Chronic Stress – Symptoms and Treatment of Prolonged Stress and Depression

Stress can be destructive to our health. The consequences of frequent experiences affect the functioning of all organs and systems.

For example, the skin may become dry and pale, with a yellow tint. The risk of cardiovascular disease also increases significantly. Cystitis, incontinence and much more can occur due to nervousness. And most importantly, stress accelerates the aging process - both external and internal.

Therefore, it is important for modern people to know the signs of stress in order to prevent its consequences or eliminate them as early as possible.

Signs of stress

According to statistics, in Russia women are more susceptible to stress due to their increased emotionality and sensitivity. In 2022, people of all professions experienced strong negative experiences, but especially teachers, entrepreneurs and, of course, doctors.

This year has been difficult for many, so the number of people with chronic stress has increased many times over. At the same time, people began to consider their depressed state as the norm. But even in the most difficult times, it is important not to let the situation get worse and fight back the disease.

Stress changes the entire body, so you should pay attention to different symptoms.

Behavioral signs of stress:

conflict;
aggressiveness;
irritability;
loss of interest in life, friends, appearance;
decreased self-esteem;
suspicion;
frequent attacks of anger and feelings of helplessness.

Lifestyle changes:

sleep disturbance;
the emergence of bad habits;
increased fatigue;
decreased performance.

Intellectual traits:

poor concentration;
excessive distractibility;
decrease in attention.

Changes in thinking:

decreased creativity and memory;
violation of logic;
common spelling errors.

Physiological signs:

frequent headaches;
cardiopalmus;
decreased immunity;
sudden weight loss or, conversely, rapid weight gain;
deterioration of organ function.

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Symptoms of chronic fatigue

Not every person can suspect these problems, even if they have certain symptoms. They can be attributed to a bad mood, hard work, insufficient rest and other external factors, but in fact, the reasons lie inside. Therefore, special caution should be shown when the following signs of stress and chronic fatigue are noted:

Poor appetite
Constant fatigue
Apathy
Inability to concentrate
Memory loss
Irritability
Craving for bad habits
Muscle tremors
Dizziness and headaches
Sexual activity disorder
Exacerbation of chronic diseases
Feeling of lack of air, etc.

That is, stress and chronic fatigue manifest themselves not only on a psychological level, but affect all aspects of human life. At the same time, the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome are well masked and therefore not always obvious, which makes adequate treatment difficult.

In order to reliably confirm or refute the presence of these problems, it is necessary to undergo examination by a specialist. The level of stress, neuropsychic tension and anxiety can be determined using special tests and proprietary techniques.

Types of stress

Conventionally, two types of stress can be distinguished.

Eustress is “good” stress that does not harm a person. Without it, we would always feel calm, at ease and would not want to achieve anything. We feel eustress when we need to get out of our comfort zone and change something in our life. A simple example: you have undertaken to create a large-scale project that requires a lot of time, effort, intellectual and physical expenditure. It’s difficult for you, you’re nervous, but at the same time you feel that in the end you’ll get a pleasant feeling of pride in yourself, you’ll be praised, and all your efforts will not be in vain. Thus, eustress motivates us not to give up and move forward despite difficulties.
Distress is harmful and occurs when stress reaches a large scale: it lasts for a long time and has several foci of occurrence. For example, when a person has to cope with several difficult and unpleasant tasks at once: a change of environment, joining the army, lack of sleep, financial losses.

Distress has an extremely negative impact on the human psyche and physiology. He stops being happy, receiving positive emotions and is constantly dissatisfied with his life. Signs of distress include sudden changes in mood, physical weakness, poor performance, and the emergence of negative thoughts.

