Download How your body reacts to stress

How your body reacts to stress
Stress is the response of your body to all demands made upon it. Understanding these demands and
their effects can help you learn to recognize your own stress response, as well as ways to counteract
distress leading to a healthier life.
• The basic stress response
Your body responds to all stress, both positive and negative, by trying to get back to normal.
Hormones, like adrenalin, may surge. Your heartbeat and blood pressure will probably increase. Your
blood sugar rises. These physical responses helped prehistoric humans survive by helping them run
away faster or fight harder. By the time they were done, their bodies had discharged the tension of
the moment and their stress response was followed by relaxation.
• Physical effects
Today, we experience stressors that are very different from those early survival ones. Yet positive
stressors such as getting married, or negative stressors such as family conflicts, still cause the same
physiological fight or flight response.
If a stressful situation goes on far too long without any relief, you might be diagnosed with a disease
or medical disorder, or experience reactions, such as colds, ulcers, asthma, heart attack or stroke.
You might feel tired, irritable, depressed or anxious. You may have trouble with sleeping, eating
(either too much or too little), drinking and smoking.
• The mind-body connection
Your mind and body are connected. When your mind is healthy, your body can resist illness better.
When your body is healthy, your feelings are more positive. During stressful times, take care of both
your mind and body for maximum health and life satisfaction.
• Minimize the effects
There are many ways to keep all the negative effects of different stressors to a minimum. Self-care
can help you stay well as you begin to return your life to some semblance of normalcy. The goal of
stress management is to bring your system into balance, allowing you to regain a sense of calmness
and control in your life.
Self-care priorities
Use these strategies to stay well:
• Remember that your reactions are normal—
allow yourself to recover at your own pace.
• Talk or write about the event or your
reactions.
• Exercise. Even a little exercise, such as a
short walk, can help you physically and
emotionally.
• Be realistic about what you can do. Avoid
the “tyranny of the shoulds.”
• Spend time with supportive people.
• Get enough sleep and eat a healthy diet.
• Do nice things for yourself. Take a hot bath, a
walk in the woods, listen to soothing music.
• Stay away from mood-altering chemicals, such
as alcohol and drugs.
• Reduce caffeine and sugar; you’ll feel less
jittery or nervous, and you’ll sleep better.
• Practice stress reduction techniques such as
deep breathing, meditation, progressive
relaxation, etc.
• Keep your schedule as normal as possible.
Mercy Employee Assistance Program l 608.756.4681 or 855.612.HELP (4357) l MercyHealthSystem.org/EAP
Critical Incident Response (CIR) guidelines for managers
Mercy EAP support is available to help managers stabilize a situation in which employees are affected by
the occurrence of a traumatic event that has the potential of interfering with performance or productivity.
The most effective response is a collaborative partnership between managers and the EAP to offer
supportive services to employees experiencing a difficult time.
1. Determine the level of worksite impact (tips on next page)
2. Designate a primary contact person on site to coordinate the most appropriate next steps with
the EAP (for their work group and/or jointly with other managers involved)
3. Contact Mercy EAP to brainstorm possibilities. Be prepared to provide the following information:
• Facts regarding the incident
• Staff members immediately impacted
• Nature of general staff concern
• Availability of staff regarding timing/coverage issues
• Location for possible EAP services
4. Provide updates to staff members on the evolving situation
5. Recognize “best practice” might involve an employee accessing FMLA for a few days
6. Consult with EAP to determine the most appropriate timing and type of response:
• Supportive face-to-face meeting(s)
• Individual phone processing session(s)
• On-site small group debriefing with those directly impacted
• On-site larger group defusing with those more generally affected
• Management support and staff handout materials
7. Check back with employees regarding their adjustment to the situation
8. Follow-up consultation with the EAP to determine any next steps
9. Recognize that your offer of EAP services alone is appreciated as supportive!
Remember “the ripple effect”—the circle of impact
Consider the goal or purpose of any team gathering following a critical incident.
• Whether you are providing general situational updates to your staff
• Whether you are still investigating to determine the support needed for every level of involvement
• Whether you are reviewing the situation as a post-operative assessment to make improvements
in your team process or protocols
• Whether only the staff immediately impacted is interested in a group debriefing to share and
process the emotional complications they are still experiencing (with safety ensured)
Remember there is “no perfect timing”
Consider that it is generally a very individualized need for processing this event.
• Immediacy may be counter-productive
• Staff members are often initially in shock and unable to focus
• It’s often more important to offer flexibility with staff coverage and the ability to adjust to
unexpected emotional responses in the weeks and months ahead
Please call Mercy EAP at (608) 756-4681 for more information on scheduling a management
consultation to collaborate on a possible CIR.
