Do Men And Women Experience Stress Differently
Contrary to popular belief that women are more stressed-out and anxious than men, doctors say that there is no clear evidence that there is a gender difference when it comes to stress. I do think that women may be more likely to seek out help, says Dr. Gupta.
Yet the APA survey suggests that women are more likely to report feeling stressed than are men. Women say they have experienced a slight increase in their stress levels in the past year: On a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being little or no stress and 10 being a great deal of stress, women went from 5.0 in 2016 to 5.1 in 2017 in contrast, mens stress dipped, from 4.6 in 2016 to 4.4 in 2017. The survey also found that men and women get stressed out by different things. Women are likelier to say they feel stress about hate crimes, wars and conflicts, and terrorism than men do.
Whatever symptoms of stress youre feeling or what may be causing them, its important to find stress relief to prevent both short- and long-term health problems related to stress. Find out how to do that here.
Mental And Emotional Signs
Stress can also affect how you think and feel, making it tough to get through your normal responsibilities and make rational decisions. In some cases, this kind of stress can impact behavior in other ways, and some people turn to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or other harmful substances to cope with their feelings.
Excessive stress may also affect your appetite, causing you to eat more or less than usual, and it may affect or eliminate your motivation to exercise and stay fit. Additionally, the feelings you get when youâre stressed may make you feel like withdrawing from friends and family and isolating yourself.
Some of the psychological and emotional signs that youâre stressed out include:
- Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
- Racing thoughts or constant worry
- Problems with your memory or concentration
- Making bad decisions
Youve Become Indifferent Sexually
When youre stressed out and have a ton of issues on your mind, your sex drive is likely to decrease. You might be frustrated about it and wish you could do something about it, but when the opportunity arises, youll find yourself not being able to focus, or not being in the mood at all. Try to relieve stress by exercising often.
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Tips For Giving The Best Answer
Show the employer how you manage stress. That way, the interviewer can build up a clear picture of how well you adapt to stressful situations. For example, describe a time when you were given a difficult task or multiple assignments and how you rose to the occasion.
Focus on success. When you respond, share examples of how you succeeded despite being in a stressful situation, or of how you problem-solved to resolve the issue that caused stress.
When its a stressful job. Some jobs are stressful by nature. If youre applying for a high-stress job, be sure to let the interviewer know that youre used to working under stress and that its part of your normal routine.
Is It Stress Or Anxiety
Life can be stressfulyou may feel stressed about performance at school, traumatic events , or a life change. Everyone feels stress from time to time.
What is stress? Stress is the physical or mental response to an external cause, such as having a lot of homework or having an illness. A stressor may be a one-time or short-term occurrence, or it can happen repeatedly over a long time.
What is anxiety? Anxiety is your body’s reaction to stress and can occur even if there is no current threat.
If that anxiety doesnt go away and begins to interfere with your life, it could affect your health. You could experience problems with sleeping, or with your immune, digestive, cardiovascular, and reproductive systems. You also may be at higher risk for developing a mental illness such as an anxiety disorder or depression. Read more about anxiety disorders.
So, how do you know when to seek help?
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Potential Side Effects Of Using Cbd For Stress
One of the significant benefits of a natural supplement like CBD is that it is generally safe. However, you should definitely check with your doctor before starting a new medication or supplement.
Despite being safe and well-tolerated in most people, some people experience side effects with the use of CBD these include:
- Diarrhea or gastrointestinal upset.
- Headache.
- Dry mouth.
Side effects typically occur at higher doses or when CBD is taken orally alongside a high-fat meal. A high-fat meal can aid in absorption and thus the likelihood of side effects.
CBD may also interact with certain medications and supplements. You should always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting CBD if you take other medications and supplements.
Talk With Your Employer
To request leave, youll need to speak to the HR department, though youll probably want to keep your direct supervisor informed, too.
If you work for a large company, your employee policy handbook may give specific guidance on whom to reach out to. When making your appointment, let your HR officer know what you want to talk about by saying something along the lines of, Id like to request leave for a health condition.
Bring your documentation to your appointment and be prepared to answer questions about how stress has affected your health and work performance. Be honest about your efforts to manage stress and your difficulty coping.
If certain workplace policies, such as hazardous environments or overtime requirements, have increased your stress, communicate these clearly and respectfully.
For example, you might say: I understand rigid deadlines allow our customers to receive their orders on time, but the orders keep coming in and I dont have enough support to provide the turnaround time we promise.
