Stress in a person’s life: causes and consequences, how to deal with it?

There are many facts about stress. We partially considered them in the article “Stress resistance. How to stay calm and productive,” but this topic is so large that it can be continued almost endlessly. Therefore, we take this opportunity to reveal it on the pages of our website in as much detail as possible. In this article, as you understand, we will talk about facts on the topic of stress, but first let’s make a short introduction.

Awareness of this topic is of course important, but it is also important to be able to deal with the problem constructively. An integrated approach - to be savvy in both theory and practice. All this is possible in the online program “Mental Self-Regulation”.

Fatigue after stress

Fatigue after stress can be characterized by an example.

Imagine holding your hand straight while grasping a glass of water. It's easy at first, but the longer you hold your hand up, clutching the glass, the harder it becomes.

Your hand will begin to get tired, your fingers will want to let go of the glass. If you still hold on, it becomes more and more uncomfortable and difficult for you.

Sooner or later the physical act of holding the glass will become too heavy. This will affect your muscles and you will have to let go of the glass.

Look at the picture and you will understand everything yourself!

But when you live with chronic stress, it begins to take a toll on your health.

We suggest you take a short test for fatigue after stress; answer honestly “YES” or “NO” to the questions below and for each “YES” answer, award 1 point:

1. Is it difficult for you to get into the rhythm of work in the morning?

2. Do you feel a drop in productivity at work?

3. Do you need tonics, coffee or tea to improve your tone?

4. Does changing weather cause unpleasant feelings?

5. Does your appetite often decrease or increase?

6. Do you experience frequent pain in the heart area?

7. Do you notice any disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract?

8. Do you often have sudden sudden mood swings for no reason?

9. Is your sex drive below average?

10. Do you have problems falling asleep or interrupted sleep?

You can't sleep or maybe you sleep too much, your digestive system doesn't work the way it used to, you deal with headaches on a daily basis, sometimes you just want to give up or cry for no reason.

It's all easy to see, but chronic stress also affects you in ways that you can't see when your heart is pumping harder and your immune system isn't working.

Another manifestation of stress is a constant feeling of fatigue. You're just tired.

The impact on your body causes fatigue; for example, if you don't sleep due to stress, you are likely to feel tired during the day.

But living with chronic stress can leave you feeling depressed, anxious, irritable, and just plain exhausted.

Delayed menstruation due to stress: can menstruation disappear due to nervousness?

A regular menstrual cycle is an indicator that reflects the state of women's health. Normally, bleeding lasts 3-5 days and begins at the same interval - once every 25-32 days.

Severe stress or psycho-emotional shock has a detrimental effect on a woman’s body, causing many problems, including cycle disruptions.

How dangerous can a delay in menstruation after stress be, and how to restore normal functioning of the reproductive system?

Can you miss your period due to stress?

Among the most common causes of delayed menstruation in a relatively healthy woman are the following:

• hormonal imbalance due to severe nervous shock;
• amenorrhea due to a strict diet or hunger strike;
• failure of the production of sex hormones;
• chronic long-term stress, lack of sleep;
• depression or anxiety disorder in an advanced stage.

It makes no sense to say that any one reason prevails. Each woman’s body is individual, and the quality and presence of menstruation is a direct consequence of the hormonal balance in a woman’s body. So even an experienced doctor can find it difficult to determine whether a period is delayed due to stress, or whether the reason is due to the presence of some more serious chronic diseases.

You can't diagnose yourself. If a woman suspects that severe stress and a delay in menstruation are interconnected, then she should express her assumptions at a consultation with a gynecologist.

And sitting and waiting until the cycle is restored can be simply dangerous, since at this time some really unfavorable process in the body can develop, which threatens all life activity.

It is believed that due to nervous fatigue and stress there may be a delay of about five days. A delay in menstruation after severe stress, as a rule, cannot collapse the cycle completely. Menstruation should occur, but this will happen after about a week from the usual date.

At the same time, the nature of menstruation does not change. That is, if before severe stress the discharge was abundant, it will remain so even after the fact of a delay in menstruation due to stress. But if the nature of the discharge has changed - it has become painful, excessively thick or abundant - this is a reason to quickly consult a doctor and undergo an examination.

Can a delayed period due to stress last longer than a week? No, this happens extremely rarely.

For example, if a woman, due to fatigue and nervousness, does not eat, amenorrhea may occur from exhaustion; in this case, the cycle may not be restored for many months.

