A psychologist has named the symptoms of chronic stress

A feeling of hopelessness, irritability, headaches and insomnia may indicate chronic stress, Ekaterina Gavrilova, a psychologist and expert in working with entrepreneurs and executives, told Izvestia on January 11.

"Chronic stress is dangerous because it acts as a 'silent killer'. Compared to acute short-term stress, people may stop noticing it. While with chronic stress, the body gets used to a certain hormonal background, and the longer you are in it, the more difficult and longer to normalize your condition," she noted.

The expert emphasized that it is better to take timely action, which will help to avoid many problems, diseases and significantly improve the quality of professional and personal life.

Among the emotional symptoms of such stress, she named constant anxiety and worry even without a reason, a sense of hopelessness, loss of interest in affairs, irritable reaction even to insignificant occasions.

"Physical and behavioral symptoms are headaches and tension in the muscles of the neck and head, insomnia (when you don't sleep well, don't get enough sleep regardless of the number of hours of sleep and get up immediately tired), gastrointestinal problems, decreased appetite or 'binging' on stress. [Also in this case] you find it difficult to concentrate, make a decision, and you start forgetting things more often: whether you closed the door, turned off the light, the time of meetings and so on," Gavrilova added.

According to her, several ways to get out of this state will help. First, you should get enough sleep. Thus, it is desirable to go to bed before 22:00-23:00. At the same time, the curtains should be closed, the room should be dark. You should not use the phone at least two hours before bedtime. In addition, it is important to stick to a balanced diet.

"Add physical activity - walk more, or better yet, choose a workout that you like and try to attend two or three times each week. This will improve the general condition of the body by increasing the level of endorphins - "happy hormones" - and reducing the level of cortisol, the main stress hormone," said the psychologist.

In addition, it is worthwhile to stop socializing with toxic people. If at work there is no possibility to avoid communication with such people, you should try to minimize the time of contact and keep a neutral distance. At the same time, you should choose 5-10 people, the most cheerful of the environment, and meet with them in the foreseeable future.

"Meditate, your brain clearly needs to rest. The simplest exercise is an empty room. Imagine your head is this empty room where thoughts don't linger. Your task is to focus on breathing with closed eyes for 15 minutes every day and keep your head empty: thoughts come and go immediately," the expert advised.

She also noted that a psychologist can help identify the cause of stress and develop a plan to get out of this situation.

"Remember about personal boundaries. Know how to say no even to yourself when you try to take on a superload, or do something that contradicts you," - concluded the expert.

Earlier, on December 25, a nutritionist, gastroenterologist Gastro Clinic Roman Malkov told "Izvestia" that stress and negative emotions can play a key role in the emergence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). They can cause spasms in the biliary tract, which disrupts the outflow of bile.