The types of stress are distinguished by various characteristics such as symptoms and duration. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) explains that we experience three different types of stress: acute stress, episodic acute stress and chronic stress.
What is acute stress?
Acute stress is the most common type of stress – it’s short-term and associated with pressures and demands of the recent past and near future, such as a job interview, deadline or difficult confrontation. This type of stress is usually accompanied by several of the following symptoms:
- Emotional distress, characterised particularly by anxiety, irritability and/or depression
- Tension in the body, which can lead to stress headache, tight shoulders or neck and jaw pain
- Gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhoea, constipation or heartburn
- Elevated blood pressure, rapid heartbeat and faster breathing. You may also experience dizziness, heart palpitations or chest pain.
What is episodic acute stress?
Episodic acute stress occurs when this type of stress occurs all too frequently, usually in those individuals who take on more than they can realistically handle, so becoming a fact of day-to-day life. The APA explains that this type of stress is also seen in people who are prone to worrying, which leaves them over-aroused, anxious and tense.
This type of stress may manifest in physical and mood-related symptoms such as:
- Chronic headaches and migraines
- Mood disorders or extended periods of anxiety or depression
- Constant over-arousal, leading to irritability, a tendency to be abrupt, short temper and perceived hostility
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Persistent physical symptoms as pertaining to acute stress
- Crying easily (crying is actually the body’s way of trying to get rid of a build-up of toxic stress hormones via the tears)
- Coronary heart disease
What is chronic stress?
Chronic stress is the type of long-term stress that accompanies difficult situations with no apparent solution. It can also stem from traumatic experiences in early childhood that have been internalised, says the APA.
It’s when stress becomes a long-term fact of life that the real damage occurs – and by then you may be so used to it that you become oblivious to the signs of stress, not to mention the lasting damage that it may be doing to your body.
Take heed if any of the following symptoms have become facts of daily life – you may be suffering from chronic stress:
- Dry mouth
- Difficulty breathing and pounding heart
- Heavy sweating
- Headaches
- Gastrointestinal dysfunction such as stomach pain and heartburn
- Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep or, alternatively, sleeping too much
- Problems concentrating
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Coronary heart disease
- Change in eating habits, such as eating more or less, often leading to weight gain or loss
- Turning to tobacco, alcohol or recreational drugs to help you relax
- Loss of libido
- Social isolation
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Depression and suicidal thoughts