Impacts of Stress and Interventions
Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes PhD, LPC-MHSP
Executive Director: AllCEUs Counselor Education
Host: Counselor Toolbox Podcast, NCMHCE Exam Review Podcast
CEUs available at: https://allceus.com/member/cart/index/product/id/1227/c/
Objectives
~ Define stress and distress
~ Identify the impacts of stress
~ Explore sources of stress and interventions
Stress
~ Stress is anything that requires energy
~ Eustress
~ Distress
~ You only have so much energy in your energy bank—How do you want to spend it?
Impact
~ Irritability, Anger
~ Depression, Anxiety
~ Sleep Disturbances
~ Reduced Immunity
~ Digestive Issues
~ Weight Gain
~ Increased Pain
~ Addiction to Stimulants
~ Increased Risk of Chemical and Behavioral Addiction
~ Altered Cortisol, Hormone and Neurotransmitter Levels
~ Infertility
~ Social Withdrawal
~ Rapid Aging
~ Heart Disease
Sources
~ Emotional Distress
~ Things that make you
~ Sad
~ Angry
~ Envious/jealous
~ Worried/anxious
~ Overwhelmed
~ Rumination
~ Emotional Eustress
~ Things that make you
~ Curious
~ Happy
~ Exhilarated
Sources
~ Cognitive Stress
~ Depending on the situation can be distress or eustress
~ Sources
~ Decision making
~ Planning
~ Problem solving
~ Thinking/learning (The brain is one of the biggest consumers of blood glucose)
~ Interpreting/Memory retrieval
~ Concentrating (like while driving) and filtering out extraneous stimuli
Sources
~ Physical Stress
~ Exercise
~ Daily repair and rejuvenation
~ Digestion
~ Sleep deprivation
~ Stimulants
~ Nutritional imbalances (over or under)
~ Dehydration
~ Toxins like alcohol, VOCs, tobacco
~ Injuries
~ Pregnancy/childbirth
~ Illness (including autoimmune diseases)
Sources
~ Environmental Stress
~ Light
~ Circadian rhythms
~ Flourescent lights
~ Noise
~ Traffic
~ Air conditioners
~ Wind turbines
~ People and animals
~ Temperature
~ Touch/Tactile
~ Smell
~ Noxious
~ Pleasant
~ EM Fields, (2) (3)
~ Severe headaches
~ Tension headaches
~ Pressure in the chest
~ Heart palpitations
~ Sleep problems (low melatonin)
~ Sleep apnea
~ Tinnitus
~ Fatigue
~ Memory loss
~ Redness in skin with itching, rashes, and tingling on the arms or face
Sources
~ Social
~ Empathy
~ Compassion
~ Interaction/communication
~ Positive
~ Conflictual
~ Attachment and abandonment issues
Summary
~ Stress is ubiquitous and comes in many forms
~ The goal is to reduce distress to free up energy for eustress and still have some left over.
~ Like a cell phone battery
~ Use the energy for the apps and activities you want
~ Eliminate or suspend apps that drain your battery
~ Each day your phone needs time to plugin and recharge