Stress

Here you can learn all about stress: it's symptoms, it's short- and long-term effects and ways to relieve it.

Everyone has some idea of what stress is, but are you aware of what damage it can do? Negative stress can take a serious toll on your health. Stress often goes hand in hand with depression, with each condition feeding the other. Depression is agravated by stress and vice versa - a vicious circle that has to be broken for recovery to start. You need to get out of the situation, easier said than done, but I've been there and done it. If I can do it then so can you. This site is put together with the intention of helping other's to avoid going through the hell I have.

Most of the time stress is easily manageable, but under times of great stress the body can give in to the pressure and it's then that it takes it's toll on your health. Never underestimate the effects of long term stress - it is said to be a cause of cancer and heart disease, and can send blood pressure sky high. When you hit stress-overload for an extended period of time you can end up with some serious damage.

As with depression, there are many causes of high stress: bereavement, being bullied, job loss, moving home, starting a new job, financial worries, relationship break-ups. Most of these are over quickly, and no noticeable change in health is perceived. Others aren't - the effects can last for years, which is why there are two sections devoted to them. You can find those sections here:

  • Bereavement: The loss of a loved one is a very painful and traumatic event, and it can take years to get over - there is no set time limit for grieving.. as it takes as long as it takes, but there is help in this section to help you understand the greiving process, and information as to where you can get help if you are stuck in grief. For help and information, check out my losing someone close information.

  • Being bullied: Did you think being bullied ended when your school years did? Wrong. Bullying goes on in the workplace with alarming frequency, and has devastating effects on the person being bullied - in severe cases PTSS (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) and/or severe deterioration in health can result. If you or someone you know is being bullied, you need to check out my being bullied section.

    What exactly is stress?

    The dictionary definition of stress is: "Pressure of load, weight, some adverse force or influence etc.; Condition of things demanding, or marked by strained effort." This doesn't even tell half of it.

    Lets start by giving you the information you need so that you can identify whether you have a high stress load (you shouldn't really need to be told this, but sometimes things are so chaotic that you just don't notice how bad things are getting!).

    Symptoms:

  • Sleep disruption, going as far as sleep deprivation. Insomnia is very common in those suffering from high stress levels.
  • Anxiety
  • Fatigue
  • Aches and pains (headaches and neck pain are the most common)
  • A continual low mood (depression)
  • Loss of interest in life in general
  • Agressiveness/over-agitation
  • Feeling run-down - colds and viruses are more common when under stress as the body's immune system isn't working as     well as it ususally does. Skin rashes are also common under stress for the same reason.
  • In severe cases panic attack's aren't unusual. These include symptoms such as palpitations, dry mouth, hyperventilating).

    Stress Directory   Guestbook

    This is a section of the Steve Clark In Loving Memory Website. If you would like to learn a little more about Steve, please visit the main contents page via the above link. Thank you for visiting.
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