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Stress

What is stress?

Stress is how your brain and body respond to a challenge or demand. When you are stressed, your body releases certain hormones. Hormones are chemicals that travel in your bloodstream and control how different parts of your body work. The hormones that are released when you are stressed make you alert and ready to act. They can raise your blood pressure, heart rate, and blood glucose (blood sugar) levels. This response is sometimes called a "fight or flight" response.

Everyone gets stressed from time to time. There are different types of stress. It can be short-term or long-term. It can be caused by something that happens once or something that keeps happening.

Not all stress is bad. In fact, it can help you survive in a dangerous situation. For example, one kind of stress is the jolt you may feel when a car pulls out in front of you while you are driving. This jolt of hormones helps you quickly hit the brakes to avoid an accident. A little short-term stress can sometimes be helpful. For example, the stress of having a deadline for school or your job may push you to get your work done on time. Once you finish it, that stress goes away.

But stress that lasts a long time can harm your health.

What causes long-term stress?

Long-term stress, or chronic stress, lasts for weeks, months, or longer. As you go about your life, your body is acting as if you're being threatened.

Causes of long-term stress include:

  • Routine stress from the demands of work, school, family needs, money problems, and other daily pressures that don't stop.
  • Stress from sudden, difficult changes in your life, such as divorce, illness, losing your job, or other unhappy life events that often have a long impact.
  • Traumatic stress, which may happen when you're in danger of serious harm or death. Examples include being in a bad accident, a war, a flood, earthquake, or other frightening event. This type of stress can cause a long-lasting problem called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
How can long term-stress harm my health?

People respond to stress in different ways. If you're stressed for a long time you may notice that you are:

  • Getting sick more often than usual because stress weakens your body's ability to fight germs
  • Having stomach problems or trouble digesting food
  • Having trouble sleeping
  • Having headaches
  • Feeling sad, angry, or easily upset

When stress keeps going, your body acts as if you're always in danger. That's a lot of strain that may play a part in developing serious health problems, including:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Heart disease
  • High blood pressure
  • Diabetes

It's possible to get used to the symptoms of stress and not even realize there's a problem. So when there's a lot of stress in your life, it's important to pay attention to how it affects you so you can do something about it.

How can I manage long-term stress?

Simple things that improve your mental health may be helpful in managing long-term stress, such as:

  • Get regular exercise. A 30-minute daily walk can help you feel better and help keep your immune system strong, so you don't get sick.
  • Try relaxing activities. You could look for an app or wellness program that uses breathing, meditation, or muscle relaxation exercises.
  • Get enough sleep every night.
  • Avoid too much caffeine.
  • Decide what you need to do now and what can wait. And focus on what you got done each day, not on what you weren't able to do.
  • Ask your family or friends for support.
When should I ask my health care provider for help with stress?

Get help if you're having severe symptoms for 2 weeks or more, including:

  • Trouble sleeping
  • Changes in your eating that cause unwanted changes in your weight
  • Troubles getting out of bed because of your mood
  • Difficulty focusing your thoughts
  • Losing interest in things you usually enjoy
  • Not being able to do your usual daily activities

Always get help right away if stress is causing you to:

  • Have thoughts of suicide
  • Feel you can't cope
  • Use drugs or alcohol more often than usual

Your health care provider may refer you to a mental health professional such as a psychologist or social worker.

NIH: National Institute of Mental Health

Stress FDA Approved Drugs

PAXIL [Paroxetine Hydrochloride]
RX
-
eq 10mg base (oral tablet)
eq 10mg base/5ml (oral suspension)
eq 20mg base (oral tablet)
eq 30mg base (oral tablet)
eq 40mg base (oral tablet)
Apotex TechnologiesDec 29, 1992
  • Depression.
  • Posttraumatic stress disorder.
efficacy
4.0  (1)
side effects
0.0  (0)
danger
0.0  (0)

UNK

WARNING: Consult a licensed physician in the appropriate field for medical treatment and drug prescription. Do not self medicate.