But if there is a delay in menstruation due to stress, and this is the only reason, then menstruation, as a rule, occurs 4-5 days after the expected date.

It is worth repeating that the female body is an extremely unpredictable device. Therefore, even an experienced gynecologist will definitely not be able to answer the question “how long can a period be delayed under stress?”

The average length of delay due to stress is from 4 to 7 days. If menstruation does not appear, this is a reason to worry about your health, urgently take a pregnancy test and go for an examination to a gynecologist.

This is an excellent drug for relieving stress and normalizing sleep, the use of which on a regular basis helps restore the cycle. If the reason for the delay in menstruation is stress, and in addition to this, all other health factors are normal, then the next menstruation should come on time.

“Phytosedan” is a package containing 20 filter bags. You should brew them like regular tea and take half a glass before each meal.

The drug contains the following active ingredients:

• valerian officinalis roots,
• oregano herb,
• sweet clover grass,
• creeping thyme herb,
• motherwort grass.

This drug does not cause either drug or psychological dependence. People with sleep disorders can safely take it, since insomnia is one of the direct indications for taking Phytosedan.

Most girls are very impressionable and even with a slight delay they begin to look for a hormonal drug. In fact, there is no point in treating delays due to stress with such serious drugs.

Hormones are a very delicate balance, and if it is disturbed, you can expect truly serious consequences, including the appearance of tumors. In order not to upset the balance, you should never take drugs of this kind without permission. Even hormonal contraceptive drugs must be prescribed by an experienced doctor; there is no question of taking them on your own.

You can do without pills if you follow simple rules of psychological “hygiene”:

• regularly allocate at least 8 hours of sleep;
• do yoga, swimming and other calming activities;
• give up bad habits - smoking and alcohol abuse, since such a lifestyle is detrimental to the cells of the nervous system and can lead to psycho-emotional exhaustion.

There is a common misconception that physical education and sports will help get out of a state of chronic stress and, as a result, normalize hormonal levels. However, in most cases, intense exercise only exhausts the nervous system, especially if there is no normal nutrition and no healthy sleep.

To restore your psycho-emotional state, yoga, swimming, Pilates and other calm types of physical activity are recommended.

The duration of the delay directly depends on the magnitude and regularity of the emotional shock. Usually there are no periods for about 5 days, then the discharge comes on its own, without drug therapy. This period may be increased or decreased. In rare cases, periods shift by 30 calendar days, that is, the duration of one cycle is 56-64 days.

The delay period depends on the individual characteristics of the body and its ability to withstand emotional overload. Usually a woman needs a couple of days of rest to put her nervous and hormonal system in order.

There are often cases when it is not possible to cope with the problem on your own. In such a situation, the help of a psychologist is necessary, otherwise depression may begin due to nervousness, which will lead to amenorrhea - the complete loss of menstruation.

Psychosomatic illnesses are not as rare as they seem. Daily chronic stress, the impact of physical and emotional factors through very real physiological mechanisms are reflected in the functioning of organ systems.

For a woman, a regular menstrual cycle is an important indicator of health. Also, the female sex, due to upbringing, social and evolutionary reasons, is characterized by changes in mental state and swings in emotional mood. All this in combination increases the risk of late menstruation after stress.

The main symptom after stress is an increase in the time limits of the menstrual cycle. This means that your period may either start earlier or appear delayed. The duration of stress, as well as its intensity, directly proportionally influences the timing of the shift of “these days.”

In addition, women complain of general somatic symptoms:

• insomnia;
• headache;
• temperature;
• increased blood pressure;
• rapid fatigue and low performance;
• shift in psycho-emotional state, hysteria;
• depressive moods.

Symptoms of a missed period occur due to nervousness, and this is the key to combating the problems of an altered menstrual cycle. Here are some recommendations to help deal with the problem.

Physical fatigue and fatigue after stress.

Physical exhaustion is usually a choice we make ourselves. With rest, proper nutrition and time to relax, you can easily recover from physical exhaustion.

In some cases this may take a few days, such as when you've overdone it and now have muscle pain, but within a day or two the body will take care of itself, the physical aspects of your exhaustion will go away and you'll feel refreshed again.

This is the result of thoughts and feelings, not physical activity. You may have lived with stress for so long that you don't even see the negative effects.

