Treating Stress in San Diego

Stress and anxiety can have similar symptoms, so it can be hard to spot the difference.

Stress is our body’s response to a trigger and is likely to be short-term. Typical triggers could be a job interview, becoming a parent, a busy day at college/work, or the collapse of the stock exchange market.

Anxiety is often provoked by stress. It is a long-term feeling that doesn’t go away so quickly.

Anxiety affects our ability to work, socialize, and even leave our house and cope with everyday life.

Our biological system has ways of letting us know if stress is becoming too much. 

The most common emotional symptoms are feeling numb, lonely or hopeless, irritable, feeling tearful, and worried.

The physical symptoms are sudden weight gain or loss, insomnia, odd pains, dry mouth, headaches, and palpitations.

Behavioral symptoms like nail-biting, lack of patience, a constant bad mood, and skin picking.

Stress can usually be caused by events or situations in your life, such as money problems, family life, major life events, sudden changes, and work. 

Bad Habits

Stress alone does not cause heart and circulatory disease. But it is linked to unhealthy habits that can increase your risk.

You may be more likely to turn to unhealthy habits such as drinking too much alcohol or stopping physical activity. 

Stress and College life

Stress is an inevitable part of university life; it can take a toll on students’ physical health, emotional wellbeing, and academic success unless they learn to manage it. 

College students experience stress related to changes in lifestyle, increased workload, new responsibilities, and interpersonal relationships with “strangers.”

Introducing successful coping strategies may help students avoid the destructive consequences of excessive stress, leading to mental health deterioration and even triggering other symptoms such as depression or PTSD.

Statistics and facts

• University students now report being more stressed-out than ever before.
• Stress is the number one reported impediment to academic performance.
• 55% of students, nationally, claimed their most significant stressor to be academic.
• About 60% of college students report feeling so stressed they could not get their homework done more than once.
• More than 52% of students report feeling so stressed they stopped hanging out with friends.
• Adverse physical effects of stress include immune system suppression, which increases susceptibility to physical illness and psychological conditions like clinical depression and anxiety.
• Students who meditate show significantly less perceived stress than those who do not.

Because the culture of academia tends to foster a system of high pressure and stress, the faculty often fail at providing an environment that recognizes and mitigates the adverse effects of stress to reinforce a healthy university culture.

Concerns regarding classes, relationships, and money are among the top stressors experienced by college students. Research demonstrates that both tutorial and social support can act as a buffer for the consequences caused by stress. Offering resources to assist students with budgeting, managing debt responsibly, and handling the financial aid system can minimize it. 

Work-related stress

Employers have a legal duty to protect employees from stress by doing a risk assessment and acting on it. Unfortunately, many fail to do so.

Employees feel stressed when they cannot cope with pressures and other issues. Employers should match demands to employees’ skills and knowledge. For example, employees can get stressed if they lack the skills or time to meet tight deadlines. 

Stress affects people differently. Factors like skills and experience, age, or disability may affect whether an employee can cope.

At Refresh Recovery rehab San Diego, we provide tools to help you or your loved one cope with stress. If you don’t think you can cope with your current stress levels anymore or you’re worried you may become depressed or anxious, it’s time to make an appointment at Refresh Recovery rehab San Diego.

Our team of clinicians may refer you to cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or talk about options like medication-assisted treatment as well as mental health support. Reach out today, and let us begin your journey towards health today.