Types of distress

Emotional. It is associated with a person experiencing a very strong emotional state (both positive and negative). For example, the birth of a child, a promotion at work, a new trip, or, conversely, a breakup, the death of a loved one.
Physiological. Directly affects body tissues. It can be caused by climatic (cold, heat, thunderstorm), chemical (deficiency or increased oxygen content in the air) or physical factors (overexertion, injury). These triggers do not go unnoticed. Even after everything has returned to normal, a person experiences apathy, overwork, and constant fatigue for some time.
Chronic. This is a long-term adaptive reaction of the body to negative influences from the environment. It is the most dangerous type of stress. It can arise from overwork at work, as a result of family quarrels, etc. The consequences can be a change in the size of the brain, its structure and work in general. Leads to various types of diseases (neurosis, heart disease, vascular disease).
Nervous. Characterized by excessive stress emotionally and physically. A person cannot control his emotions and behaves aggressively and hot-tempered.

Does your child need help with stress?

The child has a conflict between his objective knowledge that going to the toilet is quite accessible and easy, and the distortion of upbringing due to his subjective attitudes. He has to make a decision: wait until the end of the lesson and admit that he is a weakling, or openly declare his need in front of the whole class. If he continues to rush between two decisions, psychological pressure arises.

Let's take another situation - an incurable disease. Ideally, in case of an incurable disease, the brain rearranges its activity to cope with the situation: it produces painkillers (pain, as a protective factor, is no longer needed by the body) and gradually prepares the body for dying, gradually turning off the body’s organs. Or he decides to fight for life at any cost, and then the body also begins to produce all the necessary healing factors for recovery.

But, it is necessary to remember that the child’s nervous system is not yet strong and large stress loads can upset the biological balance. That is why helping a child with stress is just as, or perhaps even more, necessary.

What happens during stress?

What actually happens, given the culture formed in a real society? In the first case, a terminally ill person (if he accepts the fact of a fatal illness) begins to blame the doctors and undeveloped technologies that missed diagnosing the disease at an early stage; a feeling of injustice arises towards himself: fate and God. He is sure that he could have lived longer if not for this injustice. This is where suffering comes from.

Now let's look at a patient with the second type of reaction - his own belief in recovery. Such a person begins to fight for his life, actively uses the discoveries of scientific medicine, alternative methods of treatment, and rebuilds his worldview in a new way. And then he faces resistance from society. Doctors stubbornly tell him about the final stage of the disease, his relatives are sorry, but refuse to help him, their own knowledge and descriptions of the disease in the literature also describe his immediate care. There is a conflict between one’s own needs and the knowledge of society. You need to have considerable fortitude to maintain balance and continue to fight until victory. More and more such stories are appearing in medical practice, literature and Internet sources.

A conservative, rigid person is more susceptible to stressful situations than a dynamic and flexible person. It is difficult for him to accept the fact of the new, and in his reality there is a gap between his world and the “world outside.” This refers to personal stress factors.

Possible stress factors

Psychological (emotional, traumatic and informational)
Physiological
Short-term and chronic
Eustress and Distress.

Emotional - associated with the experience of strong emotions. It does not matter whether these emotions are positive (eustress) or negative (distress). Help with this type of stress: leaving a stressful situation: you need time to let your emotions cool down and calm down.

Post-traumatic or, more correctly, post-traumatic stress disorder is a painful condition after experiencing a traumatic situation (tragic loss of loved ones, being in a war zone, disaster, rape, direct threat to life, etc.) Help for post-traumatic stress includes drug therapy, restorative procedures , in-depth psychological study of residual phenomena, training in self-regulation and relaxation, working with emotions.

Information is associated with factors of extreme impact of the educational process or professional activity (the so-called operator’s disease), when a person’s cognitive functions are overloaded with a large flow of new information. The first aid for information stress is to change the environment and type of activity: visit a museum, play sports. Equally important is the transition to independent work in the educational or production process, without outside control.

