Anxiety and depression can overlap but they by themselves are two independent different mental issues which can cause extreme distress. Anxiety is a alert state of stress when stressors are no longer present. Depression is an overlapping sadness that persists and exists usually without reason. Both can lead to mental states of distress and usually need treatment from a professional.
Anxiety and depression shares similar symptoms but are different. Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program
The article, “Anxiety vs. depression: Similarities and differences” by Zia Sherrell looks closer at the differences between anxiety and depression. She states,
“Both conditions can also cause physical symptoms. For instance, a person with anxiety may present with chest pain or dizziness, and someone with depression may experience changes in their appetite or sleep patterns. Despite the similarities between anxiety and depression, it is crucial to understand the key differences to ensure the best treatment and management approach. Keep reading to learn about the key similarities and differences between anxiety and depression, including the symptoms, causes, and treatment methods.”
Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program as well as AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification. Both programs are online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking four year certifications. Please review and see if they meet your academic and professional goals.
Guilt is a necessary emotion. When anchored with a good conscience, it provokes truth and justice when wrong is committed. It prevents future wrong doing in some cases and helps guide the person to proper moral outcome. It is hence sometimes good to feel guilt. If one lacks guilt in appropriate circumstances, it is a sign of a deeper and more sinister moral flaw. Sociopaths are incapable of guilt and can commit the most grievous offenses without any sense of emotional wrong doing.
Victims can carry disproportionate grief. Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Certification
For the more tender hearted and as well as those who experience trauma, guilt can sometimes become excessive and over play its reach. It can become a pathological agent that prevents proper healing. When guilt is not properly processed and understood according to reality, it can then continue to haunt a person and prevent emotional healing. Guilt must be processed. If due to trauma it becomes part of dissociative material, then it can linger. It needs to find resolution, where appropriate sorrow is displayed and a chance for change and growth occur. When guilt is stunted, either not accepted or over felt, then it can keep a person stuck in the past.
With trauma, guilt is usually not proportionate and a variety of distortions exist. These distortions continue to exist when individuals keep trauma to themselves and do not face it. This is why dialogue is so critical to healing. It allows the wound to bleed and also the opportunity to discuss falsehoods regarding the traumatic event hence allowing integration of the memory.
Most distortions create an imbalance of guilt. Either the person blames oneself 100 percent or finds no blame at all. Associated with this are usually feelings that one does not deserve to live or survivor guilt. In addition, many individuals feel the guilt is critical to show they still care and that they must punish themselves and repeat the pain. Multiple reasons incur this guilt. Many believe they are guilty because they were afraid, or found relief. Others find guilt in having to kill, making a mistake, finding enjoyment in the event, wanting to die, or expressing extreme hatred. Others find guilt in their actions in not being able to save others, not taking precautions, freezing under pressure, not stopping the abuse, or not saying “I love you” one last time.
Many things can haunt a person who experienced trauma. Depending on the trauma and event, they can differ, but they all carry a haunting voice that judges what one felt, did not feel, did, or did not do. Distortions to the event can amplify the sorrow the person experiences.
Dialogue is obvious the first step in unlocking guilt. Various cognitive therapies look to identify guilt and then properly ascertain legitimacy of it. This involves discussing with a therapist the event itself and verbalizing the details. The patient then must attribute the level of what they think was their fault in a numerical percentage. Following this, the therapist challenges the events and asks probing questions of who else may be at fault. The guilt is then re-assessed and a recalculation occurs in which proportionate percentages of guilt are discovered to be less. This process can be repeated weekly to illustrate to the victim and patient that the guilt attributed is far from fair.
Also, the therapist can help the victim distinguish between the emotion of concern versus guilt, as well as shame and guilt. Many equate these emotions with guilt. The sexual victim may equate shame with guilt. In doing so, one can then start to attack the various distortions of guilt.
It is also important to help the patient understand their decision under pressure. Normal decision making under peaceful situations are quite different than decisions under duress. Fight or flight mechanisms can erupt and many lose rationality. So it is good to point out that one does not think the same way under trauma as if not. A therapist can also help the patient look at the choices that were available, the time constraints, all the information at the time and the intent of the outcome.
Another important way to help one see the past is to have the person play the role of two. As if an advisor or friend, to respond to one’s own criticism. By separating oneself from the event, and counseling one as if a friend, one can then begin to see the overall picture. So many therapists recommend patients play a two role therapy of talking and then responding as two different individuals.
It is important to properly process guilt in trauma. Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program
In addition, various rituals can help. Spiritual visualization of healing, as well as finding forgiveness through a higher power.
