Secondary Stress Symptoms

Many of us ignore the primary arousal accompanying an initial reaction to stress. When challenging events occur, we react by “toughing it out” and not revealing our confusion and uncertainty. Many of us associate “toughing it out” with strength, since we think the admission of vulnerability of any kind equates with cowardice, weakness, or frailty. Ignoring primary stress symptoms actually leaves us vulnerable to secondary stress symptoms in four areas of our lives: breathing, eating and elimination, sexuality, and sleeping.

• Breathing. Difficulty breathing, shallow breathing, and hyperventilating may be symptoms of stress or illness. There are three types of breathing: diaphragmatic (stomach), thoracic (chest), and clavicular (shoulder). Note whether the stomach, chest, or shoulders rise with breath intake. Thoracic and clavicular breathing increase tension while diaphragmatic breathing induces relaxation.

• Eating and Elimination. Overeating, bingeing, loss of interest in food, as well as problems in digestion and elimination may be symptoms of stress, depression, illness, or habitual behavior. Significant weight loss or gain in a short period of time may be a symptom of depression. Consuming sufficient, nutritious food to satisfy, but not overindulge, is a balance affected by each person’s activity level, stress, lifestyle, and self-esteem.
• Sexuality. Sudden increases or decreases in sexual interest or activity, promiscuity, and sexual dysfunction may be symptoms of stress or depression. Overemphasis on sexuality in one’s lifestyle suggests it may have become a “habit.”
• Sleeping. Difficulty sleeping may be the result of stress, substance abuse, depression, or illness. Environmental irritants (e.g., noise, odors, light), smoking, eating, alcohol, caffeine, stress, worry, and lack of exercise cause problems with falling asleep, waking repeatedly, or failing to go back to sleep. Sufficient sleep — for most people, seven to eight hours daily — meets our body’s need to rest and repair itself.

Tertiary Stress Symptoms

Ignoring resistance symptoms eventually takes us to a third level of stress: facing physical or mental illness. This level of stress is so widespread that 75 percent to 90 percent of all visits to physicians are said to be stress-related. There is also increasing evidence that denying emotional distress by suppressing feelings and impulses leads to health problems, particularly heart disease, cancer, and asthma.

Honest verbal expression of emotional distress, taking assertive action, and accepting our feelings and impulses as natural, reduce our stress and help us to achieve better physical health.

This article was adapted from Growing Ourselves Up: A Guide to Recovery and Self-Esteem, with permission of the author, Stanley J. Gross, Ed.D.

    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 10 Dec 2006
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.