Stress Treatment: Procedure, Cost and Side Effects

A person feels that he/she is stressed or finds a situation stressful when he/she is unable to cope with the demands placed on him/her or they do think that they do not have any control over the situation confronting them. Stress is actually a mechanism of the body by which it protects you. The body’s defenses start working when it perceives danger and it exhibits a rapid and automatic response known as the ‘fight or flight response’ or the ‘stress response’. In this scenario, hormones like adrenaline and cortisol are released by the body, that prepare the body for an emergency response. A person suffers from increased heart beat, quicker breathing, tightening of muscles, high blood pressure and sharpening of senses.

A person can suffer from cognitive, emotional and physical symptoms if he/she is feeling stressed. The cognitive symptoms of stress include memory problems, anxiety, poor judgment, constant worrying and negative thoughts. Depression, moodiness, anxiety, loneliness and isolation, a feeling of being overwhelmed are some of the emotional symptoms. A person may suffer from aches, pains, nausea, dizziness, loss of sex drive, rapid heartbeat and chest pain if he/she feels too stressed out.

The most important ways by which person can mange stress are by managing external pressures so that he/she does not get overwhelmed by stressful situations so frequently and also by developin emotional resilience. Emotional resilience helps a person to actually deal with any actual stressful situation that may arise. A person may also be prescribed sleep inducing pills or anxiety management medications if they are having too much difficulty in coping with stress.

An active lifestyle helps to deal with stress. Regular exercise helps to elevate the mood and allow you to escape from the cycle of negative thoughts that cause stress. Doctors often recommend exercises like running, jogging, walking, swimming and cycling to people suffering from stress. The treatment for stress may include medication, talking treatments, ecotherapy and complementary and alternate therapies. Cognitive behavioral therapy helps a person suffering from stress to understand his/her thought patterns, recognize trigger points and also to identify positive outcomes that the person can take. Another technique that can help to deal with stress is the mindfulness based stress reduction therapy.

A number of medications may be prescribed by a doctor. These include sleeping pills or minor tranquilizers if a person is suffering from sleep disorder, antidepressants to deal with anxiety and depression and medications to deal with symptoms of stress like high blood pressure or irritable bowel syndrome. Using and effectively engaging any of your five senses namely- touch, sight, sound, smell and taste can help to deal with stress. A person might get de-stressed by eating or someone might feel relaxed by listening to his/her favorite song.

Ecotherapy requires a person to spend time with nature and can alleviate stress to a great extent. It helps to increase the well-being and self-esteem of a person. The complementary and alternative therapies to deal with stress include massage, aromatherapy, accupuncture and use of traditional medicine.

Stress can affect a person psychologically, emotionally and even physically. The initial psychological responses include nervousness, anxiousness, excessive worry, distraction, internal pressure and changes in sleep patterns. A person may experience severe emotional and physical manifestations when the stress level increases. The manifestations include restlessness, chest pain, hyperventilation, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, excessive fatigue, depression and even thoughts of hurting oneself or others. A person experiencing some or a majority of these symptoms is eligible for treatment.

The treatment for stress generally involves making some behavioral and lifestyle changes. Talking treatments, ecotherapy and even alternate therapies are mainly natural treatments and do not have any adverse side effects. However, a person suffering from a chronic mental illness should consult a doctor before he/she can take anti-depressants of sleep inducing medications. Otherwise, any person suffering from stress can undertake this treatment.

The side-effects of medicines that are used to treat stress are depression, emotional dysfunction, low blood pressure, memory loss, nausea, libido, lack of coordination and decrease in IQ. Sometimes a doctor may recommend anti-depressants. The side-effects of anti-depressants include headache, sexual dysfunction, diarrhea, dizziness and weight gain/loss.

There are certain guidelines that a person can follow to prevent stress after he/she has undergone therapies or has taken medications. These include reducing intake of alcohol, drugs and caffeine as these substances make the condition worse. A person should be a little organized and focus on what is important rather than losing their sleep over trivial issues. A person should put some time aside for himself/herself each day so that he/she can use that time to relax, organize and do whatever he/she wants to do. Meditation and yoga can also help a person to deal with the symptoms of stress and help him/her to deal a healthy life.

Stress is an emotional and psychological condition that can be triggered due to a number of reasons. A person can take the help of stress management techniques, self-help techniques and medications to deal with stress. But how long a person requires to recover from this disorder depends a lot on the will of the patient concerned. It will depend on whether he/she has been able to incorporate the necessary changes in his/her life and whether he/she has been able to address the root of the problem. Sometimes, solving a simple problem can relieve symptoms of stress, while in some other case, it might require some complicated procedure.

A check-up can cost anything between Rs 500 – Rs 1500. Depending on the composition and quantity of the medicine, antidepressants may cost anything between Rs 26 – Rs 1650 in India. A person can suffer from stress due to some previous mental ailment. In such a scenario, a person will have to undergo treatment for the mental ailment. This will definitely cost the patient more than what is required to deal with stress.

There can generally be no permanent solution to stress as it is an emotional and psychological response to some actual situation or to some demands imposed on a person. A person can suffer from symptoms of stress even after ha has taken medications or have undergone therapy. Adhering to strict guidelines and making healthy lifestyle choices help to deal with stress in an effective manner.

The effects of passionflower are comparable to benzodiazepine drugs and thus help to deal with stress. Today’s generation are hooked onto their electronic gadgets and depend on them for accomplishing even the simplest of tasks. A person will surely get his/her stress levels decreased by disconnecting from these electronic gadgets. Aromatherapy can also bring immediate relief from stress by elevating mood, reducing anxiety and helping the person to focus and concentrate.