Through this, one is better able to properly rank their guilt and true proportionate role in the traumatic event. The person can then understand the situation, move on from it and process it. Through this, the victim can be better prepared for the future and understand the role he or she played.
Of course, various therapies help individuals with PTSD and trauma better recollect the situation and process any negative emotions. EFT, Rewind Techniques, TIR and EMOR are all way therapists can better help an individual relate to the emotions and events of a particular trauma. They can also help the person cognitively restructure the event appropriately to reality. Removing inappropriate guilt is obviously an important step.
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Program, as well as Stress Management Program and Crisis Intervention Program. All programs are helpful in teaching professionals to guide others through trauma. The programs are online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification.
Sources:
“The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook: A Guide to Healing, Recovery and Growth” by Glenn Schiraldi, PhD
Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome or PTSD is the inability of the human mind to process traumatic memory. It remains fragmented and left to haunt the person through various triggers and arousals that return to the person to the original trauma. Emotions remain raw and the individual is trapped in the past and it repeats itself.
The first step to recovery is to confront the trauma and begin the long and sometimes painful process of properly storing the memory and integrating it, good and bad, into one’s life narrative. The process to dismiss the past, face it and integrate it can be difficult. The trauma is very difficult to face but for those who take the initial steps to confront and learn new coping methods to deal with PTSD can reap the rewards of a return to one’s very own existence and life. Many are unable to reach this due to PTSD.
Trying to recover from PTSD can be delayed over distortions about the event. Licensed counselors through Cognitive Restructuring can help individuals find the truth to move forward. Please also review AIHCP’s Crisis Intervention Program
Treatment is key. Professional counselors can help individuals through a series of treatments. One type of treatment is Cognitive Restructuring. Cognitive Restructuring helps the individual integrate dissociated memories with associated ones in the long term memory. Part of the process is to remove unproductive ideas and ideals that limit the mind to restructure and keep arousal high. Functional thoughts can help remove higher arousal, while dysfunctional thoughts prevent the individual from healthy integration. It is not the activation to think about the trauma that causes the consequence of arousal but more the dysfunctional thinking that causes more arousal.
Automatic thoughts that enter into oneself about the event can be good or distorted. There are 13 types of distortions to thought that can make overcoming PTSD very difficult. These distortions need corrected so that the brain can properly integrate the traumatic event. This blog will review the 13 types of distortions.
Flaw Fixation. This distortion forces the individual to only focus on the bad. It is a camera lens that only sees one aspect of the full event. It is a narrowing of all the facts of the story. The individual only recalls the failures of the particular day, or only in the present sees bad in everything.
Dismissing the Positive. Very similar to the Flaw Fixation but this does not focus on flaws of the individual but any positivity in life itself. Only negative is viewed in day to day life and if the event was during a particular period of time, all the other good things of that time period are dismissed based on the one bad event.
Assuming. Individuals assume certain things about an event. In Mind Reading, they assume others think negative about them and how the individual acted or what the individual experienced. Also within arousal, Jumping to Conclusions is common. The individual assumes any trigger is an actual threat. Finally, Fortune Telling, predicts negative outcomes only with any future events. Everything is predicted in a negative light in lieu of the past traumatic event.
Catastrophizing. Individuals make any events based off the past trauma to be worst than they what they truly are.
All or None. In this, the individual rates himself only as good or bad. Furthermore, other people are seen only as good or bad. There is no gradation or grey area in this type of reframing
Shoulds. In this, the individual relives what he or she should have done or did not do. This does not take into account the objective reality of what occurred and places everything on the individual.
Making Feelings a Fact. Feelings are important to listen to but sometimes they can distort and make things appear different than reality.
Over Generalization. Individuals assume everything is bad or “ALL” people are out to get them. It comes from a lack of security but closes individuals to healing.
Abusive Labeling. The individual sees oneself as damaged. The person does not differentiate the evil and bad between the action committed and oneself.
Personalizing. The individual asserts to much blame for the traumatic event that the person is guilty of or not guilty at all
Blaming. The individual blames the event for destroying one’s life more than the event did. It is the opposite extreme of personalizing.
Unfavorable Comparisons. When one compares to how others would react instead of oneself. This can lead to anxiety and regret. Instead of focusing on the event and how one dealt with it.
