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Distress in abnormal psychology


1.1 Defining Psychopathology – Abnormal Psychology

Chapter 1: Defining & Classifying Abnormal Behaviour

Alexis Bridley & Lee W. Daffin Jr.; Carrie Cuttler; Jessica Campoli; and Jorden A. Cummings

  • Know the cost of mental illness to society.
  • Define abnormal psychology, psychopathology, and psychological disorders.
  • Explain the concept of dysfunction as it relates to mental illness.
  • Explain the concept of distress as it relates to mental illness.
  • Explain the concept of deviance as it relates to mental illness.
  • Explain the concept of dangerousness as it relates to mental illness.

 

Mental illness has significant social and economic costs in Canada. People with mental illness are more likely to experience social and economic marginalization, including social isolation, inability to work, and lower educational attainment and income, compared to Canadians who do not have a mental illness (Burczycka, 2018). People with mental illness also have a higher risk of being victimized. One in ten people with mental health-related disabilities in Canada report experiencing violence over the past year, a rate that is double that found in the general population (Burczycka, 2018). Moreover, mental illness can significantly impact people’s ability to work. It is estimated that 2 out of 9 workers suffer from a mental illness that affects their work performance, and this amounts to an annual wage loss of over $6.3 billion (Smetanin et al., 2011).

Each year, the economic burnout of mental illness in Canada is estimated at $51 billion (Smetanin et al., 2011). Mental illness significantly impacts the health care system directly and indirectly. Directly, there are costs of about $21.3 billion due to hospitalizations, medical visits, and support staff (Smetanin et al., 2011). There are also indirect costs to the justice system, social service and education systems, and other costs due to losses in quality of life. The personal and economic costs of mental illness will further increase due to greater numbers of Canadians expected to be impacted by mental health problems, combined with our aging population and growth of the Canadian population over the next 30 years (Smetanin et al., 2011). By 2041, annual costs of mental illness are expected to be $307 billion (Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2010).

In terms of worldwide impact, the World Economic Forum used 2010 data to estimate $2.5 trillion in global costs of mental illness in 2010 and projected costs of $6 trillion by 2030. The costs for mental illness are greater than the combined costs of cancer, diabetes, and respiratory disorders (Whiteford et al., 2013).

Though there is no one behavior that we can use to classify people as abnormal, most clinical practitioners agree that any behavior that strays from what is considered the norm or is unexpected within the confines of one’s culture, that causes dysfunction in cognition, emotion, and/or behavior, and that causes distress and/or impairment in functioning, is abnormal behavior. Armed with this understanding, let’s discuss what mental disorders are.

The term abnormal psychology refers to the scientific study of people who are atypical or unusual, with the intent to be able to reliably predict, explain, diagnose, identify the causes of, and treat maladaptive behavior. A more sensitive and less stigmatizing term that is used to refer to the scientific study of psychological disorders is psychopathology.  These definitions beg the questions of, what is considered abnormal and what is a psychological or mental disorder?

It may be surprising to you, but the concept of mental or psychological disorders has proven very difficult to define and even the American Psychiatric Association (APA), in its publication, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5 for short), states that though “no definition can capture all aspects of all disorders in the range contained in the DSM-5” certain aspects are required. While the concept of mental or psychological disorders is difficult to define, and no definition will ever be perfect, it is recognized as an extremely important concept and therefore psychological disorders (aka mental disorders) have been defined as a psychological dysfunction which causes distress or impaired functioning and deviates from typical or expected behavior according to societal or cultural standards. This definition includes three components (3 Ds). Let’s break these down now:

  • Dysfunction – includes “clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotion regulation, or behavior that reflects a dysfunction in the psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning” (pg. 20). In other words, dysfunction refers to a breakdown in cognition, emotion, and/or behavior. For instance, an individual experiencing delusions that he is an omnipotent deity would have a breakdown in cognition because his thought processes are not consistent with reality. An individual who is unable to experience pleasure would have a breakdown in emotion. Finally, an individual who is unable to leave her home and attend work due to fear of having a panic attack would be exhibiting a breakdown in behavior. Abnormal behavior has the capacity to make our well-being difficult to obtain and can be assessed by looking at an individual’s current performance and comparing it to what is expected in general or how the person has performed in the past.
  • Distress or Impairment –  Distress can take the form of psychological or physical pain, or both concurrently. Simply put, distress refers to suffering. Alone though, distress is not sufficient enough to describe behavior as abnormal. Why is that? The loss of a loved one would cause even the most “normally” functioning individual pain and suffering. An athlete who experiences a career-ending injury would display distress as well. Suffering is part of life and cannot be avoided. And some people who display abnormal behavior are generally positive while doing so. Typically, if distress is absent then impairment must be present to deem behavior abnormal. Impairment refers to when the person experiences a disabling condition “in social, occupational, or other important activities” (pg. 20). In other words, impairment refers to when a person loses the capacity to function normally in daily life (e.g., can no longer maintain minimum standards of hygiene, pay bills, attend social functions, or go to work). Once again typically distress and/or impairment in functioning are required to consider behavior abnormal and to diagnose a psychological disorder.
  • Deviance – A closer examination of the word abnormal shows that it indicates a move away from what is normal, typical, or average. Our culture – or the totality of socially transmitted behaviors, customs, values, technology, attitudes, beliefs, art, and other products that are particular to a group – determines what is normal and so a person is said to be deviant when he or she fails to follow the stated and unstated rules of society, called social norms. What is considered “normal” by society can change over time due to shifts in accepted values and expectations. For instance, just a few decades ago homosexuality was considered taboo in the U.S. and it was included as a mental disorder in the first edition of the DSM; but today, it is generally accepted. Likewise, PDAs, or public displays of affection, do not cause a second look by most people unlike the past when these outward expressions of love were restricted to the privacy of one’s own house or bedroom. In the U.S., crying is generally seen as a weakness for males but if the behavior occurs in the context of a tragedy such as the Vegas mass shooting on October 1, 2017, in which 58 people were killed and about 500 were wounded, then it is appropriate and understandable. Finally, consider that statistically deviant behavior is not necessarily negative. Genius is an example of behavior that is not the norm, but it is generally considered a positive attribute rather than a negative one.

