UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING STRESS
Mental health challenges and mental overloads are one of the leading causes for health problems of modern worker. Continue reading and find out what is stress and burnout, why does it happen, signs and symptoms, what happens to the body during stress and how to manage it.

WHAT IS STRESS?
Stress is physical and mental body response when experiencing external factors or internal behaviour that disrupt your inner balance.
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POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE STRESS
The human body is designed to experience stress and react to it. Stress can be positive (“eustress“) and negative (“distress”).
Positive stress is keeping us alert and ready to avoid danger, it encourages us to be active and represents a challenge that we want to accept.
Stress becomes negative when a person faces continuous challenges without relief or relaxation between challenges. As a result, the person becomes overworked and stress-related tension builds (“distress“).

FIGHT OR FLIGHT
Stress is the body’s natural defense against predators and danger. It causes the body to flood with hormones that prepare its systems to evade or confront danger. People commonly refer to this as the »fight-or-flight mechanism«.
Imagine that you are walking in the forest and you suddenly see a bear running towards you!

When you face a challenge or threat, the body activates resources that help people either stay and confront the challenge or get to safety as fast as possible.
You immediately have a physical response: the body produces larger quantities of the stress hormones (cortisol, adrenaline and glucagon), the sympathetic nervous system is activated. The result is an immediate alertness, a faster heartrate that pumps blood throughout the body, deep breathing that brings oxygen, blood full of glucose and heightened muscle preparedness.
These factors all improve a person’s ability to respond to a potentially hazardous or challenging situation.
RECOGNIZING STRESS
When you experience changes or challenges (stressors), your body produces physical and mental responses. This correlates with a narrowed attentional focus, thinking becomes rigid, anxiety or fear may appear. A person exposed to long-term stress is less decisive and makes rash decisions.
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STRESS EFFECTS YOUR BEHAVIOUR
Everyone copes with stress in different ways, but some people may resort to overeating and excessive consumption or psychoactive substances abuse (nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, drugs and medicines) to manage their stress.

HOW DOES STRESS AFFECT your HEALTH?
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PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS
Stressors activate autonomic nervous system and trigger a rush of stress hormones in your body, which raise your blood pressure and increase your heart rate. Your heart is under greater strain.
Stress hormones release fat and sugar into your system to boost your energy. This prepares your body for an emergency response.

People who worry about long-term stress have reason to be concerned: chronic stress, the type of stress that is continual and unchanging, can take a heavy toll. It can negatively impact both physical and mental health.
HEALTH PROBLEMS RELATED TO STRESS
Long-term stress exposure causes an excessive production of stomach acid while at the same time blood flow to the gastrointestinal tract decreases, which eventually cause ulcerations in the lining of the stomach and duodenum. Intestinal problems also occur or existing diseases worsen.

Due to the action of hormones and the effect on the blood and blood vessels, disorders in the functioning of the endocrine glands (thyroid disease, diabetes), disorders in the functioning of the kidneys and liver, autoimmune diseases and disorders in the functioning of the reproductive system occur.
BURNOUT
Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress.
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It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. As the stress continues, you begin to lose the interest and motivation that led you to take on a certain role in the first place.
BURNOUT WARNING SIGNS
prof. dr. Mojca Zvezdana Dernovšek, dr. med., specialistka psihiatrije
ANXIETY
Anxiety is an unpleasant emotion that is usually accompanied by physical and behavioral changes similar to the stress response. It can appear suddenly or gradually, it can be barely noticeable or it can manifest in the form of panic attacks.

DEPRESSION
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders in Slovenia.
The symptoms may include:
- very negative mood every day for more than two weeks;
- loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities;
- tiredness and lack of energy, so even small tasks take extra effort.

CONCLUSION
A stressful situation can trigger a cascade of stress hormones that produce well-orchestrated physiological changes. This combination of reactions to stress is also known as the “fight-or-flight” response.
Stress can be positive. It makes us more alert and helps us perform better in certain situations. However, stress has only been found to be beneficial if it is short-lived. Chronic stress, which is long-lasting and goes on for an extended period of time, can take a heavy toll on your mental and physical health.