WARNING: All medicines, drugs, plants, chemicals or medicial precedures below are for reference only. Many of these treatments may be harmful and possibly fatal. Do not consume any plant, chemical, drug or otherwise without first consulting a licensed physician that practices medine in the appropriate field. The owner of this website will not be held liable for any injuries and deaths cause by following any home remedies. We have no control of what is posted.

Home Remedies for Stress

PET STRESS
   Emergency remedies can help calm pets in stressful situations. Homeopathic flower remedy is given to you pen though drops on treat or water.
Mechanism - Helianthemum, Nummularium, Clematic Vitalba, Impatiens grandulifera...
NathanielHawthorne | July 15th, 2018
efficacy
0.0  (0)
side effects
0.0  (0)
danger
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UNK

STRESS [fatigue]
   Frankincense essential oil calms, fights fatigue, and increases circulation. Used with a carrier oil, it helps heal eczema, psoriasis and dandruff, all alongside that lovely scent.IvanTurgenev | July 15th, 2018
efficacy
5.0  (1)
side effects
0.0  (0)
danger
0.0  (0)

UNK

STRESS [anxiety]
   Lavender essential oil has a delightful fragrance, reduces stress and creates a warm and welcoming environment. Used with a carrier oil, it helps heal minor burns, cuts, insect bites / bee stings, eczema, dandruff, dry skin, and soothes anxiety.Sillygirl | July 15th, 2018
efficacy
4.0  (1)
side effects
1.0  (1)
danger
1.0  (1)

UNK


WARNING: All medicines, drugs, plants, chemicals or medicial precedures below are for historical reference only. Many of these treatments are now known to be harmful and possibly fatal. Do not consume any plant, chemical, drug or otherwise without first consulting a licensed physician that practices medine in the appropriate field.

Felter's Materia Medica on Stress

ARISÆMA TRIPHYLLUM
   The fresh corm of Arisaema triphyllum, Torre (Nat. Ord. Araceae). Common in damp woods and wet situations in North and South merica. Common Names:... / .... This effect is thought to be due to the raphides of calcium oxalate present. Milk mitigates the distressing sensation. Therapy.—Arisaema has been recommended for a variety of disorders, chiefly of ... / ...may be given in drop doses every half to one hour, and a throat wash of one drachm of the tincture to a half glass of water may be used freely. 1

CHELIDONIUM
   The whole plant of Chelidonium majus, Linné (Nat. Ord. Papaveraceae). Europe naturalized in waste places in the United States. Dose, 1 to 60... / ...times there is edema of the extremities. Under these conditions we have seen chelidonium clear up distressing conditions and prolong the intervals between attacks of gall-stone colic. In one severe ca... / ...they are proportionately relieved by the action of chelidonium upon the latter. The greatest drawback to chelidonium is its horribly nasty taste.1

COLOCYNTHIS
   The dried, peeled pulp of the fruit of Citrullus Colocynthis (Linné,) Schrader. (Nat. Ord. Cucurbitaceae.) Mediterranean basin of Europe, Asia,... / ...mucoid passages . and intense cutting pain; colicky pains anywhere in the abdomen (minute doses); distressing accumulations of gas; constipation with dry scybala and griping pain in the lower bowel (l... / ...of the fifth nerve, when the characteristic cutting pain prevails. It should be given also when colicky pain precedes or accompanies amenorrhoea.1

CONIUM
   The full grown fruit, gathered green, of Conium maculatum, Linné (Nat. Ord. Umbelliferae). Europe and Asia; naturalized in the United... / ... it may relieve and can do no harm. Sometimes it relieves pruritus, especially the senile form so distressing to old people and preventing rest and sleep. Conium sometimes reduces glandular swellings.... / ...be applied and be given to relieve pain even when a cure is not possible. It relieves the pain of swollen mammae during the menstrual periods a1