Regrets. This is similar to “shoulds”. Instead one looks at all the circumstances and holds one guilty to the event instead of healing from it
These type of distortions can create a mixture of emotional reactions that prevent the person from seeing the trauma correctly. One either sees the event incorrectly, others, or oneself. This does not allow one properly process it with the truth of the matter and hence integrate it into one’s life. It is important to understand an event and process it. Distortions prevent this hence in counseling and reframing of the event, it is important to discuss these issues and identify a patient who may possess a distortion. Of course the only way to know if a distortion exists is for the individual to open up about the event and confront it.
Confronting and properly processing trauma is critical with PTSD. Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program
If you would like to learn more about AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program or AIHCP’s Crisis Intervention Program, then please review the programs and see if they meet your academic and professional goals. The programs are online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in these two disciplines. After completing the courses, one can then apply for a four year certification in Stress Management or Crisis Intervention.
Source: The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook: A Guide to Healing, Recovery and Growth by Glenn R. Schiraldi, PhD
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is trauma that is not processed. It is due to trauma that is so severe that it leaves an imprint that the brain at the moment is not able to process into long term memory. As a result, it is unfragmented and haunts the person as if it never ends and continues to occur.
PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome is a serious condition where trauma is never processed. In previous blogs, we have discussed its causes and symptoms. In all cases, the memory is fragmented and unable to process due to its extreme nature. When it is unable to become processed, it continues to haunt the individual through flashbacks, dreams, arousals, disassocation and emotional instability which leads to a variety of personal issues
Once known as Shell Shock from WWI, the horrid event is so traumatic, that those who experience PTSD are unable to come to grips with the magnitude of the event or loss. This leads to multiple symptoms. It is important to help treat people and guide them who experience PTSD from war, crime, or traumatic loss beyond one’s control. Healing and treatment are a long road but there are first steps that can be taken as well as strategies to help manage symptoms. These strategies can help someone cope till the fragmented memories are properly stored and allow the person to function without the adverse effects of PTSD.
Learning to cope with the symptoms of PTSD can lead ultimately to healing. Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program
Healing begins when the person starts to apply skills to manage the ongoing symptoms and traumatic memory is slowly integrated. Integration takes time and requires special therapies with a licensed specialist who can help someone process, assimilate and reframe the trauma. In addition to utilizing skills to manage symptoms, the individual must confront the feelings and harmful coping behaviors such as drugs. Others need to be willing to give up the secondary gains of their condition. Some may earn government pay, others may feel the sympathy and pity of others would be lost if they sought help. One needs to be able to give up these additional gains to become healthy and on one’s own.
One needs to also establish safe boundaries. Only in a spot correlated with safety can someone with PTSD begin healing. Someone who was raped may have a difficult time finding a safe boundary. Establishing this is key as one faces the trauma.
Ultimately what is preventing treatment? Is there a fear that treatment is a sign of weakness, especially if a soldier? Is there a fear of discovery of the source of the pain? Some may fear opening up to a therapist or anyone. Others fear they may also lose the good memories with the bad. Ultimately, a therapist can help guide the PTSD patient through the maze of feelings.
In addition, once an individual has learned to manage basic arousals, flashbacks or potentially dangerous outbursts, one may consider a support group. Support groups have multiple benefits for PTSD victims. The group and its autonomy grants a sense of control that one and one therapy sometime lacks. It aids against alienation, provides security and a mutual acceptance beyond any preconceived stigma. There secrets can be revealed, progress made and coping ideas shared. Friendships can also blossom from the mutual pain and stories.
Many strategies during the healing process can be done alone and do not require professional treatment. Professional treatment in aiding integration are still extremely important but learning to manage basic arousal, flashbacks and trauma are key in learning to retake one’s life.
Affect Management looks at controlling one’s own emotions by personally facing them. In it, one names the feeling and recognizes and feels them without judgement. The feelings are to be felt but also understood. They are not to be deemed good or bad but experienced. The feelings are to be seen as normal, but also in analysis constructive to understanding. Feelings make sense if we hear them and try to better understand what they are trying to tell us. Control of feelings is key as well. Anger Management and its many useful strategies are key in understanding why one is angry and how to better utilize it in a constructive way. Many individuals with PTSD are angry over what happened. They may seek revenge, or they may feel misunderstood or jealous of others who are not victimized. Anger at the world, the perpetrator or anything is very common. This anger needs managed but it also needs to be allowed to vent in a healthy way and be heard in a constructive way.
