What is emotional stress and how to manage it

Stress is an adaptive physiological reaction that keeps you alert to a threat, however, at excessive levels it can cause a serious problem for the person. In a society like the current one, and due to the cognitive evaluation we make of the processes and situations that arise In everyday life, there is a tendency to interpret the vast majority of stimuli as a threat, whether they are real or not. No.

Therefore, stress in itself is not negative, but it can become so if it becomes chronic or if it is not managed properly. In this Psychology-Online article we explain what is emotional stress, its causes and how to manage it, so do not hesitate and keep reading!

Index

1. What is emotional stress
2. Physical symptoms of emotional stress
3. Causes of emotional stress
4. How to manage emotional stress

Lazarus and Folkman (1986) define the concept of stress based on the interrelationships that occur between the person and the context in which they find themselves. In this way, emotional stress occurs when the individual considers that a situation

We can classify emotional stress into three main levels, depending on the duration and frequency of appearance:

acute stress

Acute stress manifests as a consequence of living sudden and unexpected events as a result of a natural disaster or an emergency situation. Any situation that has an excessive physical or mental stress as a response can cause acute stress reactions (ASR).

Symptoms of acute emotional stress usually appear within minutes of impact and they tend to disappear spontaneously hours or a few days later.

episodic acute stress

People experiencing episodic acute stress they tend to have messy livescharacterized by chaos and crises. They are always in a hurry, but they are always late and if something can go wrong, it goes wrong for them.

In the same way, they assume many responsibilities, they tend to have too many things on their hands and not are able to organize the number of self-imposed demands and pressures that claim their attention.

chronic stress

Chronic stress, however, arises when a person never sees a way out of a "depressing" situation. It is the stress of impossible demands and pressures for seemingly endless periods. Without hope, the person abandons the search for solutions.

In this way, a vision of the world or a system of beliefs is generated that provokes a endless stress for the person. For example, the person with chronic stress finds the world to be a threatening place and that others may discover that he is pretending to be what he is not, so he will try to be perfect all the time.

How does emotional stress manifest itself? According to the WHO (2014), symptoms of emotional stress can include:

• Insomnia.
• re-experiencing.
• Avoidance.
• Greater sense of current threat.
• Disturbing thoughts or emotions.
• behavioral changes.
• regressive behaviors.
• Hyperarousal and physical symptoms such as hyperventilation or dissociative disorders of movement and sensations.

According to the APA (American, psychological association, 2010):

• Intestinal problems.
• Muscle problems.
• emotional agony
• Temporary overexcitement.

Finally, according to Cuartero, A. (2020) can be presented:

• Lightheadedness and disorientation.
• Feeling of threat, that is, the person experiences the situation as dangerous.
• Confusion, poor ability to concentrate, and difficulty thinking clearly.
• The person may find themselves blocked, with no clear path forward.
• Desperation and need for immediate help to get out of that situation.
• Signs of apathy, hopelessness and the thought that “nothing and no one can help me”.
• The individual is perceived as helpless, vulnerable and without resources.
• Nervousness and agitation.
• Possible difficulties in synchronizing the event or situation in a logical, sequenced and coherent manner, which is why intrusions may appear. These black holes make us uncomfortable and make people retell their story over and over again to complete it.

What causes emotional stress? Within the causes of emotional stress we find, mainly, crises. That is, situations that generate a temporary state of emotional disturbance, imbalance, and disorganization that cause a collapse in coping strategies already acquired.

Here are some examples of situations that can cause emotional stress:

• Situations of evolutionary crisis, linked to a particular stage of the person's life.
• circumstantial crises: Crises that appear unexpectedly and are more associated with environmental factors and natural disasters.
• Natural and man-made disasters.

On the other hand, some more concrete examples of stress they could be:

• Economic difficulties.
• Work overload.
• External and internal pressure.
• Lack of free time.
• Excess commitment.
• Difficulties or problems in interpersonal relationships.
• being too perfectionist.
• Lack of tolerance.
• Low tolerance to frustration.

How can we manage emotional stress? Stress is an adaptive physiological reaction that, in adequate doses, allows us to be alert and take action when necessary. However, when it appears constantly or in large doses, cortisol can affect other psychological processes such as attention, memory, perception, their learning and consolidation.

One of the methods used in therapy is the one proposed by Capafons and Sosa in 2008, with the aim of exposing the person to stress situations in low and manageable doses so that in the future they can cope with more difficult situations. complex. Next, you will find different tasks that can help you manage stress emotional:

• Identify situations that cause stress and understand their mechanism of action.
• learning of Relaxation and breathing techniques.
• training in cognitive-behavioral techniques.
• cognitive restructuring: work on certain negative interpretations to replace them with positive and coping self-affirmations.
• Problem resolution.
• Self-reinforcement, self-instructions, and positive self-verbalizations.
• self control and thought stopping
• equip yourself with one greater autonomy in carrying out tasks.

In this way it is possible to treat stress at a physiological and cognitive level. However, other behavioral techniques could also be used, such as modeling, which consists of "copying" how a model person reacts to stressful situations.

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.

If you want to read more articles similar to What is emotional stress and how to manage it, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

• American Psychology Association (2010). The different types of stress. APA. Retrieved from: The different types of stress (apa.org)
• Caplan, G., (1964). Principles of preventive psychiatry. New York. TAVISTOCK PUBLICATIONS.
• Cuartero, A., (2020). Emergency psychology and post-traumatic stress disorder. [Notes International Master in psychology of catastrophes, crises and emergencies. COPAO-Malaga].
• Lahad, M., in Cuartero, A. (2020). Compilation of the main contributions of Professor Mooli Lahad in the field of trauma and emergency psychology. [Notes International Master in psychology of catastrophes, crises and emergencies. COPAO-Malaga].
• Rosique, M.T. (2019). Advances in psychological intervention techniques. Madrid: Ed. CEF