Physiological - manifests itself when a person is exposed to unfavorable physical factors: heat, cold, hunger, thirst. This can be seen in the example of fasting as a method of losing weight. Instead of the body using stored fat deposits, it blocks access to reserves. This is a response to an external stress factor. Such women complain about weight stabilization and the lack of weight loss effect from a starvation diet. At the same time, tension, irritability and emotional instability appear. The main help for stress associated with exposure to physical factors is to eliminate the factor itself. A change in attitude towards it, general strengthening procedures and the development of tolerance to physical external influences are required.

Stages of stress

1. Anxiety. A person is scared, a signal is sent to the hypothalamus - there is an active production of adrenaline, cortisol, norepinephrine. As a result, the pulse and breathing increase.
2. Adaptation. The body is trying to bounce back and normalize its functions. If it doesn’t work out, then it goes to the third stage.
3. Exhaustion. The body does not have the strength to fight on its own, so nervous breakdowns, depression, and other diseases develop and manifest themselves. A specialist should be involved in getting out of this state.

Why does stress become chronic?

It is difficult to name all the causes of chronic stress, since everything can be very individual and depend on the character and personality of the person, but most often this condition appears due to:

traumatic events
prolonged psycho-emotional overload,
financial difficulties,
everyday problems,
family troubles,
lack of proper sleep and rest,
hormonal imbalances,
genetic predisposition.

What does the doctor think?

“With chronic stress, the cardiovascular and nervous systems are among the first to suffer. Prolonged stress leads to neurosis and then to depression. The person becomes emotionally unstable.”

In any case, chronic stress requires treatment, so if you are now going through not the best times in your life for whatever reason, then it is worth watching yourself. You may already have become a hostage to stressful circumstances. And even if you don't feel that bad now, things could get much worse over time if nothing changes. You can earn yourself various diseases, including a heart attack, which you will have to deal with for many months, years, or even your whole life. Not to mention the fact that neuroses, panic attacks and clinical depression can be added to physiological problems.

Chemistry of stress

The body's response to stress is controlled by the hypothalamus and adrenal glands. When detecting a stressful situation, the body releases certain hormones. Adrenaline and norepinephrine are produced in the adrenal glands at the first sign of danger. It increases during anxiety and shock, causing the heart rate to increase and the pupils to dilate.

Norepinephrine is released in any shock situations. Its action is associated with an increase in blood pressure.

Cortisol levels rise during extreme situations or physical activity. In small doses it does not affect the body. But long-term exposure to this hormone causes damage to the brain, literally shrinking it in size. High amounts of cortisol cause a loss of synaptic connections between neurons and a shrinkage of the prefrontal cortex, which regulates concentration, decision-making, judgment and social interaction.

Prolactin especially affects women whose target organ is the mammary glands. In a situation of severe stress, the release of this hormone begins, as a result of which metabolic problems begin.

Corticoliberin activates the center of fear and anxiety, causes anorexia, and increases blood pressure.

How to understand that things are bad?

If you have chronic stress, you will experience the following symptoms:

sleep disturbance (insomnia or constant drowsiness),
fatigue and apathy,
inability to concentrate on something,
forgetfulness and absent-mindedness,
constant errors at work,
worry for no reason
desire to eat all the time or lack thereof completely,
headache,
digestive problems,
sudden mood swings,
reluctance to see anyone,
irritability or tearfulness,
craving for alcohol or drugs.

If you find any signs of chronic stress, this is a reason to think about your health and do something to improve the situation. All areas of our lives are interconnected. If one thing suffers, for example, work, then it will automatically lead to problems in your personal life, health, and so on. And to deal with this problematic snowball, you will have to put in a lot more effort than if you stopped it at the very beginning.

Stress Prevention

Of course, stress is an integral part of life. But we can learn to manage it and prevent its devastating effects on our health.