How to talk to employees: tips for managers
Management has a special role to play in helping its employees adjust in healthy ways after any critical
incident and during periods of prolonged stress. Here are some tips on talking to your employees.
1. Communicate with your employees. When a critical incident becomes known, an update should go
out to all employees. It should:
• Convey the gravity of the situation
• Reflect the normal fears and anxieties we all share
• List any steps being taken to ensure the safety of employees
• Remind employees of EAP resources available
2. Communication is a two-way process. Ask your employees how they are doing, what their main
concerns are, and what they may need from you.
3. Provide updates or access to information as more becomes known.
4. Expect productivity to be briefly lower at such times, and be patient and compassionate about it.
5. Consider opportunities for gathering employees for lunch and/or support.
6. If you have concerns about how individual employees are reacting, or the impact on your team,
call EAP for a management consultation.
7. Consider scheduling critical incident stress response services through the EAP.
8. Be aware that some individuals might have more intense reactions than is typical. Reactions can
include panic attacks, crying, profound sadness or depression, confused thinking, and/or urges to
self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. Persons at risk for such intense reactions include those:
• Whose lives were directly impacted by the event or similar events
• Who have experienced prior losses or traumas and for whom the current events serve to
reactivate those emotions
• Who are vulnerable to stress due to the complications of other mental health or grief concerns
9. Be sensitive to the fact that intense reactions can result from many unseen personal factors,
including those listed above.
10.The best course of action for managers is to be patient, supportive and:
• Signal your willingness to talk
• Practice active listening
• Problem solve with the employee regarding his work responsibilities
• Make sure the employee knows where to get help
• If an employee is already engaged in counseling, he might consider contacting his therapist for
support. If not, a referral to EAP may be beneficial.
Tips for your employees
The next two pages offer further explanation of critical incident stress, common symptoms and also
self-care priorities. We encourage you to copy these pages for your employees as needed.
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Critical incident stress
You have experienced a traumatic event or a critical incident (any event that causes unusually strong
emotional reactions that have the potential to interfere with your ability to function normally). Even
though the event may be over, you may now be experiencing, or may experience later, some strong
emotional or physical reactions. How intensely you were impacted by the event will determine your
response afterward. Your personal experience, values, attitudes, beliefs and support systems also
shape your response.
It is very common, and in fact quite normal, for people to experience emotional aftershocks (or stress
reactions) when they have passed through a horrible, demanding or stressful event. Sometimes the
emotional aftershocks appear immediately after the traumatic event. Sometimes they may appear a few
hours or a few days later. And, in some cases, weeks or months may pass before the stress reactions appear.
These stress reactions are usually temporary. The signs and symptoms of a stress reaction may last a
few days, a few weeks, or longer, depending on the severity of the traumatic event. The understanding
and support of loved ones usually cause the stress reactions to pass more quickly. Occasionally, the
traumatic event is so painful that professional assistance may be necessary. This does not imply a
mental health diagnosis or a personal weakness. It simply indicates that the particular event was just
too powerful for the person to manage by themselves.
Common signs and signals of a stress reaction
Physical*
Cognitive
Emotional
Behavioral
• Chills
• Thirst
• Fatigue
• Nausea
• Fainting
• Twitches
• Vomiting
• Dizziness
• Weakness
• Chest pain
• Headaches
• Rapid heart rate
• Muscle tremors
• Shock symptoms
• Grinding of teeth
• Visual difficulties
• Profuse sweating
• Difficulty breathing
• High blood pressure
• Confusion
• Nightmares
• Uncertainty
• Hypervigilance
• Suspiciousness
• Intrusive images
• Heightened or
lowered alertness
• Blaming someone
• Poor problem solving
• Poor concentration/
memory
• Poor abstract thinking
• Disorientation of time,
place or person
• Increased or
decreased awareness
of surroundings
• Difficulty identifying
objects or people
• Poor attention/
decisions
• Fear
• Guilt
• Grief
• Panic
• Denial
• Anxiety
• Agitation
• Irritability
• Depression
• Intense anger
• Apprehension
• Emotional shock
• Emotional outbursts
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Inappropriate
emotional response
• Loss of emotional
control
• Withdrawal
• Antisocial acts
• Intensified pacing
• Hyper-alert to
environment
• Change in usual
communications
• Increased alcohol
consumption
• Change in appetite
• Erratic movements
• Change in sleep habits
• Inability to rest or relax
• Change in social activity
• Change in speech
patterns
*Any of these symptoms may indicate the need for a medical evaluation. When in doubt, contact a physician.
Mercy Employee Assistance Program l 608.756.4681 or 855.612.HELP (4357) l MercyHealthSystem.org/EAP
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