Distress

            Stress is a small word, but it can have a paramount effect on people who have problems handling it. As we all know, stress can affect people physically and most importantly mentally. Stress usually is known only for a negative reason, falling into the category of distress, which is the topic of this post. Also, there is eustress and that is more of a positive stress that most people do not realize. Since stress is pertained to more of a negative aspect, distress would be the more recognizable stress out of the two. The goal of this blog post is to give a background on distress, and to give people a better understanding of this certain type of stress.

            What is distress? According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Distress is pain or suffering affecting the body or the mind (Merriam-Webster, 2013). Imagine having problems that affect the way we can feel, think, or act. The problems that can change the way we do everyday activities may derive from distress. What does this interfere with most, Well, it can destroy how someone feels about life, relationships, and even can have its toll on work (ADEC, 2003). Looking at the grand scheme of things, there are many causes of distress and emotional problems. Problems that people deal with on an everyday basis is what most people would believe would be a major cause of distress. That is definitely correct, but chemical imbalances in the brain and exposure to distressing experiences that were severe are causes that can contribute to making the distress appear. An interesting fact is that research shows that distress is inherited in some cases because there are so many factors that go in (ADEC, 2003.) The book, Social Causes of Psychological Distress by John Mirowsky and Catherine E. Ross has a statement in the book that summarizes distress. “The misery, demoralization, or distress a person feels is not the problem. It is a consequence of the problem” (Mirowsky, Ross, 2003.) If someone were to look at this statement, it is a bold and very true. The problems that occur do not come from nowhere. There is always something that triggers the problem and that is exactly what Mirowsky and Ross were covering.

            What are the main types of mental distress? Main types of mental distress are Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Schizophrenia, and Manic Depressive Distress. With Anxiety Disorders, it can range from high blood pressure, having problems sleeping, restlessness, and tension regarding muscles. Everyone in their life has depression, but not major depression, meaning feeling not worthy, suicidal thought, weight loss, and the list can go on. The depression that everyone has is mild depression. An example of mild depression is feeling sad for a family member’s death. Schizophrenia is a common type of psychotic state people may be familiar with. Noticing if someone may have this type of disorder is seeing confusion and depression. Other symptoms include hearing voices of people who no one else can hear, or voices that are not present at the time (ADEC, 2003). Speaking from a family member who had Schizophrenia, it is quite sad and frustrating watching the actions of a loved one act in a way that you are not familiar with was very tough. “Recent research on schizophrenia has demonstrated that in this disorder the brain is not, strictly speaking, normal. The findings suggest that nonspecific histopathology exists in the limbic system, diencephalon, and prefrontal cortex, that the pathology occurs early in development, and that the causative process is inactive long before the diagnosis is made. If these findings are valid and not epiphenomena, then the pathogenesis of schizophrenia does not appear to fit either traditional metabolic, posttraumatic, or neurodegenerative models of adult mental illness” (Weinberger, 1987). Now after seeing causes of distress, there are some parts that are controllable and some parts that are uncontrollable. Since research has shown that it mental disorders can be hereditary, this makes it aspect that people cannot do much about and need to maintain as best as possible. In scenarios that get out of hand, and you can feel yourself getting out of your normal state, we must try to the best of our abilities to not let things get to us as bad as it can. By limiting this, most people can stay a calm state and have a less chance for problems that can cause anxiety disorders.        

-Anthony Capaldi

Sources

ADEC. (2003, August). What is Mental Illness. Retrieved March 26, 2013, from http://ethnomed.org/patient-education/mental-health/mental-english-rev.pdf

(2013). In Distress. Retrieved March 26, 2013, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/distress

Mirowsky, J., & Ross, C. E. (2003). Social causes of psychological distress. Aldine de Gruyter.

Weinberger, D. R. (1987). Implications of normal brain development for the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Archives of general psychiatry, 44(7), 660.