For Ana M. Bastida of Miguel. March 12, 2018
We can define stress as that automatic response that our body naturally adopts to a series of situations or circumstances that we perceive as challenging or threatening. In this PsychologyOnline article, we are going to answer the question of how stress occurs so that we can understand the origin of this condition and we can come to recognize in what moments our tension levels increase and, subsequently, knowing how to act in consequence.
External events as generators of stress do not necessarily have to be very noticeable or intense, but they can “accumulate their effects” until we reach the limit. How we perceive, interpret, and think about what happens to us affects our perspective and experience of stress. In such a way that frequently it will be our interpretation that will generate (or enhance) a negative stress reaction, more than the event or situation we are faced with.
As an example, let's take the case of a person who avoids eating certain foods in case they could make them feel bad, the fact of eating them (because, given a specific situation, you have no choice) can have a multiplier effect on his stress level and generate great anticipatory anxiety that exponentially increases the possibility that these foods actually make you feel bad, thereby confirming the need to continue avoiding them.
A person who is always overwhelmed, who sleeps badly, who worries about everything, experiencing it in an unreal but very conflictive way, who does not face appropriately to situations, who eats poorly, works a lot and has little fun..., you probably have fewer resources to deal with difficult situations. The key is that we manage to balance thoughts, rest, food, physical exercise, interpersonal relationships, work-study, leisure... Ultimately there is a balance in our lives but above all that we perceive and enjoy it as such.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