When certain triggers cause arousal it is also important to learn to cope with these issues. Breathing Retaining is a way to control one’s breath and avoid hyperventilating which is common during arousal and extreme anxiety caused by PTSD. Other forms of relaxation and meditation can also be useful to manage arousal symptoms. Progressive Muscle Relaxation is an excellent tool in gradually relaxing all muscles through contracting and relaxing muscles from head to toe. Autogenic Training is also a mind body connection similar to self hypnosis that looks to calm the mind. Another successful tool is eye movement. Eye movement works by visualizing the trauma and not allowing to exceed an anxiety ranking about the SUD scale of 5 which is irritating but bearable. After this is reached, one focuses on two objects and switches back and forth, moving the eyes slowly. For many, 2/3rds to be precise, feel some type of relaxation after this procedure is experienced multiple times.
PTSD is trauma not processed. Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program
In regards to flashbacks, many also utilize eye movement, but grounding is an equally effective method. Grounding involves one touching something in the present, whether the arm of a chair or the soft touch of a carpet on one’s feet. Stomping one’s feet, or even naming things in one’s surrounding can help one ground oneself in the present. Another way to combat flashbacks is through safe place imagery. Safe place imagery is a pre-arranged place one can go. It first requires one to select an image that confirms safety and focusing on it and the feelings. One should then find this safe place in their mind. Another mental option is split screen, which one mentally portrays within one’s mind. In it, one screen is the past and the other screen is the present. Realizing that the past is the past can sometimes let one focus on the present screen. Finally, a feeling dial imagery can also help some. In it, one imagines a radio or numerical dial in which they visualize lowering from ten to one in regards to how they feel.
These are just coping strategies and it will take a far more deeper treatment plan to eventually help one with PTSD but these coping strategies open the door and help the person begin the long process to complete integration of trauma material into the long term memory. They are useful in allowing the person to enter into society, face fears and find the healthy outcome they wish.
Ultimately, healing and treatment will lead to less intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, dreams and distressful associations. It will help individuals remember without detachment. It will help one to recall feelings without arousal and detachment. It will aid with anxiety, sexual discomfort and depression, as well with isolation from the company of others. Ultimately, treatment will help one integrate the loss, reframe it and move forward into the future. In future blogs we will review common treatments for PTSD
Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Stress Management.
Related source: The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder SourceBook by Glenn Schiraldi, PhD
Self care is extremely important for individuals who care for others or those who undergo large amounts of stress. It is important to care for one’s mental health the same way one gives rest to one’s physical health. Taking the time for self care and giving the mind the time it needs to rest or recovery are critical to long term success in life. Unfortunately, many feel guilt if they walk away from a loved one for a short period. They do not partake in a short visit away, or find time to care for themselves.
Many suffer from poor hygiene. Others can become over stressed and open to medical conditions. Others can become resentful overtime that life is not rewarding. It is important to care for oneself in order to care for others and it is not selfish to take a little time each day, each week and month to find that one’s physical, mental and emotional needs are met. This does not mean one abandons care of another, but it does allow one to recharge enabling them to give the best care.
For others self care is sometimes not time away from a sick person but is time away from constant work. It permits the person to focus on other things than deadlines or assignments. Again, this does not mean one is to disregard tasks or responsibilities, but means one is to find time to help each other. Balance is key like anything in life. Self care is part of balance.
There are many examples of self care. Please also review AIHCP’ Stress Management Consulting Program
The article, “How To Start a Self-Care Routine” from Cleveland Clinic “healthessentials” takes a closer look at forming a self care routine. The article discusses how diet, exercise and rest are important aspects of self care that become neglected by busier people. The article discusses how one can learn to insert into one’s schedule a self care schedule that will not infringe upon daily duty but grant the needed balance for overall mental and physical health. The article states,
“You’ve probably heard a lot of chatter over the past few years about self-care and the importance of having a self-care routine. The idea — a holistic (whole body) approach to taking care of one’s physical and emotional health — is a great one but it can be a bit intimidating. For those who’ve never done one, a self-care routine may feel like an uphill climb, something that seems impossible to do in a very busy (and chaotic) world. Others may have tried and fallen out of the routine, leaving them feeling like they just don’t have the knack for it.”
“How To Start a Self-Care Routine”. HeAlthessentials. Cleveland Clinic.
Self care is important for managing stress. When we are stressed, our bodies go into fight or flight mode and release stress hormones like cortisol. These hormones can have negative effects on our bodies if we are constantly in a state of stress. That is why it is important to take care of ourselves and do things that help reduce our stress levels. Some self care activities that can help reduce stress are exercise, relaxation techniques like yoga or meditation, spending time in nature, and getting enough sleep. Other times, it is important to find time away, even if for half a day or so to do something one finds relaxing or fun.
