Emotional Reaction to Stress

Emotional Reaction to Stress

Emotional Effects

 This is where sometimes the client can not deal with the issue of stress, there is nothing physical that can be seen by other people, but the persons life is in turmoil and causes great frustration and of course some of those symptoms we will look at.  This is the point where stress crosses the boundary of being psychosomatic to the very real feelings of Panic attacks for example.  The emotional effects are not tangible, but feel that way to the sufferer.  Most people look the same and this is where they are told to ‘ pull themselves together’.  The best way of describing the emotional/invisible effects is to look at a duck on water.  It glides effortlessly across the water very gracefully, but under the water it’s legs are going manic!!

Here are some emotional effects of stress.

• High anxiety – tension and fear out of all proportion
• Panic
• Denial – that there is a problem
• Edgy
• Irritable
• Apathy – the so what attitude
• Lonely
• Unsettled
• Disorientation
• Frustration
• Anger
• Insecurity
• Depression – anger turned inwards
• Worry
• Loss of hope
• Tearfulness

As with the physical symptoms, these are all right in small amounts, problems begin when they are not resolved.