Levels of Stress
There are three different kinds of stress; Acute Stress, Episodic Stress, and Chronic Stress. Acute Stress is the least harmful and most common and Chronic Stress is the most dangerous and less common.
Acute Stress- Short Term
It is normal to experience stress every now and then and be able to lead a happy life. Going to theme parks, riding rides, or going through a haunted house causes you stress. Being excited or scared gives you an adrenaline rush that many people enjoy. That rush is your body instinctively preparing to get you out of that situation if you need to. Your heart beats faster, sending blood to your muscles so you can run or fight, vision is focused and you are under stress. But some people enjoy that feeling and purposely put themselves in those "stressful situations" because it's fun. In that way stress is not bad at all. Your body should be able to take being stressed every once in a while and then go back to normal once it's over. That is known as Acute Stress which can make you feel nauseous, have a headache, quickened heart rate, dizziness, and shortness of breath once the event causing you stress is over. Some other short term effects of Acute Stress that may not happen immediately after an event are getting angry, getting anxious, being irritable, short feelings of depression, trouble using the bathroom, as well as the nausea, headache, faster heart rate, dizziness, and shortness of breath. That form of Acute Stress can be exciting. Acute stress is also commonly brought on by daily demands that life throws at you. Other forms are when you are expecting pressures or demands in the near future and can make you nervous or a bunch of little things are piling up in your life causing you to be stressed thinking about dealing with them. All of this is short term and easily manageable if recognized early and some steps are taken to help relieve it.
Episodic Stress
Episodic Stress is a build up of Acute Stress. That little every day stresses become worse and more prominent. This is when you have a laundry list of things you need to do and not enough time to do it. You feel disorganized, you're always busy and never feel like you get a break. Everything you do is extremely rushed and chaotic. Episodic stress can also be brought on by constant worrying about anything and everything. These attributes in a persons life become habitual and even though changing your lifestyle would help cure Episodic stress, people under Episodic stress detest change and see nothing wrong with their current lifestyle.
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Chronic Stress- Long Term
Chronic Stress is the least commonly experienced but is the most life threatening. This type of stress is experienced at a constant rate, everyday, and does not subside. It affects almost every system in the body and if let alone for long enough will cause a range of severe health problems. This type of stress can be brought on by being in an abusive relationship whether it be a bad marriage, a kid being abused at home, or being abused in some other arena like school. Childhood trauma can haunt people their whole lives and re-living that event or fearing something like it could happen again scares these victims everyday. Deep seated beliefs and fears also contribute as stressors and leave the victim in a constant state of fear and hypervigilance. Having a high demand job like law enforcement or lawyers where they are constantly working, thinking, and have new unpredictable stressors hammering them everyday on top of their other daily stressors. Symptoms of this kind of stress are self harm, aggression, heart attack, stroke, and suicide. Chronic Stress is extremely difficult to treat and anyone that suffers from chronic stress should see their physician immediately.