CONVALLARIACONVA
   The rhizome and rootlets of Convallaria majalis, Linné (Nat. Ord. Liliaceae.) Common Name: Lily of the Valley. Principal Constituents.—Two... / ...lished, arterial pressure increased, respiration deepened, and the sense of suffocation, with the distressing and painful desire for air, is dispelled. A drug that will bring about these results and d... / ...carditis and endocarditis, using it in fractional doses. Convallaria is of less service in stenosis of the aorta than in mitral disorders.1

DIOSCOREA
   The rhizome of Dioscorea villosa, Linné (Nat. Ord. Dioscoreaceae). A vine found throughout the United States. Dose, 5 to 60 grains. Common Names: Wild Yam, Colic... / ...s not dissolve calculi. Usually, while there is much tenderness in cases requiring dioscorea, the distress is gradually relieved by pressure.1

EUPHRASIAEUAE3
   The plant Euphrasia officinalis, Linné (Nat. Ord. Scrophulariaceae). Europe and America. Dose, 1 to 30 grains. Common Name: Eyebright. Principal... / ...elieve, in the early stages, acute frontal sinusitis. During or following measles it controls the distressing catarrhal symptoms. In all disorders its most direct indication is profuse watery discharg... / ...to control the profuse lachrimation. Euphrasia sometimes proves serviceable in hay fever, having the characteristic discharges above mentioned.1

GRINDELIA
   The dried leaves and flowering tops of one or several species of Grindelia—as Grindelia camporum, Greene; or Grindelia squarrosa (Pursh), Dunal. (1) Marshes... / ... are dull pain with fullness over the spleen, sallow skin, debility and indigestion, with gastric distress. The bitter taste of grindelia is best disguised by chloroform.1

IMPATIENS
   The plants Impatiens pallida, Nuttall; and Impatiens capensis, Meerb., (Nat. Ord. Balsaminaceae). Moist shady places and rich soils in the United... / ...is proved or disproved. The value of the drug, internally administered, so far as amelioration of distressing symptoms is concerned, is unquestioned, but so far we are skeptical concerning its power t...1

IPECACUANHA (Cephaelis Ipecacuanha).
   The root of (1) Cephaelis Ipecacuanha (Brotero), A. Richard, or of (2) Cephaelis acuminata, Karsten (Nat. Ord. Rubiaceae). Brazil and other parts... / ... a full emetic dose of ipecac is justifiable and efficient. In this way it often relieves gastric distress and pain, being of very great value in acute indigestion, and checks bilious attacks with sic... / ...sight of as a remedy for active hemorrhage. Of course, it operates best where the quantity of blood lost is small. We have seen most excellent r1

JUNIPERUS COMMUNIS
   The fruit (berries) of the Juniperus communis, Linné (Nat. Ord. Cupressaceae). An evergreen tree of Europe and America. Common Names: Juniper,... / ...ammation. The infusion is extremely useful in irritation of the bladder with recurrent attacks of distressing pain and frequent urination in women during the menopause and apparently due to taking col... / ...given in doses larger than recommended above, as suppression of urine, strangury, hematuria, or even uremic convulsions may result from its use.1

LIMON
   The juice and outer rind of the fresh ripe fruit of Citrus medica Limonum (Risso), Hooker filius (Nat. Ord. Rutaceae). Northern India, and... / ...eply red and the general indications for acids are present. Lemon juice upon sugar will alleviate distressing cough, especially a persistent explosive cough, with spasmodic contraction of the throat u... / ...of large quantities of acidulated fluid. It also sometimes relieves sick headache, and a hot lemonade is a popular remedy to break up a “cold”.1

LYCOPUSLYSH2
   ...nding toward a phthisical end, and we believe it will do as much as a medicine can do to stay the distressing ravages of pulmonary tuberculosis. When established it aids in relieving cough, pain, feve......the circulatory aberrations in exophthalmic goitre, but far more often it has failed. Painful and distressing forms of indigestion are sometimes relieved by it, and it has been employed with advantage...1