You believe that this is “normal.” You may not know what's wrong with you and accept the constant feeling of fatigue as if it were part of your life.

Physical methods

Any active physical activity burns stress hormones and helps the body return to normal functioning.

• Beat and scream. A good way of physical release: hitting a pillow or a punching bag in the gym, loudly expressing your protest, accompanying it with sharp, intense movements and a sharp exhalation. It’s difficult to shout loudly in a city, but you can sing at the top of your lungs in a car with the windows closed while driving or have a blast at karaoke.
• Sign up for martial arts, such as tai bo, where sharp shouts are combined with sharp movements accompanied by loud and rhythmic music, and throw out stress during training.
• Go for an active jog, imagining that with each exhalation, your tension leaves your body and thoughts. And if running is difficult, then walk at a fast pace until you perspire, repeating as you exhale a word associated with calm and well-being.
• Swim at your maximum pace until you feel slightly tired. Or, if possible, have sex—sex has been proven to be one of the best ways to recover from stress.

Fatigue after stress, what is associated with it?

Fatigue is different - being tired of life or feeling sleepy. We usually feel tired or sleepy at the end of the day when our body needs sleep to recuperate.

Although you may feel tired or sleepy all the time, it is a chronic feeling of lack of motivation or energy.

Understanding the difference between physical fatigue and stress-related fatigue can help resolve the problem.

As we said above, physical exhaustion is the result of what we did and exhaustion goes away after we rest or get a good night's sleep.

If you feel tired and sleep or rest does not relieve this feeling, you may have stress fatigue.

Symptoms of fatigue after stress associated with exhaustion.

Stress-related fatigue is usually accompanied by symptoms:

- sore or sore muscles or a feeling of muscle weakness;

- moodiness, irritability or agitation;

- dizziness and blurred vision;

- difficulties with short-term memory;

- inability to concentrate or focus on tasks;

- slow reflexes or difficulty making decisions;

- feeling as if your actions are useless or that you cannot change the situation;

Often, after your stress brings you to a level of fatigue, you feel lonely and isolated.

You may want to hide or have an overwhelming urge to crawl into bed and not get out. Chronic stress often affects relationships and work, leaving feelings of loneliness and inadequacy.

Chronic stress: symptoms and consequences. How to quickly calm down when stressed?

For many centuries, people lived regular lives and faced primarily situations related to survival - acute stress.
Currently, the increasingly frantic rhythm of the metropolis, a state of instability, an imaginary sense of danger, work with increased responsibility, frequent changes in information, dependence on the actions of other people lead to chronic stress . If you can’t “switch off” from this hustle and bustle or don’t sleep enough, then most likely you live in chronic stress, and this article is especially for you. What is chronic stress? What are its signs, symptoms, causes and consequences? Does stress really destroy the body? Can stress be prevented? How to cope and resist chronic stress? Victoria Musatova talks about this especially for CogniFit .

Stress is inherited

The stress experienced by parents can have long-term consequences for future generations. This is evidenced by epigenetics, a science that describes the mechanism of transgenerational inheritance.

One of the most impressive studies of epigenetic memory of stress comes from professor of psychiatry and neurobiology Rachel Yehuda. She studied disorders in pregnant women who were witnesses or victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York. Almost half of the expectant mothers experienced a noticeable decrease in cortisol, indicating the development of post-traumatic syndrome. And more than a year later, their 9-12 month old babies showed similar symptoms! It turns out that stress can be transmitted from mother to child during fetal development.

In the future, parents continue to have a tremendous influence on the child’s resistance to stress. In the first years of life, a child experiences a strong need for the care of his mother and the warmth of her body. If mom and dad constantly avoid contact and ignore the baby's cries, separation distress increases. It leaves an imprint on his future life.

According to various studies, feelings of anxiety and worry that are not eliminated in early childhood reduce the expression of genes encoding GABA receptors, and this leads to depression and other mental disorders in the future.

Stress: concept and definition

Do you need to deal with chronic stress? In principle, stress should be treated positively, since stress is given

a person in order
to mobilize
his
protective functions
. With each stressful impact, we can do more, we become stronger, but this is only if we overcome the stress, if after the stress there comes a period of rest. But if the stress is long-term, chronic, then we exhaust all our defense systems and begin to get sick.

So, let's turn to history. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, manifestations of chronic stress were called aristocratic melancholy. It was believed that people from the highest circles of society and bohemians were most susceptible to this disease, which, according to doctors of the time, was almost always fatal. It was only in the 1930s that serious research into chronic stress began.

