• Reduce your screentime - The increased screentime is also one of the main causes of mental health issues in today's day and age. You are on your phones or laptops almost all the time. This has led to a disturbed sleep cycle, thereby increasing your stress levels even further. Though you can't really avoid using these gadgets completely, you can definitely reduce your screen time. You need to set specific hours for using these gadgets, which means if you are a working professional, make sure you log out of your office portal by 8:30 p.m. every night. Don't entertain any official work or emails after this time. Also, make sure you don't use your phone or any other gadgets just before sleeping. Make sure you keep a gap of at least two hours between using these gadgets and your sleep timings.
• Lean on your family and friends – Having a support system plays a pivotal role in managing this condition. Friends, family, and the community can support you in getting through a stressful time. Having the support of a few people is extremely important when things get tough, and everything seems to be crashing down. It is in those cases you need to have the strong support of people who uplift and support you - someone who can listen to you with empathy and give you a different perspective.

Find Help From a Licensed Therapist Who's Right For You

Finding the right therapist is vital when dealing with this condition. The right therapist is the one with whom you can establish a connection so that it becomes easy for you to open up about your issues. But this may take some time. You need to give at least 3 to 4 sessions with a therapist to build that sort of connection and trust.

If you are unable to connect with them for 3-4 sessions, you can definitely switch to another therapist. You can find the list of various therapists/psychiatrists on our website. You can easily choose from the various specialists with different qualities like being a good listener, empathetic, caring, and helpful.

Schedule a Virtual Appointment With a Counsellor Today

If you have tried the above-mentioned techniques to deal with your mental health issues and it's not getting any better, it might be time for you to reach out to a trusted therapist for help. We at DocVita have various specialists from different fields that can help you manage and cope with your situation better. All you have to do is hop on to DocVita's book from the therapist page and book your session.