Talk with your employer as soon as you know you need to take time off. Many employers require 30 days advance notice when possible. If you need to take leave more urgently, youll still want to provide as much notice as you can.
Your HR department can also offer more guidance or information on other possible options.
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Having Too High Of A Tolerance For Stress Is Just As Dangerous As Someone Who Is Blindly Optimistic
A person who is too optimistic or doesnt feel enough stress can be like a person standing in a burning building with only a single bucket of water and feeling confident they can get out safely. Having a realistic picture of what is happening is just as important as feeling a sense of urgency to deal with a situation that could do real damage. While we think we want to never feel stress, or even better, to eliminate stressful circumstances, we actually need to get more comfortable with feeling stress in ways that help us.
Healthy stress tolerance and stress management means paying attention to the pressure thats building and an acknowledgement of your limitations.
Without a healthy level of stress tolerance, you are MORE LIKELY to:
- overestimate your abilities and capacity to get things done, meaning bottlenecks start to form around you and you become a single point of failure
- create environments where pressure is always present and the expectation that living in a state of stress is normal
- show a lack of empathy and understanding for people who are experiencing stress or expressing their feelings of stress
- accept recurring problems and settle for a level of dysfunction that limits your effectiveness rather than solve the core issues and become more effective
- rest and recover less often and operate below your potential with less impact and efficiency more often
Without a healthy level of stress tolerance, you are LESS LIKELY to:
Find The Help You Need
If youre diagnosed with stress, dont fretthere is hope for people dealing with both acute and chronic stress. There are many things you can do to avoid stressful situations and manage the stress youre already dealing with.
The first step is figuring out what your triggers are so you can avoid them. Even if you cant avoid your triggers, understanding them so you can proactively deal with stress is important.
If you are having trouble managing stress and its mental and physical effects, you may need help from a health care professional. You dont need to struggle on your own. Call your primary care physician or a local mental health facility, like McLean, to find the care you need.
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You Resort To Coping Mechanisms
After a hard days work, you might want to just go home and grab a bottle of beer from the fridge while you catch up on some TV. While theres nothing wrong with having a drink or two after youve come home and relaxed for a while, theres definitely a problem with drinking in order to relax. Chances are youll wake up the next morning with an even higher level of stress than you went to bed with. If you find youre relying on drugs or alcohol more and more in order to alleviate stress, you should seek help immediately.
When you were little, did you play with a dollhouse that just wasnt everything you dreamed it would be? So maybe you took cardboard and construction paper and made additions. Maybe you found Christmas lights, wrapped them in tulle to create an ethereal or underwater effect for your mermaids and mermen. Or maybe you converted an old tree trunk and made a Middle Earth worthy hobbit home.
Wherever your imagination took you as a child, now that you are older, maybe its time to reclaim that imagination.
And now that you live in an internet connected world that allows you not only to see the wild creations of others, but offers also step-by-step instructions, how to videos, and niche stores supplying amazing miniatures to complete and compliment your one of a kind dream home, you can do almost ANYTHING!
Whatever your taste is, take a look at these 22 thoughtful and AMAZING dolls houses! And let the world of miniatures engulf you once again.
Physical Symptoms Of A Stress Fracture
Stress fractures often affect the weight-bearing bones in your foot, which work to absorb the repetitive stress that occurs during running, jumping, and walking. Common locations include the second and third metatarsal bones, the long thin bones between your toes and ankle, which is where youre likely to first notice discomfort.
Since the initial signs of a stress fracture may be mild, its easy to ignore them or brush them off as an inconvenience. However, the more often you participate in the damaging activity without allowing time for the bone to heal, the more likely it is that the stress fracture can worsen and cause the following symptoms:
- Pain, aching, and tenderness that worsens during and after physical activity or movement
- Relief from pain during periods of rest
- Swelling on the ankle or top of your foot
- Bruising and swelling at the site of the stress fracture
If you experience any of these symptoms, its important to get a medical evaluation to determine proper treatment and reduce the risk of further damage to the affected bone.
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So You Feel Like Turning Japanese
Like the 80s English band, The Vapors, you might feel like turning Japanese, but of course you cant. You might not be able to move to Japan or even buy sushi where you live. But you could have your own amazing miniature Japanese doll house! This one is sold as a kit from Billy, a Japanese dollhouse company.