MENTHOL
   Menthol. A secondary alcohol obtained from the oil of Mentha piperita, Linné, or from other oils of mints. It should be kept in well-stoppered... / ...oil gives relief in coryza and hay fever, or may be sprayed into the larynx for the relief of the distressing pain of laryngeal tuberculosis. An albolene spray of menthol is largely employed in inflam... / ...is sometimes of value in hiccough. It should not be used in large doses internally because of the profound nervous disturbances it may occasion.1

MITCHELLAMITCH
   The whole plant of Mitchella repens, Linné (Nat. Ord. Rubiaceae). Dry woods, hemlock forests, and damp places in the United States. Dose, 5 to 60... / .... It is believed by some to have a salutary influence upon the pregnant woman, easing many of the distresses incident to her condition, giving a sense of well-being and strengthening her for the ordea... / ...occurred. As a female regulator it has also had many devoted advocates. The Mother's Cordial is a popular and more rational preparation.1


WARNING: All medicines, drugs, plants, chemicals or medicial precedures below are for historical reference only. Many of these treatments are now known to be harmful and possibly fatal. Do not consume any plant, chemical, drug or otherwise without first consulting a licensed physician that practices medine in the appropriate field.

Physician's Materia Medica on Stress

CANTHARIDES
   The insect CANTHARIS VESICATORIA, DeGeer. Internally irri tant and stimulant to urinary organs, aphrodisiac. alterative. In over doses distressingly poisonous. Externally irritant, epispastic.2

NEUTRALIZING CORDIAL (Compound Syrup of Rhubarb and Potassa. N. F.)
   Stomachic, laxative, antacid. A favorite remedy with many for certain dyspeptlc conditions, in which constipation and acidity of the stomach are prominent symptoms. Each fluidrachm repre sents; Rhubarb, 2 1/4 grs.; Cinnamon 1 1/8 grs.; Golden-seal, 1 1/8 grs.; Potassium Bicarb., 2 1/4 grs-; Oil Peppermint, 3-50 M Dose, 4 to 8 c. c. (1 to 2 fluidrachms) when distress is felt after eating. It is best taken as much as two hours after a meal.2

SODIUM BICARBONATE (Baking Soda)
   Antacid, much used to correct acidity of the stomach and in treatment of rheumatism and lithiasis; is often of benefit in glycosuria. Locally applied it gives relief in burns and scalds and in acute articular rheumatism. Often advantageously combined with sodium chloride t‘o relieve distress in dyspepsia. Aids notably the action of calomel as a cholagogue. Dose as antacid, 0.60 to 2.0 Grm. (10 to 30 grs.).2

SODIUM CHLORIDE
   Sometimes used in doses of 8 to 15 Grm. (2 to 4 drachms) as an emetic; useful in small doses, 0.3 to 0.6 Grm. (5 to 10 grs.), combined with Sodium Bicarbonate to relieve gastric distress in dyspepsia; weak solutions (7:10,000) have a soothing effect on mucous membranes and on raw surfaces of wounds or ulcers.2


WARNING: All medicines, drugs, plants, chemicals or medicial precedures below are for historical reference only. Many of these treatments are now known to be harmful and possibly fatal. Do not consume any plant, chemical, drug or otherwise without first consulting a licensed physician that practices medine in the appropriate field.

Physician's Therapeutics Memoranda on Stress

ACIDITY OF STOMACH
   If due to fermentation, use antacids as palliatives to relieve im mediate distress, but prescribe also gastric antiseptics. Avoid indigestible food, particularly lats. If acidity is irom hyper-secretion, the remedies are antacids and henbane, for its inhibitive action on the secretions. In chronic gastric catarrh, bismuth. silver nitrate, antacids combined with salines. In all severe cases. lavage is the most useful treatment.2


References

1) Felter, Harvey Wickes, 1922, The Eclectic Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Cincinnati, Ohio.
2) Nelson, Baker & Co., 1904, Physician's Handy Book of Materia Medica and Therapeustics, Detroit, Michigan.