Stress: What It Is, Causes, Symptoms, and Management

Arlene Ambrose, RN
Jun 4
5 min read

You have a work project due at midnight. You're sick, your kids are sick, your basement just flooded, and oh, not to mention, your car just broke down. Every day you deal with multiple levels of stress.

Stress is when the environmental demands, tensions, and pressure of a situation outweigh a person's perceived ability to mentally, physically, or socially cope with it effectively. 7

Stress is a natural response to perceived threats and challenges in our lives. Everyone experiences some degree of stress, but the way each person responds makes an immense difference in your overall health. 11

How Stress Works

The stress response begins in the brain. When a stressful event happens, your brain immediately sends out an alarm signal to the hypothalamus (the part of the brain that communicates with the rest of the body).

The hypothalamus then tells your nervous system whether it should freak out, like getting ready to fight or run (the sympathetic nervous system response), or if it should relax (the parasympathetic nervous system response).

Both of these reactions produce a physical response in your body. The sympathetic nervous system (the fight response) causes you do things like, breathe faster, become more alert, have an increase in heart rate, decrease in stomach secretions, and more.

The parasympathetic nervous system (the relax response) causes your heart rate and breathing to slow down, and digestion to start. 4 While the sympathetic nervous system triggers the "fight or flight" response when the brain perceives a threat.

Types of Stress

Eustress

Most people associate stress with being something ominous or negative. Alternatively, there is a positive type of stress (called eustress), which is manageable and helps individuals perform better. Some people may find this type of stress exciting or even motivating for short periods of time.

Some examples of eustress include,

Starting a new romantic relationship
Starting a new job
Starting a life-changing opportunity
Exercising
Going on vacation
Getting married
Having a baby

Stress is a problem when it becomes chronic and unmanaged.

Chronic Stress

Chronic stress is when you are dealing with a long-term, threatening, or difficult situation that disrupts your everyday life. Chronic stress lasts at least a month and longer. Stress that happens for shorter periods of time is called acute stress. 1

Acute Stress

Acute stress is when an individual feels an immediate threat to a specific problem. Acute stress can last up to a month or shorter. It can have immediate effects on the body and brain, like making your heart beat faster and causing palpitations. 8

Causes of Stress

There are various stressors in everyday life. Each person has different triggers. Here are some causes of stress,

Work: rules, regulations, strict policies, deadlines.
Lifestyle choices: caffeine, poor sleep, overloaded schedules.
Mind Biases: unrealistic expectations, taking things personally, all-or-nothing thinking, exaggerating, and rigid thinking.
Difficult personality traits: type A, perfectionist, workaholic, people pleaser.Major life events: death of a family member, job loss, financial strain.
Physical environment: loud noises, glaring lights, heat, small spaces.
Social: rude people, bossiness, aggressive behavior.
Negative self-talk: negative thinking, self-criticism, over-analyzing.
Everyday hassles: driving in traffic, car breakdowns.

Symptoms of Stress

Physical Symptoms

Increased tiredness.
Tension headaches.
Muscle aches and pain.
Poor sleep.
Feeling short of breath.
Redness to the face.
Stomach aches and nausea.
Increased heart rate.
Sweating.

Emotional Symptoms

Irritability.
Anxiety.
Loss of control.
Mood swings and depression.
Restlessness.
Feeling overwhelmed.
Feeling lost.

Behavioral Symptoms

Frequent outbursts of anger or irritation.
Avoiding social interactions or isolating yourself.
Delaying tasks or avoiding responsibilities.
Overeating or loss of appetite.
Increased nail-biting, fidgeting, or pacing.
Trouble completing work, school, or personal tasks.
Misuse of alcohol, caffeine, drugs, or other substances.
Repetitive cleaning or obsessive behaviors.

Cognitive Symptoms

Trouble concentrating.
Memory problems like forgetting important information.
Focusing on the worst-case scenario all the time.
Racing thoughts.
Trouble making decisions.
Decrease in creativity.
Self-doubt.
Tunnel vision.

Managing Stress

Stress can make you feel like there's no hope and that life is spiralling out of control. It's important to have a toolkit of stress management techniques.

Here are a few,

Eliminate Stressors—The amount of stress in your life depends on how stressful your environment is and how you perceive stressors. While it's not always possible to completely eliminate your stress, maybe because it's part of your job or family role, you can manage how you interact with the stressor. This includes reducing the amount of time spent around the stressful activity.

Physical Activity— Physical activity can help you gain a new perspective, increase your energy, and release tension from your body. If you've ever felt a sense of release, accomplishment, or invigoration after exercise, this isn't a coincidence. One study showed that working adults who exercised had half the amount of perceived stress as those who did not work out.

If the thought of sweat-producing physical activity is not appealing, you can still benefit from movement like stretching. Slow stretching can also help reduce tension and promote relaxation in your body.

Mindfulness—Psychologists have found that mindfulness meditation changes the way your brain functions in positive ways, leading to improved mental and physical health. The simple definition of mindfulness meditation is being able to train your attention to achieve a mental state of calm, relaxation, and positive emotions. Taking deep breaths can also help activate the part of your nervous system responsible for relaxation.

Social—Strong social support can help to improve your tolerance to stress. Spending quality time with friends and family who you trust, people who are uplifting, and those who pour into you more than they drain you, is beneficial. Similarly, giving support can increase positive feelings while decreasing negative ones. The key is having balance in your relationships.

Nature— Spend time in nature, even if you live in the city. Find a green space, park, or local garden to help you relax. 6,9 Studies have shown that green spaces help to improve mood. It's even beneficial to watch scenic nature videos over urban ones, which has been shown to accelerate recovery from stress. 12

Stress is a part of everyday life. How it is managed greatly depends on how it is perceived by an individual. Stress is dangerous when it becomes chronic and unmanaged, which can produce negative physical and emotional responses. However, with stress management tools, individuals can reduce stress and improve well-being.

References

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Chronic stress: The hidden health risk. https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/chronic
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Chrousos, G. P. (2009). Stress and disorders of the stress system. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 5(7), 374–381. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2009.106
Harvard Health Publishing. (n.d.). Understanding the stress response. Harvard Medical School. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response
Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. (n.d.). Manage your stress. https://www.heartandstroke.ca/healthy-living/reduce-stress/manage-your-stress
Kaplan, S. (1995). The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15(3), 169–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/0272-4944(95)90001-2
Kruk, J., & Duchnik, E. (2022). Physical activity and its relation to neuroprotective and neurodegenerative processes. Antioxidants, 11(8), 1431. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox11081431
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer Publishing Company.
Li, Q. (2010). Effect of forest bathing trips on human immune function. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 15(1), 9–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12199-008-0068-3
Mauss, D., & Jarczok, M. N. (2019). The challenge of assessing the relationship between chronic stress and heart rate variability: A meta-analytic review. Psychosomatic Medicine, 81(8), 713–726. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000738
World Health Organization. (n.d.). Stress: Coping with stress at work. https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/stress
Wright, K. P., Jr., & Czeisler, C. A. (2002). Relationship between evening melatonin levels and sleep duration in humans. Neuroscience Letters, 318(3), 177–180. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2082105/

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