There are a number of reasons why people might ignore self-care. One reason is that they may not be aware of the importance of self-care. Another reason is that they may not have the time or resources to devote to self-care. Additionally, people may not believe that self-care is necessary or effective. Finally, some people may simply be unwilling to change their habits or routines to accommodate self-care. In addition, guilt from walking away from a person or a task can prevent one from working on oneself.
As stress adds up though, the importance of self care is a critical skill. The skill is in knowing when enough is enough and finding a safe and healthy outlet to recharge one’s mind. When one does not permit this and give the time needed for better diet, sleep and exercise, or even a amusing event, the person begins to become more and more stressed and open to mental break down or sickness. One must learn to insert balance in life in everything. Self care is understanding the balance that one must have in order to operate in other areas. When self care boundaries are not protected and defended, then the person can become over stressed and strained.
Conclusion
In conclusion, self care is important for our mental and physical wellbeing. It can help us to cope with stress, anxiety and depression. It can also improve our sleep, energy levels and immunity. Many times, self care is put to the side and neglected. It is important to find balance in work, school and play. It is important to give oneself time to recharge from helping others or performing tasks or meeting deadlines. It does not involve neglecting duty but balancing everything. By making time for self care, we can improve our overall health and wellbeing.
Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Stress Management.
Additional Resources
“U.S. medical students who engage in self-care report less stress and higher quality of life”. Erin E. Ayala, etc. al. BMC Medical Educationvolume 18, Article number: 189 (2018). Access here
“Why Self Care Can Help You Manage Stress”. Elizabeth Scott, PhD. November 24th, 2020. Verywellmind. Access here
“What You Need to Know About Stress and Self-Care”. Dan Mager, MSW. August 29th, 2017. Psychology Today. Access here
“Ways to Manage Stress”. Lauren Ragland. September 14th, 2021. WebMD. Access here
“Caregiver stress: Tips for taking care of yourself”. March 22nd, 2022. Mayo Clinic. Access here
Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome is a severe reaction to a stressor so intense that it imprints upon the mind and brain its terrifying nature. The long lasting effects can result in intense anxiety as well as for some dissociation disorder. The effects can last months after or continue to haunt the person throughout life. In previous eras, it was referred to as Shell Shock as experienced by WWI soldiers but while many soldiers experience PTSD, it can happen to any group of person.
Traumas can be related to war but also to any type of traumatic event than can happen in civilian life as well. Among the type of traumas imposed upon the person include intentional traumas caused by other humans which are the hardest to overcome, as well as human caused accidents and acts of nature, which are usually easier to recover. It is more difficult to overcome intentional acts of humans because these acts of trauma are most associated with evil itself. War, abuse, rape, incest, torture, criminal assault, hostage, bombings, terrorism, suicide, kidnapping, riots, participating in violence, and death threats are a few examples of these severe types of trauma.
Human caused traumas not associated with evil intent still can cause trauma but they are not as mentally crushing to the individual. These types of traumas include industrial accidents, fires, explosions, motor vehicle or plane crashes, nuclear disasters or collapses of buildings. Less traumatic but still impactful or acts of nature, which include any type of storm or geological event, or sudden deaths not associated with evil intent.
Trauma so severe can cause anxiety and dissociation. Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Program
Many individuals suffer greatly in this world and the above stressors and trauma inducing events are well above one’s average bad day but are life altering events in many cases. This can cause severe trauma and not allow the mind to properly process the event. The exposure to this stressor leads to an intense fear or horror to the event itself. In assessing PTSD, the events must be re-experienced via intrusive recollections, dreams, and hallucinations that can be activated due to similar cues. The individual in turn will attempt to avoid numerous things to escape these intrusive reminders. The individual will try to block thoughts, feelings, places, and activities to avoid it. They will disassociate in events and people and try to detach themselves.
In essence, the PTSD interrupts life in all aspects. Individuals will have trouble sleeping, become irritable easily, not be able to concentrate, become hypervigilant, and have exaggerated responses to some stimuli. This type of behavior can last acutely for one month, chronically for six months or more and can even be delayed, well after the event and re-emerge months later.
Those who suffer from PTSD face two major symptoms, high levels of anxiety and dissociation.
Severe anxiety leaves the person in constant distress even if the stressor is no longer present. It can manifest physically upon the person through fatigue, tension, nausea, digestive track inflammation, hyperventilation, suffocating feelings, and a wide array of panic attacks. Emotionally it can cause irritation, fear, exaggeration of emotions and loss of confidence. Mentally, anxiety can cause confusion, lack of concentration, poor memory and inability to make decisions. Spiritually, one may encounter hopelessness and despair. Many look to avoid stressors that naturally cause these feelings and the person will become more reclusive.
