In psychology, personal distress is an aversive, self-focused emotional reaction (e.g., anxiety, worry, discomfort) to the apprehension or comprehension of another's emotional state or condition.
Stress responses are normal reactions to environmental or internal perturbations and can be considered adaptive in nature. Distress occurs when stress is severe, prolonged, or both.
Emotional distress is defined as "a highly unpleasant emotional reaction (as anguish, humiliation, or fury)". Although emotional distress is sometimes regarded as an ailment which some people should simply "get over", it's rarely ever that simple.
feel isolated — disinterested in the company of family and friends, or withdrawing from usual daily activities. feel overwhelmed — unable to concentrate or make decisions. be moody — feeling low or depression; feeling burnt out; emotional outbursts of uncontrollable anger, fear, helplessness or crying.
(dih-STRES) Emotional, social, spiritual, or physical pain or suffering that may cause a person to feel sad, afraid, depressed, anxious, or lonely. People in distress may also feel that they are not able to manage or cope with changes caused by normal life activities or by having a disease, such as cancer.
Mental health involves processing all the information we encounter, but emotional health is more about the feelings provoked by the data processed. Emotional and mental health are related but markedly different. Everyone gets anxious at times, but “anxiety” is a diagnosable disorder.
Use time as a diagnostic test: a patient in distress is more likely to make rapid progress emotionally while a depressed patient will progress much more slowly. Use active listening to develop a shared understanding of the patient's problems.
However, distress is something a bit different than both stress and anxiety. Typically, it is the result of one specific event and may contribute to a psychological illness, such as teen anxiety or teen post traumatic stress disorder.
In contrast, Distress, or negative stress, has the following characteristics: Causes anxiety or concern. Can be short- or long-term. Is perceived as outside of our coping abilities.
It affects your confidence and self-awareness, as well as how you interact and communicate with others. You may feel numb or disembodied at times - unable to connect to your bodily sensations, express your emotions or maintain feelings of intimacy.
Chronicfatigue, tiredness, and lack of energy.
"When the body cannot handle emotional overload, it simply begins to shut down. And that is often manifested by a sense of extreme tiredness and fatigue," says Kalayjian.
Mental distress has a wider scope than the related term mental illness. Mental illness refers to a specific set of medically defined conditions. A person in mental distress may exhibit some of the broader symptoms described in psychiatry, without actually being 'ill' in a medical sense.
Stress that's left unchecked can contribute to many health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
A nervous breakdown may last for days, weeks, months—even years. Because it's usually longer in duration, it takes more time and energy to recover from, as well.
Toxic stress response:
This is the body's response to lasting and serious stress, without enough support from a caregiver. When a child doesn't get the help he needs, his body can't turn off the stress response normally. This lasting stress can harm a child's body and brain and can cause lifelong health problems.