If you fear for your job or have problems in your relationship, you run the risk of getting sick. Stress is an expression of strain and tension on the whole organism. Stress is widespread in Germany. According to a Forsa study in 2013 with around 1,000 respondents, almost 6 out of 10 Germans regularly feel stress. Among 35- to 45-year-olds, it is even 8 out of 10 respondents. One in five employees feels overwhelmed by time pressure or exhaustion. No wonder: we live in a performance-oriented society in which every window of time gained is filled again with new tasks. Rest and relaxation phases, on the other hand, are permanently neglected. Alarming, considering that happy and balanced people are less prone to illness than those who suffer mental distress.
What is stress?
Stress usually has a negative connotation among us – we moan about too much of it in everyday life, at work, in our free time. But strictly speaking, we must distinguish: in “good stress” (eustress) and “negative stress” (distress)”. In stressful situations, hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are increasingly produced, blood pressure rises – the body goes on alert. In our ancestors, a survival advantage to be alert and fight (or run away quickly) in dangerous situations.
Stress as a health risk
Stress is a health risk, however, when it occurs in excess and the periods of tension are never defused by relaxing situations. Frequency, variety, duration as well as the personal evaluation of a situation determine what is experienced as (negative) stress. A stressed person feels that the situation is making excessive demands on his or her strength and coping capabilities, feels unable to cope and fears negative consequences. This feeling is perceived as a threat to one’s health, social adjustment or performance.
Stress is therefore an imbalance between the internal and external demands placed on the person and his or her ability to respond to them. Thereby, this imbalance does not have to exist objectively, but the affected person feels it that way.
Stress is everywhere
Many situations can trigger stress in the body, such as existential anxiety, unemployment, loneliness, noise, over- or under-demand, sleep deficit, fear of failure, time pressure, and arguments. A more modern phenomenon is “fitness stress” – due to our awareness of our own health, we feel we have to constantly do something for our well-being in our free time. We rush from wellness appointments to abdominal-leg butt training, from yoga to running. And we completely forget to relax.
Vacations are also at the top of the list of stressful situations. Instead of relaxation and joy, we feel hectic and compelled; instead of enjoying a harmonious get-together, we plague ourselves with arguments and discussions. Our own expectations and need for harmony build up immense pressure – which makes us feel anything but balanced.
How to recognize stress
If stress exists constantly or recurs at short intervals – without sufficient rest periods in between – it can make you mentally and physically ill. The following complaints are typical signs:
- Headache, insomnia
- Heart trouble
- Stomach pain, diarrhea
- Allergies
- Tension or cramps
- Irritability, nervous restlessness
- Sleep disturbances
- Exhaustion up to burn out
- Depression
Stress activates organic areas such as immune defenses, cardiovascular system, musculature or the formation of gastric acid. If permanently activated, this can overstimulate the defenses, the vascular system or the gastric mucosa and thus damage: Permanent stress weakens the immune system and can lead to stomach ulcers or high blood pressure. In the worst case, it can lead to diabetes or a heart attack. In the case of prolonged complaints, therefore, the doctor should always be consulted.