In regards to dissociation, most healthy individuals possess an associated consciousness that engages in life, but when a trauma so terrible occurs, the mind does not process the terrible event in long term memory and it is trapped in short term memory. Without proper processing, the trauma continues to haunt the person. It is hence natural, during a horrible event to dissociate from it. When something is so horrible to comprehend, the body for its own protection will tune out. Unfortunately, the unprocessed and walled off trauma is highly unstable and very accessible. It is also very emotional and non verbal and hence impressionable via our senses. The trauma is very fragmented and associated with multiple triggers due to this. The senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, pressure and pain can all awaken these fragmented traumas and cause recollections. The trauma can also be re-awakened by significant dates or seasons or events, as well as tied to strong emotions, thoughts and behaviors. Sometimes the arousal is due to a combination of senses.
Dissociation looks to defend the individual from the horrific nature of the event itself. During a horrible event, the person may depersonalize from the event itself, as if separating from oneself and watching. Another form of this is derealization where the person real believe the event was not real but a dream. Some individuals actually lose parts of the memory itself. Amnesia and forgetting the event looks to help the person forget the horrific nature of it all together, while some may enter into a fugue where an individual has no memory whatsoever of how one got from one place to another during the episode.
The worst type of trauma is the type caused intentionally by other people. Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program
The most severe form of dissociation is Dissociative Identity Disorder when a person actually creates multiple identities to deal with the trauma itself. Also known as Multiple Personality Disorder, one creates other personalities with stronger characteristics to protect the host from the trauma itself.
Associated with dissociation and anxiety are a variety of associated features that can become attached to PTSD. Many individuals who suffer from PTSD also exhibit a variety of these features in their behavior.
When severe trauma occurs, many have a death imprint that forever changes their outlook on life. This leads to repeating within the mind how they wish they behaved or acted. In this, they may feel extreme shame or guilt, or survivor guilt. Others will develop a severe anxiety with any topic of death itself. With severe trauma, others may also experience shattered world views. One may doubt his or her faith or question how one exists. Such an existential crisis is very common.
There are also a variety of mood disturbances that one may encounter fights with depression and also addiction. Impulsive behaviors can also occur where individuals try to make sudden changes to escape the pain as well as over compensations in other roads of life. Some will also try to relive their trauma and re-enact them in contrast to others The mind also can negatively affect the body and there are a multitude of physical ailments that occur from chronic pains to fatigue and exhaustion.
To escape the mental pain, many will turn to other forms of pleasure. In addition to addiction, some become overtly sexual to find value, while others may turn to self mutilation. These cries for help are attempts to express pain that cannot be visualized or seen. In other cases, this type of behavior looks to cover mental pain with physical pain.
Ironically, it can paradoxically relieve pain and help individuals become addicted to self harm. Others remark it helps them feel alive or makes them feel empowered and in control. Others reiterate it can be used to make themselves less attractive to prevent further abuse or imitate what was seen or experienced.
Unfortunately, without guidance and help, these symptoms and unhealthy coping mechanisms will continue with individuals with PTSD unless helped. They need to face the trauma and understand it. Guidance is required to help process the horrible memory to the long term processing centers of the brain.
If you would like to learn more about AIHCP’s Stress Management Certification, then please review and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Stress Management. AIHCP also offers programs in Crisis Intervention as well. Remember, that even if certified, one still need to be a licensed professional in the mental health fields to work with individuals suffering from PTSD.
Related Text
The Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook: A Guide to Healing, Recovery and Growth by Glenn R Schiraldi, Ph.D
A very large stressor is children. Parents deal with stress of their children and adult children their whole lives. Different ages and different times present different and unique challenges in parenting, but overall, the stress of having children and raising them is a challenge. Parents need to learn how to cope with stress and juggle the issues of parenting with their own life to stay afloat in life. This can be a difficult endeavor. Many parents need to better organize, prepare and react to the stress children can play upon it. Ultimately in the end, the hard work and long hours can pay off to a successful child rearing.
Stress Management techniques can also help parents better cope with stress. This includes time management, time alone, meditation, and having a strong support system to rely upon. Unfortunately for those parents without a support system, coping can be even more difficult and hence time management and meditation can play huge roles.
