Understanding Mental Stress and How to Deal with It
Without proper treatment, can cause a person experience mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety disorders. If left untreated, this condition has the potential to lead to self-threatening behavior, such as attempted suicide. Therefore, do not underestimate this. Learn more about mental stress and how to overcome it.
Mental stress can be caused by various things that make you nervous, angry, and deeply frustrated, for example when you just got divorced, heartbreak because you just broke up with a partner, left by a family or close friend who recently died, miscarried, got laid off from work, or often experience bullying. People who experience violence often experience mental pressure, such as sexual harassment or rape and domestic violence.
Inner pressure is still considered normal if it lasts for less than 2 weeks. However, if you experience mental stress for more than 2 weeks, you should immediately see a doctor because this could indicate that you are suffering from depression.
Symptoms Accompanying Mental Stress
Symptoms that are felt by each person when experiencing mental stress can be different. However, people with mental stress will generally experience the following symptoms:
• Excessive anxiety, worry, or nervousness.
• Attention is easily distracted or has difficulty concentrating.
• Easily angry and frustrated.
• Avoiding or not wanting to meet other people.
• Frequent absences from work or school.
• Not taking good care of yourself, for example being rarely showering or changing clothes.
• Rarely or unwilling to leave the house.
• Decreased sex drive or libido.
In some cases, people who experience mental stress also experience symptoms such as headaches, lack of energy in the body, chest pain, and sleep disturbances. If the mental stress you are experiencing is accompanied by the above symptoms, you should immediately see a doctor so that appropriate treatment can be given.
How to Overcome Inner Pressure
In dealing with mental stress, you need to find out first what causes the condition to arise. Once you know the trigger, stay away from it.
You can also follow some of the tips below to deal with stress:
1. Try a relaxing activity
When you feel down because of mental pressure, try to keep doing activities that can calm you down. These activities can range from reading books, watching movies, yoga, meditation, relaxation, to taking a few days off for a vacation.
2. Exercise regularly
Sport is always beneficial. The type of exercise can be anything, such as swimming or walking. By regularly exercising for 30 minutes every day, your mood will be better and stress can be reduced.
3. Eat a balanced nutritious diet
When experiencing mental stress, people beco
3. me less willing to take care of themselves, even to the point of not wanting to eat. This can lead to a lack of nutritional intake. In fact, some nutrients play an important role in alleviating the complaints that are felt when experiencing mental stress.
Therefore, when experiencing mental stress, keep eating a balanced nutritious diet. The intake of essential catered to help relieve the symptoms of distress are foods that contain omega-3, complex carbohydrates, protein, and vitamins, such as vitamin C and vitamin D.
4. Get enough rest
The symptoms you feel when experiencing stress can become worse if you don't get enough rest. Therefore, get enough rest as much as 7-9 hours every day.
To help you sleep better, try to avoid excessive caffeine and alcohol consumption, and stay away from things that can delay sleep, such as watching television, playing on your phone, or playing on the computer.
5. vent
Find a relative or family member who can provide emotional support. Tell me something that has been bothering you recently. That way, the inner pressure you feel may be reduced.
6. Do counseling
If it is felt to be getting worse and difficult to overcome, mental stress needs to be handled with counseling and psychotherapy. Types of psychotherapy that can be done by psychiatrists or psychologists to treat mental stress include cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), problem-solving therapy (PST), and interpersonal therapy (IPT).
Mental stress should also be immediately checked by a psychiatrist or psychologist if it is accompanied by suicidal ideation or attempts, hallucinations, and anxiety or panic disorders that are difficult to overcome.