Stress has become an indispensable part of our lives. Yes, we all heard our parents and elders tell us that adulting is difficult, but none of us was expecting this constant phase of stress. From office duties to household chores, our hectic lifestyles are eating up the already little time that we manage to take care out for ourselves.
Not to mention that we are exhausted all the while, but stress can trigger numerous other health-related issues which won’t be as small as a headache in the long run. The most common form of stress is the acute stress which can be exhilarating to a certain extent, but its constant exposure can suck every bit of happiness and excitement out of it. With that thought in mind, let’s go into more detail about what is acute stress and how can one deal with it to save his happiness and life.
Understanding acute stress
Before we jump onto the treatment, spare a minute to get a better idea about what acute stress means. As mentioned earlier, acute stress can be thrilling for a short span, but if it continues to stay for long, the results will be exhaustion and a sudden blow of negativity on your mind. There are many things that we go through in our daily lives which can trigger acute stress and make your physical and mental health a masterpiece of chaos and mess. Here are a few of them:
- Recurring nightmares
- Rapid heartbeat
- Abdominal pains
- Emotional numbness
Many of the above-mentioned conditions might not even be noticeable to you, but they do exist and affect your mental health more than you can imagine if not kept under check. Acute stress is a post-traumatic stage where an accident or a major shift of focus in your life left a substantial mark on your mind. Someone’s death or a severe injury can make you feel detached, disinterested and numb for a long span which could further aggravate the symptoms leading to an actual disorder in the form of acute stress.
Acute Stress Disorder symptoms to look out for
- Inability to get over a traumatic situation
Whether experienced themselves, seen it happen to others or heard that it has happened to someone important in one’s life, a traumatic situation like a near-death experience, an accident leading to severe injury, the death of a someone close to heart or sexual, mental and physical molestation and violation can be a traumatic experience. In such cases, it’s always better to consult a psychiatrist from day one and deal with the issue head on to kick it out of your system for good.
- Negative mindset
Being cynical about a thing or two is normal, but a constant negative approach towards every little thing means that you are facing a problem, and acute disorder could be it. Along with a negative mindset, finding it persistently challenging to be happy even for a minute in a day is also a symptom.
- Sleep and concentration difficulties
Restless sleep, unable to sleep or to sleep in patches is another issue. Difficulty in grasping a simple or new concept or getting irritated even on the most minor of things is also a symptom.
- Dissociative amnesia
Finding it difficult to remember any significant events of the traumatic experience or trying to distance from memories, people, places or anything that could be a reminder of the same is also a symptom.
- Recurring Nightmares
Having nightmares once in a while is normal, but recurring nightmares is not, especially when it has even the slightest connection to the traumatic experience.
How to deal with acute stress
Even though acute stress can leave you in shock momentarily and trigger your body’s reaction mechanism to deal with it violently or abrasively, here are a few techniques which can help you take the load off your mind.
Cranial Osteopathy is an osteopathic treatment where light pressure by the osteopathist is used to release stress bottled up in the muscles. The twitching or involuntary motion in your body is the expansion and contraction of tissues which is essential to get rid of the stress.
Meditation and breathing control
A great trick to cool down your nerves and get out of the acute stress zone is to meditate for a few minutes, minimum of ten minutes to give your body enough time to return to its balance. Focus all energies on positive things in life and controlling your breathing pattern for the betterment of both physical and mental health.
Speak your mind
Talking is the best therapy for anything that is troubling you so have a chat with anyone you trust and get it all out at once. Not only will the headache and other general symptom be reduced significantly, but you will feel so much lighter at the end of it.
Stress is taken very lightly among teenagers and adults which is why the diagnosing of such a disorder is often delayed till it’s too late. Share this post to spread awareness and keep yourself open to others who might be in need of you.