Parental stress comes at any age and has different challenges with each age. Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Program
The article, “Here’s How to Navigate Parenting Stress” by Madeline Brown takes a closer look at managing stress associated with parenting. In the article, she lists the primary causes of parent stress and how to identify it. She also lists on ways to better cope and find the necessary assistance. She states,
“Stress is a poor boundary keeper. Work stress doesn’t stay confined to the office. Financial worries don’t magically go away when your child is sick and sleepless. The parenting journey is naturally peppered with seasons of heightened stress and worry — from the sleepless newborn stage to the teenage rebellion years and beyond. A list of what doesn’t cause parenting stress might be shorter. Nevertheless, these are common factors that can make parenting stress worse:”
“Here’s How to Navigate Parenting Stress”. Madeline Brown. January 6th, 2022. Psych Central.
Parenting will always be stressful but it is also rewarding. Parents can learn to balance what is merely an annoyance with what truly should concern their time. Many parental stressors are minor daily things or small accidents. Depending on the age, children will spill, or teens will have a bad grade, but these are parts of natural growth in life. Parents need to be able to categorize these things and understand when to be angry, stressed, or just fix the situation. Parents also need to know how to categorize short term and long term needs of children and what focus to give certain tasks priority over.
It does not help that many parents have other issues as well. Many issues from work, or relationships can emerge and make it harder to handle the work at home. Tasks and chores can pile up, especially for parents without much assistance. This can only begin to bury the parent in more responsibilities. To shave off some of these issues, time management is critically important for any parent as well as schedules for their child of any age.
When small issues become larger issues is when the true stress of parenting can emerge. Bad behavior, drugs, or problems with the law are all possibilities. These types of stressors cannot be simply brushed to the side and must be dealt with. It is important to know when a stressor is a legitimate issue which is going to demand the parent’s time and abilities. Other stressors can include finances, school costs, care cost, and other care giving responsibilities. Many parents stay up late at night thinking how they will better care for and afford their child or children’s needs. It can be quite frightful but through management and structure, one can find a way to the goal line in raising a productive young adult.
But if you think parenting ends at 18, then you are in for a surprise. Parentings adult children also comes with many stresses. Parents can worry about the success of their children, career options, or college success. Adult children who never grow up can be a constant stress on parents in their older years.
It is important for parents of any age to always look towards self care. Self care involves being able to look at oneself and ensure physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs are met. It may seem like there is no time for this, but it is important to try to find the time. Whether its a half hour of meditation a day, or having counseling or a massage, it is critical to find the self care. Burnout can occur in anything and parenting is no exception. Dealing with burnout properly and finding the support and help one needs is critical for the entirety of the family. This is again why self care is so important.
Obviously beyond the self care, parenting should also be viewed not as only stressful but also rewarding. Enjoying time with your children and doing exciting things can rewrite the narrative that is always a job but also a beautiful vocation of sharing love.
Conclusion
Parenting is the toughest job on the planet. It does not come with a manual or instructions but involves giving one’s entire self, both heart and soul into ensuring the welfare and success of the child. In its very nature, parenting is stressful but levels of stress can be managed by assorting what is merely daily to what is an immediate issue. At whatever age, try to enjoy the ride and let one’s love of their child or children dictate the pace but remember, self care is always important and parents sometimes need a break too.
Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Stress Management Consultant.
Additional Resources
“Parenting stress: What causes it, and how does it change us?”. 2020 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D, Parenting Science. Access here
“Parental Stress is Key Contributor to Development of Children’s Mental Illness”. Krystal Jagoo. January 11th, 2022. Verywellmind. Access here
“4 Tips for Managing Parenting Stress”. Erlanger A. Turner Ph.D. June 24th, 2013. Psychology Today. Access here
“Parental Burnout and Stress”. Psychology Today Staff. Psychology Today. Access here
Stress kills. This short phrase is as true as any words. Stress primarily affects the blood vessels and the heart through cortisone and its increases in the body. When this hormone is utilized for fight or flight, it is good but when chronic stress constantly applies it to the body, then the heart suffers. Long term and chronic stress weakens the body and heart. It is thus very important to reduce chronic stress through health stress management strategies to reduce long term damage. Stress Management can help an individual eliminate unneeded stress in one’s daily life and live a healthier life.
Stress can have negative health impacts on the heart. Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Certification
The article, “Stress May Be Your Heart’s Worst Enemy” by Rachel Ruiz from the New York Times looks closer how stress can harm the heart. She states,
“But has your doctor also asked about the level of stress in your life? Chronic psychological stress, recent studies indicate, may be as important — and possibly more important — to the health of your heart than the traditional cardiac risk factors. In fact, in people with less-than-healthy hearts, mental stress trumps physical stress as a potential precipitant of fatal and nonfatal heart attacks and other cardiovascular events, according to the latest report.”
