3 Forms of Stress
Stress is a part of life; there is positive (good) stress and negative (bad) stress. Stress can be caused by internal factors which are our thoughts, habits, beliefs and expectations (of yourself and of others). There are also external factors that causes stress in our life which are forces, pressures and events that occur that are beyond our control. There are different types of stress; the three major forms of stress are:
Acute Stress which is stress that is caused by change
Episodic Stress which is stress that is caused by a lot of changes that is happening all at once or over a short period of time
Chronic Stress which is stress that is caused by a situation or circumstance that is long-term and probably not changing anytime soon.
Unfortunately, most people are suffering from chronic stress. They ignore their stress symptoms and they react to the stress rather than respond to the stress.
Types of Stress
Stress can be categorized into six different types. You can be affected by more than one stress type, but there is usually one major situation that causes your stress. Leaving stress unmanaged can cause a buildup of different stress forms. The six major types of stress are:
Biological which is stress caused by hormonal changes
Environmental which is stress that occurs because of your environment and surroundings
Mental is when your mind is overwhelmed by pressure, challenges or stimuli
Physical is stress that affects the body
Social is stress due to the people we are around
Spiritual is stress that causes you to neglect and lose your spiritual life, you lose the part of yourself that hopes and dreams, and you lose faith in humanity.
Becoming aware and knowing what type of stress is affecting you is the first step to start managing your stress. When we categorize our stress, we are able to use specific techniques that targets the stressor and allows us to effectively reduce the stress.