Kinds of Stress

Kinds of Stress

American Physiological Association classifies stress into three categories - acute
stress, episodic acute stress, and chronic stress — each with its own characteristics,
symptoms, duration, and treatment approaches.

1. Acute Stress

Acute stress is the most common form of stress. It comes from demands and pressures
of the recent past and anticipated demands and pressures of the near future. Acute
stress is thrilling and exciting in small doses, but too much is exhausting. A fast run
down a challenging ski slope, for example, is exhilarating early in the day. That same
ski run late in the day is taxing and wearing. Skiing beyond limits can lead to falls and
broken bones. By the same token, overdoing on short-term stress can lead to
psychological distress, tension headaches, upset stomach, and other symptoms.
Because it is short term, acute stress doesn’t have enough time to do the extensive
damage associated with long-term stress. The most common symptoms are:
• emotional distress: some combination of anger or irritability, anxiety, and
depression, the three stress emotions;
• muscular problems including tension, headache, back pain, jaw pain, and the
muscular tensions that lead to pulled muscles and tendon and ligament
problems;
• stomach, gut and bowel problems such as heartburn, acidity, flatulence, diarrhea,
constipation, and irritable bowel syndrome;
• elevation in blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, heart palpitations,
dizziness, migraine headaches, cold hands or feet, shortness of breath, and
chest pain.
Acute stress can crop up in anyone’s life, and it is highly treatable and manageable.

2. Episodic Acute Stress

The symptoms of episodic acute stress are the symptoms of extended over arousal:
persistent tension headaches, migraines, hypertension, chest pain, and heart disease.

Treating episodic acute stress requires intervention on a number of levels, generally
requiring professional help, which may take many months.
Often, lifestyle and personality issues are so ingrained and habitual with those suffering
episodic acute stress that they see nothing wrong with the way they conduct their lives.
They blame their woes on other people and external events. Frequently, they see their
lifestyle, their patterns of interacting with others, and their ways of perceiving the world
as part and parcel of who and what they are.
Sufferers can be fiercely resistant to change. Only the promise of relief from pain and
discomfort of their symptoms can keep them in treatment and on track in their recovery
program

3. Chronic Stress

Chronic stress comes when a person never sees a way out of a miserable situation.
It’s the stress of unrelenting demands and pressures for seemingly interminable period.
With no hope, the individual gives up searching for solutions.
Some chronic stresses stem from traumatic, early childhood experiences; get
internalized and remain forever painful and present. Some experiences profoundly
affect personality. A view of the world, or a belief system, is created that causes unending
stress for the individual. When personality or deep-seated convictions and beliefs must
be reformulated, recovery requires active self-examination, often with professional help.
The worst aspect of chronic stress is that people get used to it. They forget it is there.
People are immediately aware of acute stress because it is new; they ignore chronic
stress because it is old, familiar, and sometimes, almost comfortable.
Chronic stress kills through suicide, violence, heart attack, stroke, and, perhaps, even
cancer. People wear down to a final, fatal breakdown. Because physical and mental
resources are depleted through long-term attrition, the symptoms of chronic stress are
difficult to treat and may require extended medical as well as behavioral treatment
and stress management.