In recent years, a lot more has been made of the incredibly damaging effect that stress can have on the human body and mind amongst the mainstream media.
However, even though more and more people are understanding the very real danger that stress poses to people across the globe, there may be a more specific type of stress that is affecting you which you may not be aware of — that of quiet stress.
The world is full of sources of stress that we all encounter on a daily basis, from financial worries and political concerns to workplace pressure and familial anxiety — and due to the fact that we all face so many potential sources of stress, it is important to be aware of the effect that stress may be having on your body, as stress can be incredibly dangerous.
The idea of stress being dangerous can also be very stressful in itself, creating a sort of vicious cycle, however, by learning to identify signs of stress, in particular signs of quiet stress, and learning about quiet stress relief, hopefully, you will be able to avoid feeling overwhelmed and keep living your best, healthiest life.
Quiet stress can be a massive detriment to your mental health, and keeping yourself aware of it is the basis of the best defence.
What Is Quiet Stress At Its Core?
Most of us will harbour a stereotypical view of someone who is stressed as someone who is visibly angry, be it someone who shouts a lot or loses their temper seemingly rapidly in everyday situations.
However, the idea of quiet stress is something that has been gathering quite a considerable amount of attention in professional medical circles and research groups and presents the idea of a completely different type of stress which manifests itself in people differently to these archetypical ideas we often have.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, healthcare professionals from a variety of backgrounds commented on the rise of quiet stress amongst patients, with Jillian Lavender of the London Meditation Centre describing it as, “Quiet stress causes us to underreact [not overreact]. We quietly hold our stress within: we don’t speak up about how we feel, rather than over speaking […] Quiet stress creates a form of emotional paralysis that keeps us ‘stuck’ in unhappy situations.”
Most People Do Not Even Realise They Are Suffering From Quiet Stress
A particular concern for some medical professionals who are becoming increasingly aware of the prevalence of quiet stress is the fact that some people may not even know that they are experiencing signs of quiet stress. And, considering that prolonged stress of any kind can lead to serious, and quite unexpected, health problems.
One case, in particular, saw one woman, Kate, internalising her stress for years to try and not be as outwardly angry as her father which caused her to develop insomnia and repeated colds, she told The Daily Telegraph. Kate wasn’t even aware that she had been internalising so much stress until a therapist made her aware of it.
Realising that just because you are not outwardly projecting your anger or frustration at something does not mean that you are not suffering from stress is a crucial first step to overcoming quiet stress. If you keep internalising your emotions then you may start to experience progressively more serious stress symptoms and feel increasing more emotionally overwhelmed.
How Can Quiet Stress Manifest Itself?
Quiet stress, in particular, can begin to negatively impact a person when that person is not expressing their emotions in relation to a stressful situation, be it a relationship issue, a workplace problem, or a family concern. Stress in all of its forms can cause a person to experience a wide array of worrying and damaging symptoms.
As stress quietly begins to affect your health, you can experience common symptoms including likes of hair loss, fluctuations in your body weight, a diminished appetite, frequent headaches, breakouts of hives, and more.
Some symptoms that have been linked with quiet stress by medical professionals include the suppression of your immune system — potentially causing Kate’s frequent colds — as well as an increased risk of heart disease, obesity, and early death.
Stress, in particular quiet stress, can be wildly detrimental to your physical health as well as your mental health and is not something that you should ignore if you feel that you are becoming overwhelmed. However, what are you supposed to do to help quiet stress relief?
What Should You Do When It Comes To Quiet Stress?
If you feel that you are becoming emotionally overwhelmed due to stressors in your life, then firstly you should try and speak to a medical professional.
Feelings of being overwhelmed can lead not only to the signs of stress addressed above, but can also lead to people adopting unhealthy behaviours in order to cope with these feelings, such as developing substance abuse disorders or alcohol addiction — and, if you’re suffering from this Cassiobury Court can help.
However, in general, the importance of seeking out a medical professional to talk to and find healthy ways to overcome your issues cannot be understated.
Also, while we traditionally do not like the idea of people expressing their anger and view it as a negative thing, it can be incredibly beneficial to you — provided it is done in a malicious way or is hurtful to others, according to certain medical professionals.
Expressing your displeasure at something can be the only way to really understand that you need to make real-world changes to things in your life, and work towards changing for the better — provided it is done healthily.
We all get angry and overwhelmed at things from time to time, and while erratically bellowing at people and smashing things is far from the right thing to do, bottling up your anger and never letting your true feelings show is also far from the right way to live your life.
If you believe that you, or someone you love, is coping with stress by demonstrating addictive behaviour, then Cassiobury Court may be able to help you get the help that they need. You can contact us at 01923 369 161 or contact us through our website.