What is stress? The discovery and scientific development of stress belongs to Hans Selye

.
As a second-year student, he first discovered the body's stereotypical response to any stimulus. He was interested in why people with any reactions and any diseases always have a common group of symptoms, for example, loss of appetite, loss of muscle mass, weakening of the body
.

He began to conduct experiments on animals and discovered that injections cause in animals the same reactions that are observed during injuries, infections and other lesions of the body; it reacts in the same way. Selye called this reaction the general (adaptive) syndrome

. And only later this reaction was called stress. Selye explained this reaction as follows: “The most important function of the psyche is balancing the body with constantly changing environmental conditions.” Thus,

Stress

is a set of adaptive reactions of the body to various physical or psychological unfavorable stress factors that disrupt homeostasis, the state of the nervous system and/or the body as a whole.

Stress is the most important tool for adaptation and training of the body.

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A little history of stress

Throughout history, scientists have discovered many interesting facts about stress. Thus, some cite as an example the work of the ancient Greek poet Homer, “The Iliad,” created in the 7th century BC. It tells about the hero Achilles, who personified courage and integrity of the individual. But even he sometimes experienced depression and thought about suicide.

The heroes of the East experienced similar experiences. Surely you have heard about the ancient Indian religious and philosophical treatise called “Bhagavad Gita”. One of its central characters, named Arjuna, experiences a whole range of not at all positive emotions: confusion of spirit, inner weakness, paralyzing panic horror, etc.

History is indeed full of evidence that people have been stressed for centuries. The need to survive, fear of death, natural disasters, wars and battles - these things have always been accompanied by acute negative experiences, not only in ancient times, but also in the Middle Ages (just remember the Inquisition and its deeds).

By the way, the concept of “stressor” arose precisely at that time - this was the name of one of the torture instruments of the inquisitors. This device compressed the body of a person accused of some heresy, and as a result, the accused became ready to confess to anything if only they would stop torturing him, although even after confession the torment was no less terrible and could last a lifetime.

However, today it is not entirely correct to compare stress exclusively with negative emotional experiences, because the painful feelings of people of the past and present have a lot of differences. Nowadays, many new psycho-emotional and physical experiences have appeared associated with high stress caused by the peculiarities of modern life.

Stress began to be closely studied by scientists relatively recently - around the beginning of the 20th century, but even this short time by scientific standards was more than enough to discover a lot of interesting and even useful information from a practical point of view about this phenomenon. This is what will be discussed further.

Chronic stress: symptoms and causes

What are the signs and symptoms of chronic stress?

• Sleep and appetite disorders
• Physical weakness and headaches
• Constant fatigue, apathy
• Problems with concentration, memory, speed of thought process
• Nervousness, fussiness, desire to control everything, inability to relax
• Cravings for alcohol, junk food
• Decreased immunity, exacerbation of diseases of internal organs
• Sexual disorders
• Muscle tension
• The appearance of rashes on the body, hair loss.

I would like to highlight three important symptoms:

,
when
appear
, you need to urgently seek
help
from a specialist
:

3. muscle pain, incl. pain in the muscles of the neck and shoulder girdle.

Causes of chronic stress:

– Hormonal and nervous disorders

– Long-term and intense psycho-emotional stress

– Disturbance in the rhythm of work and rest

– Unfavorable family and household circumstances.

How does stress affect our brain?

So, let's look separately at how stress affects the brain and the body as a whole.

Chronic stress changes the brain. Chronic stress

which occurs during constant overloads and conflicts
affects
the size, structure and functionality of the brain at
the genetic level
.

Stress begins in what is called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAAS). Those. a complex of interaction between the endocrine glands of the brain and the adrenal glands, which regulates your body's response to stress. When your brain recognizes a stressful situation, your HPA axis is immediately activated and produces a hormone called cortisol, which puts the body in a state of readiness to act quickly. Long periods of elevated cortisol levels significantly damage the brain

.

Chronic stress increases the amount of activity and number of neural connections in the brain's amygdala, the fear center. And as cortisol levels rise, signals in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for learning, memory and stress management, are disrupted. The hippocampus also suppresses the HPA axis, so when it weakens, so does our ability to control stress.