Hows Your Stress Tolerance It May Be Too High
There is a condition called congenital analgesia. It is an incredibly rare disease in which a person cannot feel physical pain. While you might like the idea of not getting sore after a workout or being able to push yourself to new physical limits, its actually a dangerous condition. People with congenital analgesia, sometimes referred to as congenital insensitivity to pain , end up with bruises, wounds, and even broken bones because they cant feel when damage is being done to their body. It turns out pain is a good source of information for helping people navigate the world and avoid causing damage to our bodies.
Stress works in a similar way. Its designed to make us pay attention to building pressure that may lead to pain or damage, emotional or physical. Stress can be motivating, helping to keep us focused and motivated. But it can also be overwhelming and reduce our productivity and effectiveness. In our fast-paced win the day culture, stress is often seen as a sign of weakness. Those who are pushing to get to the top and have it all seem to not experience stress the way the rest of us do. But is it possible to have too much stress tolerance? Can it actually be damaging to you and those around you to not feel stressed?
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When To See Your Gp About Your Stress Levels
If you’ve tried self-help techniques and they aren’t working, you should go to see your GP. They may suggest other coping techniques for you to try or recommend some form of counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy.
If your stress is causing serious health problems, such as high blood pressure, you may need to take medication or further tests.
Mental health issues, including stress, anxiety and depression, are the reason for one-in-five visits to a GP.
Symptoms Of Uncontrolled Stress
Like in any medical condition, the starting point towards the resolution of the problem that is stress is symptom recognition. Stress is your bodys way of protecting you it is a normal physiological response to any threatening event that comes your way. But beyond a certain point, stress stops being helpful and starts causing harm to your health and life in general. Below are some of the common warning signs and symptoms of too much or uncontrolled stress. If you seem to be experiencing many of the symptoms listed, then it likely indicates that you are not coping with the stress in your life effectively.
Cognitive Symptoms.
Cognitive symptoms refer to problems that have anything to do with brain processes like thinking, attention, perception, memory, reasoning, and problem solving. The most commonly observed cognitive symptoms of poorly managed stress are as follows:
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Memory problems
Going to the salon every other week gets expensive, but there are useful, free, and creative ways to get the perfect manicure without making that bank account-draining bi-weekly appointment. Check out these hacks for a great manicure.
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Pick A Plan And Stick To It
After knowing how much you earn and spend, you can make a financial plan and align your priorities. You can save up money for your true preferences. Like you can go shopping at discounts and take homemade lunch more often than ordering take-out.
Try to stick to your plan for at least a month. See if your current budget works out and if not, make some changes at the end of the month. Make sure you see the benefit of keeping an eye on your finances otherwise, you might be making some wrong choices.
Youre Having Trouble Concentrating
When youre too overwhelmed to focus on whats in front of you, it could be a sign youre overworked. Research has connected long-term exposure to excess amounts of cortisol to shrinking of the hippocampus, the brains memory center, says Tuit. Studies have shown that long-term stress stimulates growth of the proteins that might cause Alzheimers disease.
What to do: If you find that youre experiencing this during the workday, taking a few long inhales and exhales can help. Deep, even breathing not only affects whether or not our thoughts control us or we control them. It also affects the bodily sensations that are experienced when faced with a high-stress situation, says Tuit. This type of breathing can help control the heart rate and blood flow, as well as muscle tension, she says.
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If Left Unmanaged Stress Can Lead To Depression
Posted January 8, 2016
Feeling stressed out? Youre not alone. Seventy-two percent of adults surveyed by the American Psychological Association reported feeling stressed out at least some of the time during the past month.
Regardless of what youre stressing about, stress can quickly turn into a problem when it builds and starts to cause wear and tear on your bodyand your overall mental state. In fact, if left unmanaged stress can actually lead to depression.
Chronic stress leads to physical changes in your brain and body, changes in the way youre thinking, and ultimately to changes in the way youre behaving.
Stressed out people are more likely to engage in unhelpful and unhealthy behaviors like overeating, smoking, drinking, and dropping out of important activities like exercising and socializing. And all of this can increase the likelihood that your stress turns into depression.
So how can you tell if youre just stressed out or are suffering from depression? Essentially the answer lies in the severity and the duration of your symptoms.
Feeling stressed out is usually associated with feeling overwhelmed or under pressure. As you know, I believe the term stressed out is a generalization we use to really just say that were having a hard time coping with distressing emotions such as fear or sadness.
Feeling sad and hopeless
Lack of energy, enthusiasm and motivation
Withdrawing from other people
Eating more or less than usual