“Stress May Be Your Heart’s Worst Enemy”. Rachel Ruiz. New York Times
Stress is a phenomenon that results from the interaction between an individual and their environment which produces psychological and physiological responses to perceived threats or challenges. This process is further exacerbated by the imbalance between the demands of the environment and the individual’s ability to cope with such demands, thus resulting in a psychobiological response. Through this process, stress can manifest through physical, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and other related changes depending on how an individual interprets and responds to perceived stressors.
Stressors can range from work, school or home. They can build up over time when not properly managed. It is hence critically important to identify stressors in one’s life and see how to reduce their impact on daily life. Various Stress Management strategies can be employed to help individuals deal with stressors on a daily basis.
Stress and Your Heart
Stress has been linked to a variety of adverse health effects, including heart disease. Physiologically, stress can trigger the release of hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline which can lead to increased blood pressure, vasoconstriction, and an elevated heart rate. Furthermore, the chronic activation of the sympathetic-adrenal medullary system associated with stress has been shown to increase oxidative stress and inflammation in the body, leading to increased risk for cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery disease.
Stress has a significant impact on cardiovascular functioning in both the short- and long-term. Prolonged stress can lead to an increase in sympathetic nervous system activity, leading to higher heart rate, blood pressure, and levels of cortisol–all of which are associated with deleterious effects on cardiac health. Additionally, chronic stress can lead to neurohormonal changes that can cause structural changes to the cardiovascular system.
Knowing these dangers, it is critical to protect one’s heart and avoid unneeded stress and practice healthier anti-stress strategies.
Stress Management
Stress management and heart health are intrinsically interlinked, with the ability to effectively manage stress being a key factor in mitigating risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease. The physiological processes associated with stress can result in an increase of cortisol levels, which then leads to increased inflammation and arterial plaque. In addition, elevated cortisol levels often contribute to unhealthy lifestyle choices such as smoking or overeating which can then compound the risk for cardiovascular-related issues.
Stress Management techniques can play a key role in reducing chronic stress and hence help with overall heart health
Through stress management, individuals can lessen the release of cortisol and reverse to the para sympathetic nervous system.
Stress management techniques are an essential component of effective psychological and overall health. These techniques comprise a variety of approaches for alleviating stress, including cognitive restructuring, relaxation training, mindfulness meditation, and other forms of psychotherapy. Cognitive restructuring is a form of psychotherapy that promotes changing the way one thinks about particular situations in order to modify their emotional responses. Relaxation training typically involves techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, biofeedback, guided imagery, music appreciation and yoga.
Conclusion
In conclusion, stress is a major contributing factor to physical and mental health problems, including heart health. It is important to become aware of how daily stressors can affect your overall wellbeing and take measures to reduce its impact. This may involve creating healthy lifestyle habits such as regular exercise, adequate sleep, healthy eating and relaxation techniques. Additionally, it is beneficial to reach out for professional help when needed. By making positive changes in our lives, we can significantly improve our stress level and heart health. Stress management is extremely important for improved heart health. Stress can have a profound effect on the body and its systems, including the cardiovascular system. Research has shown that managing stress can reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and improve overall heart health. Simple strategies such as regular exercise, mindful meditation, and healthy lifestyle habits can help to manage stress levels and protect your heart.
Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional needs and goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Stress Management. Through use of stress management techniques, many individuals can better maintain a healthy heart by avoiding chronic stress in life.
Additional Resources
“Stress and Heart Health”. June 21st, 2022. American Heart Association. Access here
“Risk Factors for Heart Disease: Don’t Underestimate Stress”. John Hopkins Medicine. Access here
“Stress and your heart”. December 1st, 2013. Harvard Health Publishing. Access here
Calming oneself down is an important skill in stress management and anger management. The body when angered or stressed produces hormones in the body to prepare it for fight or flight. When prolonged, or unnecessary over long period of times, this can harm the body. It is important and critical to be able to calm the body.
Learning to calm oneself is a key coping skill in life. Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program and see if it meets your goals
The article, “How to Calm Down: Ways to Relax Your Body and Mind” by Heather Jones takes a closer look at how to calm the body down through a variety of practices and methods. She states,
“Stress can cause muscles to tighten, sometimes leading to discomfort or pain. These tense muscles then tell the body that it’s stressed, creating a cycle. Muscle relaxation can stop this cyclical response by relieving muscle tension and overall anxiety. It may even help you to fall asleep more easily.Progressive muscle relaxation is a technique used for this purpose. To do progressive muscle relaxation:”
Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Program and see if it meets your academic and professional needs and goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Stress Management.