But that's not all - cortisol can literally shrink the brain in size. Elevated levels of this hormone cause a loss of synaptic connections between neurons and shrink the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is responsible for processes such as concentration, decision-making, reasoning and social interactions. And this also leads to the formation of fewer brain cells in the hippocampus. This means that chronic stress can make it harder to learn and remember things.

, as well as “prepare the ground” for more serious problems, such as depression and Alzheimer's disease.

Do you suspect yourself or someone close to you is suffering from depression?
if you have warning signs and symptoms that may indicate this disorder
with the innovative CogniFit neuropsychological test for depression Receive a detailed report with recommendations in less than 30-40 minutes. The effects of stress can even be seen in the DNA of the brain. An experiment with rats has shown that the attention and care a mother rat gives to her newborn plays a critical role in how that baby responds to stress later in life. The good mother's offspring grew up less sensitive to stress because their brains had more receptors that pick up cortisol and blunt the stress response.

The offspring of a bad mother have the opposite effect. Her children were more susceptible to stimuli. These changes are considered epigenetic, meaning they affect the expression of specific genes without interfering with the genetic code itself. These changes are reversible if the materials are swapped.

Suppress anger or express it?

If we exclude cases of pathological personality changes, then rage and anger, these strong emotions, do not arise so often, but only in response to strong stimuli.

Nature provides several universal mechanisms for quickly relieving stress - sex, food and physical activity. Additionally, various types of relaxation are effective ways to reduce the effects of stress.

Unlike ancient people, who could let off steam with the most primitive actions, fighting for life, prey and territory, a civilized person is constrained by rules and norms of behavior (to a greater or lesser extent, depending on upbringing and social environment).

Be kind to others - it's good for your health!

Our physical activity is sharply limited, many people’s intimate lives are also not great, and at competitions we are more often spectators than participants. But everyone is subject to stress. If you are humiliated by your superiors, you cannot run away or scream, and in some situations you really want to respond... But you have to “pull yourself together” and suppress anger and resentment, because the price for spilling out emotions and feelings may be too high. And if tension accumulates, then a stable stress hormonal background gradually forms, suppressing the immune system. As a result, we then get an increase in various diseases - from neuroses to ulcers, diabetes and heart attacks.

By the way, external calm does not mean that passions are not raging inside you, and the body spends a lot of energy trying to restrain emotions, which further depletes a person’s strength.

There is a way out - you need to learn to control emotions at the stage of their inception and quickly relieve accumulated tension.

There are many socially acceptable ways and techniques of self-regulation, but each person needs to find his own methods. Conventionally, they can be divided into physical, physiological and psychological.

How does stress affect the body as a whole?

The adrenal glands secrete stress hormones: cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine. Traveling with the bloodstream, these hormones easily enter the blood vessels and heart. Adrenaline makes the heart beat faster and increases blood pressure, eventually causing hypertension. Cortisol can also disrupt the functioning of the endothelium lining the inner surface of blood vessels. Scientists now know that this can trigger the development of atherosclerosis, the formation of cholesterol deposits in your arteries. All this increases the chances of a heart attack or heart attack.

When the brain senses stress, it activates the autonomic nervous system. Through this network of neural connections, the brain communicates stress to the enteric nervous system. This connection between the brain and the gut not only leads to butterflies in the stomach, but it can also disrupt the natural rhythmic contractions that move food along, which can lead to irritable bowel syndrome and increase susceptibility to acid, increasing the likelihood of heartburn.

Through the enteric nervous system, stress can also change the composition and function of gut bacteria, which can impair digestion and overall body health. Stress also affects slimness. Cortisol can increase appetite, as if it gives an order to replenish energy reserves. By consuming carbohydrate-rich foods, you overeat in an attempt to calm down.

High cortisol levels can also contribute to the accumulation of visceral or intra-abdominal fat. This fat doesn't just keep us from zipping up our pants—it acts as a separate organ, actively secreting hormones and immune system chemicals that can increase the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease and insulin resistance.

Stress hormones themselves also affect the cells of the immune system in different ways. They initially help prepare to fight off invaders and heal resulting wounds, but chronic stress can suppress some immune cells, making you more susceptible to infection and slowing recovery.

Chronic stress is associated with shortening of telomeres—the ends of chromosomes that measure cell age. Telomeres set the boundaries of chromosomes, which allows DNA to be copied with each cell division without damaging its genetic code. With each division they become shorter. When telomeres become too short, the cell can no longer divide and dies.