The harshness of stress is influenced by the degree of the stress response, the duration of time that the stress response is activated, and how the person handles the stressor. If you are open to a stressor on a regular basis, and you do not remove yourself or find a way to manage your stress then the effects will be more noticeable than those caused by a one time stressor.
These symptoms can be either acute or chronic. Acute symptoms have an immediate onset, and you become aware of them quickly. Chronic stress is more of a build up of stress over time. Chronic stress may be the result of stressful circumstances you find yourself in such as workplace difficulties, or it may be the result of a medical condition. For the medical condition, it could be the direct result of the medical condition or a consequence of try to manage health problems. The point is that the stress is intense and lasts a long time.
Typically, the response to acute stress is meant to be short lived. The stressor is present. Your body responds to it in the most appropriate way it knows how until the stressor is gone. Ideally, the body returns to its naturally calm state, and no real harm is done. If the stressor is prolonged, however, then there could be more of an effect. This is also the case if the stressor is presented repeatedly.
On the other hand, chronic stress encompasses situations where an individual is exposed to greater amounts of stress over a longer period of time. This prolonged stress response can adversely affect an individual’s health. It weakens your immune system. Your body’s ability to fight off illness and infection is compromised. This is true both for the common cold and for more serious medical conditions. Chronic stress leaves you vulnerable to it all.
Not surprisingly, it also sets you up for cardiovascular disease. You probably know about the connection between stress and high blood pressure, but you may not have known all the other possible effects. It can cause irregular heartbeats, problems with your blood’s ability to clot, and hardening of your arteries. It is also linked to heart attack and heart failure.
Consistently high levels of stress can also manifest as persistent muscle tension. This can result in soreness or even muscle pain. Problems of the neck, lower back, and shoulders are common in those who regularly experience high levels of stress. Your body was not meant to experience high amounts of tension for prolonged periods of time, and it cannot handle them without starting some for of breaking down.
Stress can cause a host of other problems too. Some of these are stomach problems, skin problems, and problems with asthma and other breathing difficulties. Each one can be caused or worsened by the occurrence of stress.
Physical stress can result in overuse injuries. Overuse injuries occur when muscles are exposed to a combination of repetitive movements and awkward positioning. This can lead to tension, discomfort, and pain. It is a commonplace occurrence in the hands, wrists, and elbows of computer-based workers. Performing a task in an awkward body position once is not as likely to do much harm, but performing the same movement in the same awkward position every day is going to be detrimental to your physical health.
The fact that stress can lead to or contribute to serious health problems is cause for concern. Society’s dependence on computers is only going to grow, and that will make these matters more relevant with each passing year. The dependence upon computers is increasing these types of health concerns, and this issue is not going to go away until computers go fall out of fashion. That is probably not going to happen for a very long time, if ever. The long periods of time spent at home computers add in to this equation. Everyone is at risk.
In this age of computers, stress takes on a new meaning. As lives center more and more around computers, more of the stress that people feel manifests in ways that are specific to working with computers. Of course, some generalized responses will always be associated with stress, but computers bring with them specific hazards. The mind and body can be stressed in different ways. As computers take over more and more of your time, you will need to find ways to reduce the stress that their use places upon you.
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