Defining stress

Stress is a normal response by the organism to help it cope with a problematic situation or a situation it perceives as such. It is therefore an automatic reaction whose primary aim is to enable the subject to survive a danger or overcome a difficulty, either by eliminating the threat, adapting to the circumstances or fleeing!

 Stress is a subjective reality that depends on both the stressful situation and the way the individual perceives and experiences it. It depends on the nature and predictability of the stressor, but also on the individual experiencing it, his or her sense of controllability and anticipations.

So we're not all the same when it comes to stress. Each of us reacts in our own way, to our own stimuli, with our own personal resources and resistance.

Stress: a positive or negative reaction? Initially, stress is a positive reaction, since its purpose is to put the body under tension so that the individual can react effectively to a difficult situation. However, this defense mechanism has its flaws. Some people are too quick to interpret a situation as dangerous, others experience symptoms that are too severe, too disabling or too frequent, and still others accumulate them! Stress can therefore have a negative effect   if it is repeated too often and becomes recurrent   if it is too intense and becomes paralyzing   if it lasts too long and becomes exhausting However, stress can be controlled, provided we give ourselves the means to do so. A variety of stress management techniques have been developed to enable people who are not coping well with stress to control it more effectively and minimize its adverse effects.

Manifestations of stress

For most of us, the word stress refers to symptoms such as palpitations, tremors, short, rapid breathing, headaches, clammy hands, stomach and intestinal problems, not to mention nervousness, irritability, etc.
Yet stress can manifest itself in many different ways, and we are faced with great individual variations in this area.

To help you identify the signs of stress that correspond to you, we're going to review the most frequently cited symptoms, classifying them according to their nature (physical, emotional, behavioral, relational and intellectual manifestations). Each individual's symptomatological picture is unique, drawing on these various categories with varying degrees of intensity. For example, some people are more prone to physical symptoms, others to emotional hypersensitivity, and so on.

On a physical level

Muscle tension, headaches and/or backache, fatigue, sleep disturbances, knots in the throat and/or stomach, palpitations, hyperventilation, sweating, intestinal disorders, etc.

Emotionally

Impatience, irritability, susceptibility, indifference, apathy, impetuous mood swings, excessive worry, panic, dark thoughts, feelings of incompetence and/or uselessness, lack of interest, etc.

Behavior and relationships

Procrastination, nervous tics, abrupt gestures, increased consumption of alcohol, tobacco or painkillers, changes in eating habits, avoidance of embarrassing situations, strained relations with friends and family, withdrawal, reduced interest in others, etc.

On the intellectual front

Confused thoughts, fixed or fleeting ideas, difficulty concentrating and memorizing, diminished organizational skills, weakened objectivity and critical sense, lack of mental productivity, etc.

Many of these manifestations can be quite disturbing. Fortunately, there are a number of techniques that can be used to exert a certain  control over these various reactions.