Types of Stress and its Diagnosis

Acute stress
This type of stress is short-term and is the most common way that stress occurs. It’s our body’s reaction to any new challenge, event or anything that demands our fight or flight response. Acute stress is often caused by thinking about any certain of event or situation over and over that have recently occurred or upcoming demands in the near future. Like for example, near-miss automobile accident, an argument with a family member or at the workplace, you have seen any haunted scene or movie.
Acute stress does not cause the same amount of damage as chronic stress. It isn’t always negative, but it leads to a certain illness, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or acute stress disorder.
Episodic acute stress
People, who frequently experience acute stress, or whose lives present frequent triggers of stress, have episodic acute stress. This type of stress can also lead to high blood pressure and heart disease.
When acute stress happens frequently, it’s called episodic acute stress. People who always seem to be having a crisis tend to have episodic acute stress. They are often short-tempered, irritable, and anxious. People who are “worry warts” or pessimistic or who tend to see the negative side of everything also tend to have episodic acute stress. They’re always in a rush, but always late. If something can go wrong, it does. They take on too much, have too many irons in the fire, and can’t organize the slew of self-inflicted demands and pressures clamoring for their attention. They seem perpetually in the clutches of acute stress. It is common for people with acute stress reactions to be over aroused, short-tempered, irritable, anxious and tense. Often, they describe themselves as having “a lot of nervous energy.”
The symptoms of episodic acute stress are the symptoms of extended over arousal: persistent tension headaches, migraines, hypertension, chest pain, and heart disease. Treating episodic acute stress requires intervention on a number of levels, generally requiring professional help, which may take many months.
Chronic stress
Chronic stress is the most harmful stress; this kind of stress can last from months or years. Poverty, disputes in the family, unhappy marriage cases can cause chronic stress. It occurs when a person never sees a possible way or the solution of the stress. It comes when a person never sees a way out of a miserable situation. With no hope, the individual gives up searching for solutions.
Some chronic stresses stem from traumatic, early childhood experiences that become internalized and remain forever painful and present. Some experiences profoundly affect personality. When personality or deep-seated convictions and beliefs must be reformulated, recovery requires active self-examination, often with professional help.
The Symptoms of chronic stress lead to suicide, violence, heart attack, stroke and even cancer too. The symptoms of chronic stress are difficult to treat and may require extended medical as well as behavioral treatment and stress management.
Diagnosis
A doctor will get to know about the stress by asking the patients about the symptoms. It may depend from factor to factor. Questionnaires, biochemical measures, and physiological techniques have been used, but these may not be objective or effective.
Ways to cope up with stress

To live a happy and stress-free life, you may want to begin with the following ways:

• Keep a positive attitude.
• Accept that there are events that you cannot control.
• Be assertive instead of aggressive. Assert your feelings, opinions, or beliefs instead of becoming angry, defensive, or passive.
• Learn and practice relaxation techniques; try meditation, yoga.
• Exercise regularly. Your body can fight stress better when it is fit.
• Eat healthy, well-balanced meals.
• Learn to manage your time more effectively.
• Set limits appropriately and say no to requests that would create excessive stress in your life.
• Make time for hobbies and interests.
• Get enough rest and sleep. Your body needs time to recover from stressful events.
• Don’t rely on alcohol, drugs, or compulsive behaviors to reduce stress.
• Seek out social support. Spend enough time with those you love.
• Seek treatment with a psychologist or other mental health professional trained in stress management or biofeedback techniques to learn more healthy ways of dealing with the stress in your life.
Stress management techniques can help you in removing or in changing the source of stress, it may help in reducing the impact of stress and can also help in alter the way you view a stressful event. Self-help books, online resources, or by attending a stress management course or a counselor all these can help to manage the stress.