For this, it is important to practice prevention. For example:

Include foods rich in beneficial microelements in your diet. For example, magnesium plays an important role - one of the main helpers in the fight against stress; it reduces cortisol levels. Magnesium is found in nuts (peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts), sesame seeds, seeds, seaweed, dark chocolate and buckwheat.
Limit your alcohol consumption. It exacerbates the effects of chronic stress and leads to depression.
Limit caffeine consumption after 15-00. Especially with high levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.
Contact a psychologist. If you are worried about any fears or emotional experiences, then a consultation with a specialist who will help you understand yourself and guide you on the right path will be very effective.
Limit the flow of information from the Internet. And it is highly advisable to stop comparing your life with ideal pictures from social networks.
Normalize sleep. It is important that it lasts 7-8 hours.
Exercise. It helps increase activity and concentration, improves overall cognitive function.
Don't burden yourself with many complex tasks. Good time management is the key to preventing stress.
Try meditation practices. Relaxation techniques provide the opportunity to step back, become aware of what is happening, and choose how to respond to stress.

The most important thing is to monitor your feelings and emotions and not put them in a “distant box.”

Symptoms and manifestations of chronic stress

People of working age can experience various symptoms of chronic stress.

Physiological manifestations 5 . A person is accompanied by a feeling of constant fatigue and lethargy. Sleep does not improve the condition. Weekends and vacations are no longer enough to restore energy. Every day a person wakes up tired and after breakfast he feels the desire to rest, which does not improve his results at work.

Typical problems are insomnia, dizziness, headaches, increased sweating, sudden attacks of rapid heartbeat, hypersensitivity to loud sounds, bright lights, and temperature changes. Due to physiological discomfort, the employee has to spend energy not so much on work as on dealing with irritation and apathy.

Appetite becomes uncontrollable and develops into gluttony or noticeably decreases to the point of complete refusal to eat. A weakened immune system leads to frequent respiratory infections and exacerbation of chronic somatic diseases. An employee's absence from work for health reasons affects his or her effectiveness.

Emotional disturbances. The state of an employee suffering from chronic stress is characterized by instability: the intensity of affect is not adequate to the strength of the stimulus. During the day, the mood often changes from depressed or aggressive to upbeat and cheerful. By evening, fatigue accumulates faster than usual.

An employee may be aware of a decrease in the effectiveness of his work and fall into depressive experiences - a feeling of uselessness, loneliness, and misunderstanding by others. With a strong temperament, there is a decrease in control over emotions, which develop into whims, excitability, and even hysteria. The inability to relax and take a break from overload can provoke alcohol and even drug addiction.

Problems in the social sphere. A person experiences uncertainty, his motivation decreases both in professional activities and in communication. He refuses informal events at work, family holidays and friendly meetings, citing poor health or being busy.

At the same time, a stable tendency is formed to avoid any activities that require physical stress or mental effort. In the field of cognitive functions, there is a decrease in stability and concentration of attention, difficulties in assimilation and memorization of new information.

A large percentage of people with chronic stress in the team leads to losses for the employer. Professional violations occur: the number of errors increases, productivity decreases, and accuracy in performing tasks deteriorates.

Research from the International Association for Human Values shows that employee burnout accounts for 60% of absenteeism and 40% of resignations. In addition, stress is an indirect cause of about 80% of occupational injuries. And Workplace Outcome Suite (WOS), based on analytics data for 2022, estimates that an employee who is in a state of nervous tension loses up to 62 hours of productive working time every month.

Another serious consequence of chronic stress is professional burnout, in which enthusiasm and interest in work wanes. In fact, this is a natural response of an exhausted body to prolonged excessive stress. This mechanism allows a person to dose and economically spend energy and emotional resources, literally ensuring his survival.

A specialist susceptible to such a disorder is faced with a feeling of uselessness and exhaustion, the collapse of ideals and hopes. He is not able to do quality work and maintain labor discipline.

A burned out employee avoids professional responsibilities and refuses important tasks. When communicating with colleagues and clients, he displays negativity and tends to distance himself. The problem also leads to frequent tardiness (later start of the working day when working remotely) and the need to increase the duration of breaks.

