The recognition of stressful situations is, on the one hand, an important basis for better understanding and treating the causes of many mental and physical illnesses and, on the other hand, a preventive tool for preventing these illnesses. Stress diagnostics is an extremely important, but so far much underestimated element in the prevention of mental and physical diseases.
The occurrence of nervousness, irritability, sleep disorders, feelings of guilt, cognitive disorders and sexual problems is common in people with permanent stress, but these symptoms also occur in mental illnesses such as depression or anxiety disorders. Additional physical complaints are also symptoms of many diseases. So stress cannot be diagnosed by symptoms alone, because – it was explained above – stress or distress is not a disease. In order to make a proper stress diagnosis, a wide spectrum of stresses in various areas of life, attitudes, processing strategies, personality and stress consequences with their mental and physical effects must be questioned in the patient. Such a personal interview requires time and psychological knowledge. The following diagram best illustrates which focal points must be taken into account in stress diagnostics, how they are interlinked and influence each other (arrows in the figure).
Figure 2: Interrelationships between stress, processing and stress consequences.
Three conditions must be given priority consideration in stress diagnostics:
- Occurred stresses and their individual assessment by the patient.
- Personal processing behavior of the patient
- Occurrence and intensity of the effects, that is, the consequences of stress with their physical and mental symptoms.
These three conditions are described below.
