What symptoms occur under high stress conditions?

Stress is a part of everyday life, but when it gets too stressful, it can be all-consuming.upon Today with Claire ByrneGeneral practitioner Dr Maile Finn spoke about how stress affects us and strategies for managing stress when it threatens to become too much.

Dr. Finn began with an informative overview of why stress responses exist in humans.

“It's necessary. If you're crossing the road and a car comes, you have to run and protect yourself. So stress is an unconscious physiological response to something threatening or unpleasant; It motivates us and makes us function.”

However, when stress is persistent or unstoppable, it can cause mental and physical problems. So how do you know if your stress levels are unnecessarily high and if you need to take action to reduce them?

Dr. Finn explained some of the symptoms that high stress conditions can cause.

“As I say, there's an involuntary response from a part of the brain called the hypothalamus, which affects the pituitary gland and causes the release of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, which causes the heart to race. , which produces acid in the body. Your stomach hurts, your palms sweat, and your breathing becomes strange.”

People recognize these symptoms. We've probably all experienced some or all of it. However, they are almost always short-lived. The problem occurs when it happens frequently or persistently. And if stress is affecting your daily life, it needs to be addressed.

“People recognize that symptoms such as brain fog, indecisiveness, lack of sleep, or being easily angered or tearful may be related to stress, but There are many other symptoms that you may be experiencing, and you may not know which one is more physical.”

One of these physical symptoms is tachycardia, or a sustained increase in heart rate, due to the release of hormones. Continuing tachycardia is bad for the heart and blood vessels.

Dr. Finn says diabetes is also a physical disease that can be caused by hormones that are released when you're in a state of stress.

“Cortisol causes changes in the way glucose is metabolized, so again it can be a long-term effect of stress…neck pain, shoulder pain, headaches. Headaches are a very frequent symptom of stress. ”

In fact, while we instinctively know that there are many chronic diseases and that they are caused by or related to chronic stress, the correlation cannot always be proven, says Dr Finn. I will tell you.

Maybe we are stressed in our home life, or maybe we are stressed at work. In any case, what can you do to keep stress at bay?

According to Dr. Finn, we rarely experience stress in any aspect of our lives. Therefore, you need to identify which bits can and cannot be changed.

“Sometimes I see people I know who have unbearable stress in their home environments and don't realize that the physical symptoms they're experiencing are related to that.”

Dr. Finn must guide patients to identify what is going on in their lives, whether it's work, home, commuting, illness, or financial burdens. Whatever it is, the challenge is to look at all the things that people are struggling with and pick out the things that can be solved. Of course, we can't solve everything.

“We all have to recognize that there is stress in our lives, but while it is very important to recognize when it becomes harmful, we also recognize that it is to some extent inevitable. But even if that means making time for it, it's just 15 minutes a day. ”

Me-time is really important, says Dr. Finn. The 10 minutes he has between finishing work and walking in the door are priceless because it allows me to not feel overwhelmed by everything I have to do. And that time is not only for ourselves, but also for those around us, and is also used to make our lives and careers more sustainable.

Click above to listen to Claire and Dr. Maile Finn's full conversation.

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, please visit the following site: www.rte.ie/helplines.