What is the key difference between stress and its consequence – burnout? The first state is characterized by the manifestation of excessive emotions, the second – by their suppression. Stress affects a person’s physical condition and leads to a critical loss of energy. As a result of burnout, the employee's motivation is completely lost, and he becomes an easy target for headhunters and a potential candidate for voluntary dismissal.

Treatment of stress

Do not delay making an appointment with a specialist if you feel that you cannot cope with stress on your own. Based on the patient's complaints, a treatment plan is prescribed.

An approximate treatment regimen looks like this:

Therapeutic practice with a psychologist. At the moment, there are many psychological techniques that will help you cope with stress and return to normal life. The specialist will choose the one you need based on the patient’s condition and personal characteristics.
Collection of analyses. Since stress can affect many organs, it is important to identify the problem early.
Drug therapy. If the stress is not prolonged, then mild sedatives are prescribed that will reduce anxiety and anxiety. In more severe cases, patients are recommended to take tranquilizers and antidepressants.
Relaxation. Healthy relaxation techniques include breathing techniques, massage and yoga.

Treatment

First of all, it should be mentioned that stress can be avoided. You can start treatment yourself. To do this, you need to learn to cope with stressful situations. It is necessary to use relaxation techniques or deep even breathing. Simple physical activities, such as simple exercises, will improve health and increase a person's ability to resist. Eliminating harmful substances (coffee, alcohol, nicotine, etc.) from your life will reduce anxiety. It is imperative to learn how to cope with your phobias. This will be taught by qualified doctors of the Rehab Family clinic, recognized in Europe and America. The rules guarantee complete confidentiality. The Rehab Family clinic is distinguished not only by effective treatment methods, but also by providing comfortable conditions for the complete adaptation of patients.

At the beginning of treatment, it is necessary to discuss its stages with loved ones, explain your actions and emotions, so that they can also help or, at least, not interfere. The treatment prescribed by the doctor must be strictly followed. Its course is usually observed in dynamics during visits. Patients of the Rehab Family clinic can seek help at any day and time. The disease, like our doctors, has no holidays.

Author of the article

Tarkil Nina Zinonovna

Deputy chief physician for psychological work, candidate of psychological sciences, clinical psychologist

Diagnosis and treatment of stress at Expert Clinics

Expert Clinics is a European-level clinic in Moscow, which fundamentally and comprehensively deals with the diagnosis and treatment of stress, as well as its consequences.

First of all, you should make an appointment. Next, based on the patient’s complaints, a treatment plan is prescribed.

It is important to understand that stress is not cured with one or two visits to the doctor. Recovery occurs in stages. It is important that this path becomes conscious for you. And correct and timely diagnosis of stress will be an important step towards a happy life.

Symptoms

Symptoms of nervous stress are as follows:

Uncontrollable panic;
Increased heart rate;
Increased sweating;
Unreasonable anxiety;
Anxiety;
Increased muscle tension;
General fatigue;
Sleep disturbance;
Irritability;
Loss of concentration.

Symptoms can increase gradually or suddenly fill the consciousness. Panic attacks most often do not last long. Psychologically, they are expressed by uncontrollable and inexplicable horror. Physiologically, panic is manifested by increased heart rate and sweating, chest compression, and suffocation. Nausea appears, breathing becomes shallow, and the body begins to tremble. A rise in temperature can also be a sign of a panic attack. The most obvious signs of this are anxiety and restlessness.

Diagnosis of stress

If you find that you are having trouble coping with stress or your reaction to a particular event is more intense or lasts longer than usual, you should see a therapist for help. It is likely that the first questions that a specialist will pay attention to will sound like this:

Has any traumatic event occurred in your life within the last 3 months?

Do you find that your stress levels are higher than usual when you react to situations at home or at work?

Is your stress related to some kind of grief or experience?

If you have a diagnosed disorder that may be related to stress

Based on your answers to these and other questions, the therapist will prescribe a course of treatment for you, possibly with medication, or make recommendations that may help.