The Types of Stress and How to Manage It
- Cloey Bibbs
- Apr 11
- 3 min read
April is Stress Awareness Month, so let’s talk about it! Life is filled with demands and stress can help us take care of responsibilities in a timely manner, but to what extent can stress be harmful?
Stress happens when we are faced with a challenge that exceeds our capacity to cope with it. Our bodies release hormones called cortisol and epinephrine (adrenaline) when we are in a state of fight-or-flight. Fortunately, stress is not always harmful, as it can help us complete tasks and escape unsafe situations.
There are 3 types of stress. The smallest form of stress is considered “acute”. This happens when you experience a short burst of adrenaline that subsides within minutes. Examples of when this happens would be during horror movies, or certain parts in books when you’re reading and turning the pages very quickly to see what happens next. Other examples of acute stress could be a small argument, riding a roller coaster, submitting an assignment at 11:59pm (would not recommend), etc.
The next level of stress would be considered “episodic”. Similar to acute stress, episodic acute stress happens at a certain frequency. Examples of this type of stress could be daily hassles, such as traffic and obligations at work. Episodic stress may be considered more common than the others, since this kind of stress is typically a part of everyday life and can be easily dismissed.
Lastly, the highest level of stress is considered “chronic”, since it can go on for longer periods of time. This type of stress can last from a few weeks to a couple of months, or even longer. Contributors to chronic stress would be marital problems, financial hardships, health-related concerns, unprocessed trauma, etc. Long-term exposure of episodic and chronic stress can cause behavioral, physical, and psychological concerns.
Even though our mind and bodies are wired for survival, they are not wired to stay in its sympathetic nervous system for a long period of time. Our bodies are not equipped for managing high volumes of stress 24/7. When we are in a constant state of survival there are many health risks. If not managed effectively, here are a few ways stress can impact our bodies (and relationships!):
Behavioral: Irritability, isolation, changes in eating habits
Physical: Headaches, high blood pressure, digestive issues, fatigue, muscle tension, irregular sleep patterns
Psychological: Depression, anxiety, poor concentration and memory
Here are a few preventative actions that we can take to help ensure that we aren’t prone to high levels of stress. These skills can help us activate our parasympathetic nervous system:
Other stress management skills can include:
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR): This skill involves tensing different muscle groups in the body. Sometimes we are unaware of where we store our stress, so scheduling a time to practice PMR can help us become more aware of where we feel tension in our bodies.
Deep breathing: Various breathing techniques include diaphragmatic, box-breathing, and 4-7-8 breathing exercises.
Grounding skills: Engage your 5 senses. For example, splashing our face with cold water or dunking our face into a bowl of iced water can activate our dive reflex, which calms our nervous system.
Self care: Spending time doing activities you enjoy
Exercise: Stimulate those feel good hormones to counteract the others!
Meditation: Examples of meditations include, but are not limited to, loving-kindness, body scanning, Tai Chi, going for a walk
Take the First Step Toward Balance and Relief
Feeling overwhelmed by stress? You don’t have to manage it alone. Book a session with one of our compassionate therapists at Therapeutic Counseling today.
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