What are Stress, Anxiety and Depression?

1. Stress - is often thought of as an umbrella term for many issues that occur in the mind, caused by a varied possibility of events in life. Stress is often understood by definition as 'an inability to cope with the pressures of a certain situation at a certain point in time' . Stress can occur suddenly or can accumulate over time and can cause an emotional upset state, an inability to think straight, anger, irritability, panic, anxiety, poor sleep or an inability to relax, calm down or stay focused. There are also many physical issues that can arise as a result of stress, such as a weakened immune system, stomach issues and ulcers, skin irritations, facial ticks, eyesight problems. high blood pressure, premature ageing, premature hair loss, headaches/migraines and digestion/intestinal issues.

Stress can bring on panic attacks, attacks of rage or can even cause emotional/nervous breakdowns which can be completely out of character for the person suffering. In the workplace, stress can lead to nervousness, an isolated personality, feelings of dread, worry, poor productivity or performance and problems with concentration and judgments. Stress can also lead to alcohol/substance abuse or physical abuse (on oneself or others) in attempt by the individual's subconscious to cope with the inner turmoil that the stress is causing.

According to a government survey carried out in the UK in 2019, the most common type of stress experienced by respondents was work-based stress, with 79 percent of respondents saying they frequently felt this type of stress.

Stress is certainly a subjective experience, and issues that affect one person might not affect another. Stress is therefore not just due to external pressures but also due to the reaction that our internal psychology plays in how we understand, approach and cope with the stress caused by any situation. Stress can also be experienced due to a situation being a novel experience e.g. the first time presenting information of importance to a large audience could cause panic, stress or anxiety, however after learning to reduce your stress on a daily basis, the amount of stress or anxiety experienced might reduce considerably, thus allowing the individual to present their information without undue stress.

2. Anxiety - can be understood as a feeling of extreme nervousness, panic or restless unease in the mind. Feelings of worry or fear about a situation can illustrate that a person is experiencing anxiety. Anxiety can be mild or severe and can arise as an underlying continuous persistent anxiety in some people, whereas others may be fine on a day-to-day basis but can experience anxiety when faced with a certain situation such as driving on a fast motorway, speaking in public or going for an interview etc.

Scientifically speaking, anxiety is actually a bodily reaction to danger, historically evolved from our ancestral need to survive.

A situation that causes us anxiety calls on the body's responses to kick in and make us feel that something isn't right. Like any survival instinct, it is triggered when under threat, under pressure, or when experiencing a challenging situation.

In modern times many experiences can cause anxiety and severe anxiety disorders can cause constant and overwhelming worry and fear. Excessive anxiety can drive an individual to display extreme avoidance tactics such as avoidance of people, of work, school, family, social situations, or facing anything which is fearful or unknown to them.

Most of us will have experienced anxiety at some point in our lives, during childhood, study, or at work. Unexpected situations can cause anxiety such as a sudden health issue, an accident, incident or a change in lifestyle such as a wedding or moving house. Personal loss or financial worries can also cause anxiety to develop and people with certain personality types might be more prone to anxiety disorders than others.

Other forms of anxiety might include phobias, or intense fears of specific situations, panic attacks, Social Anxiety Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or Separation Anxiety Disorder.

Anxiety can have many physical symptoms and can cause a range of problems in the body such as: headache, nausea, diarrhoea, rapid heartbeat, chest pains or shortness of breath. Due to the rapid heart rate that many people experience, issues such as  dizziness or light headedness or nausea can occur when experiencing high levels of anxiety.

Whether you are experiencing mild symptoms or are in the midst of an anxiety attack, you may experience some physical symptoms which are beyond your control, and tremors, twitching, sweating or fatigue can all be common experiences.

3. Depression - is another common yet potentially debilitating illness that can also be caused by persistently high levels of stress. Depression can be caused by a variety of triggers. For some people, an upsetting or stressful life event, such as bereavement, divorce, illness, redundancy and job or money worries, can be the cause. Depression can start with feelings of being down, sad or generally unhappy and can, for many people, often fade away after a few days when general mood improves, however, for others, depression can persist and can get worse in its symptoms and duration, to the point that sufferers can feel hopeless about life, useless, extremely tired, very sad and might feel like there is no hope. For these sufferers it might reach the point where it is even futile to get out of bed in the morning and, unless they get help, some can feel like their life is not worth living anymore.

Depression it is said, can also feel like a disconnection from life, a disconnection from work, a disconnection from others, a disconnection from nature or from anything meaningful or fruitful and most importantly to understand is that sufferers may experience a disconnect from any idea of a secure and hopeful future.

Depression is experienced across age ranges although It is mainly found in those with low self-esteem, who have a poor outlook, or who feel overwhelmed by stress. Depression is also more common in people with anxiety or other mental health problems. Teens who have tried to self-harm by the age of 16 have a higher risk of having depression by the time they become young adults.

Importantly, Stress, Anxiety and Depression can be alleviated via a variety of resources. Methods and techniques such as meditation, yoga, deep breathing, mindfulness can help tremendously as can counselling or talking therapy sessions, psychotherapy or certain medications which might help balance our chemical trails in the brain which can then help improve more of our happy mood feelings.