Stress is a natural part of life. Worrying about this or that is another word for stress. Human beings will always be stressed and have always been stressed. The problem comes when we focus all our attention and energy on the stress we feel. Not on getting rid of the problem causing the stress but on the stress itself.
Stress has the faculty to multiply and magnify itself. The problem remains the same; it does not grow or become worst, but the person’s imagination and their belief that there is no solutions turns it into a huge monster staring at their faces. Every day that goes by, they turn it around and around their heads until they lose themselves in an ocean which might simply be a glass of water.
First the person is irritated and suffers instant mood changes; happiness and sadness are but a wink away from each other. While in conversation, that simple mention of a word that the person relates to his problem can launch him into a rage or a depression. He may talk and do things unrelated to the problem but it is continually in his mind. His concentration wanders off and his attention follows suit.
He will stop eating or will start eating too much gaining or losing weight in a matter of days or weeks. The same happens with his sleep; he will either sleep too much or stop sleeping completely. These changes in his established patterns start to affect him physically. He will feel exhausted and have headaches. These headaches can be permanent or recurrent.
All these changes in his life patterns start affecting his physical condition and even may affect him internally. Stress produces a rapid heartbeat which can also become erratic producing cardiac problems. His change of eating habits both in amount and quality of food ingested will produce diarrhea or constipation. He may suffer dizziness spells and even loose conscience as the body tries to protect itself from the high levels of stress and the flow of adrenaline.
As the situation worsens the patient tends to look for something that will free him from the worries and allow his mind and body some rest, even if it is artificial. He turns to alcohol, drugs, tobacco and or medication. He starts showing signs of nervousness, he paces, bites his nails and/or is in a permanent state of alert; even a door slamming will make him jump almost in fear.
The person is so concentrated on this situation that he forgets everything else, his family, his job, his friends; he lives a life of complete loneliness while he searches for a non-existent solution for this problem that haunts him. At this point in time, his health has deteriorated to dangerous levels, his mind is in even worse condition and all his systems are about to fail. When this level of stressed is reached, professional help is necessary to bring the patient back to life. Time and a lot of patience will be necessary to make him feel well again and to be able to reinsert him into society.
Low levels of stress are necessary in life to push a person forward, to make him want to be a better person, a better employee, a better father or husband. The challenges problems pose for people during their lives are the things that make them mature and grow into useful human beings. Objectivity and keeping their feet on the ground are ways of avoiding excessive stress which will eventually hurt their health and will destroy their lives and the lives of people around them.