State the symptoms and sources of stress.

• Everyone has higher own pattern of stress response. So the warning signs may vary, as may their intensity.

• Some of us know our pattern of stress response and can understand the depth of the problem by the nature and severity of our own symptoms or changes in behaviour.

• These symptoms of stress can be physical, emotional and behavioural.

A wide range of events and conditions can generate stress; among the most important of these are major stressful life events such as death of a loved one or personal injury, the annoying frequent hassles of everyday life and traumatic events that affect our lives.

(i) Recent Life Events:

• Changes, both big and small, sudden and gradual affect our life from the moment we are born.

• We learn to cope with small, everyday changes but major life events can be stressful because they disturb our routine and cause trouble.

• If several of these life events that are planned (e.g., moving into a new house) or unpredicted (e.g., break-up of a long-term relationship) occur within a short period of time, we find it difficult to cope with them and will be more prone to the symptoms of stress.

(ii) Daily Hassles: There are daily hassles from which we have to cope like noisy surroundings, quarrelsome neighbours, electricity and water shortage, traffic jams, and so on.

The more stressed people report as a result of daily hassles, the poorer is the psychological well-being.

(iii) Traumatic Events:

• These include being involved in a variety of extreme events such as fire, train or road accident, robbery, earthquake, tsunami, etc.

• The effects of these events may occur after some lapse of time and sometimes persist as symptoms of anxiety, flashbacks, dreams and intrusive thoughts etc.

• Severe trauma can also strain relationships.