Stress
Stress refers to pressures applied to a person by environmental situations. When someone is ‘under stress’ then they have a range of options:
- remove the stressor
- remove self from the stressor
- rearrange the relationship between self and stressor so that it doesn’t matter any more - it no longer stresses
- cope with the stress
- suffer the strain and the psychological cost
Everyone has things that are currently stressful to some extent. Mostly they are temporary and manageable. When these brief and current stressors are too large to manage, they interfere with thoughts, decisions and behaviours. Highly stressed people may have no specific psychological disorder, but be exhausted mentally and physically from the excessive stress. Treatment involves counselling to review life priorities and improve coping skills.
Acute stress refers to stress experienced immediately after a traumatic event.
PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can be regarded as Acute Stress that has gone on so long (over 6 months) that it is regarded as chronic.
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