Though not part of the DSM 5’s conceptualization of what abnormal behavior is, many clinicians add a 4th D – dangerousness to this list. Dangerousness refers to when behavior represents a threat to the safety of the person or others. Individuals expressing suicidal intent, those experiencing acute paranoid ideation combined with aggressive impulses (e.g., wanting to harm people who are perceived as “being out to get them”), and many individuals with antisocial personality disorder may be considered dangerous. Mental health professionals (and many other professionals including researchers) have a duty to report to law enforcement when an individual expresses an intent to harm themselves or others. Nevertheless, individuals with depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder are typically no more a threat to others than individuals without these disorders. As such, it is important to note that having a mental disorder does not automatically deem one to be dangerous and most dangerous individuals are not mentally ill. Indeed, a review of the literature (Matthias & Angermeyer, 2002) found that only a small proportion of crimes are committed by individuals with severe mental disorders, that strangers are at a lower risk of being attacked by a person with a severe mental disorder than by someone who is mentally healthy, and that elevated risks to behave violently are limited to a small number of symptom constellations. Similarly, Hiday and Burns (2010) showed that dangerousness is more the exception than the rule.

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Bridley, A., & Daffin, L. W. Jr. (2018). Understanding Abnormal Behavior. In C. Cuttler (Ed), Essentials of Abnormal Psychology. Washington State University. Retrieved from https://opentext.wsu.edu/abnormalpsychology/.

Burczycka, M. (2018). Violent victimization of Canadians with mental health-related disabilities, 2014. Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2018001/article/54977-eng.htm.

Hiday, V. A., & Burns, P. J. (2010). Mental illness and the criminal justice system. In T. L. Scheid & T. N. Brown (Eds.), A handbook for the study of mental health: Social contexts, theories, and systems (pp. 478–498). Cambridge University Press.

Matthias, C., & Angermeyer, C. (2002). Schizophrenia and violence. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 102, 63-37.

Mental Health Commission of Canada (2010). Making the case for investing in mental health in Canada. Retrieved from https://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/sites/default/files/2016-06/Investing_in_Mental_Health_FINAL_Version_ENG.pdf.

Smetanin, P., Stiff, D., Briante, C., Adair, C. E., Ahmad, S. & Khan, M. (2011). The Life and Economic Impact of Major Mental Illnesses in Canada: 2011 to 2041. RiskAnalytica, on behalf of the Mental Health Commission of Canada 2011.

Whiteford, H. A., Degenhardt, L., Rehm, J., Baxter, A. J., Ferrari, A. J., Erskine, H. E., …Vos, T. (2013). Global burden of disease attributable to mental and substance use disorders: findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet, 382(9904), 1575-1586. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61611-6.

Making a Diagnosis (The 3 D’s) – Culture and Psychology

While the concept of mental or psychological disorders is difficult to define, and no definition will ever be perfect, it is recognized as an extremely important concept and therefore psychological disorders (aka mental disorders) have been defined as a psychological dysfunction which causes distress or impaired functioning and deviates from typical or expected behavior according to societal or cultural standards. This definition includes three components (3 Ds)

  • Dysfunction
  • Distress
  • Deviance

Dysfunction includes disturbances in a person’s thinking, emotional regulation, or behavior that reflects significant dysfunction in psychological, biological, or developmental processes underlying mental functioning. In other words, dysfunction refers to a breakdown in cognition, emotion, and/or behavior. For instance, an individual experiencing the delusion that he is an omnipotent deity has a breakdown in cognition because his thought processes are not consistent with reality. An individual who is unable to experience pleasure has a breakdown in emotion. Finally, an individual who is unable to leave her home and attend work due to fear of having a panic attack is exhibiting a breakdown in behavior.

Distress can take the form of psychological or physical pain, or both at the same time. Simply put, distress refers to suffering. Alone though, distress is not sufficient enough to describe behavior as abnormal. Think about it – the loss of a loved one causes even the most “normally” functioning individual pain and suffering. An athlete who experiences a career ending injury would display distress as well. Suffering is part of life and cannot be avoided. Impairment refers to when the person experiences a disabling condition that limits the ability to engage in activities of daily living (e. g., can no longer maintain minimum standards of hygiene, pay bills) or participate in social events (e.g., attending social events), work or school. Impairment can also interfere with the ability to perform important life roles (e.g., student, caregiver or parent).

A closer examination of the word abnormal shows that it indicates a move away from what is normal, typical, or average. Deviance refers to behavior that violates social norms or cultural expectations because culture determines what is normal. When a person is said to be deviant when he or she fails to follow the stated and unstated rules of society, called social norms. As you might expect there is a lot of cultural variation in acceptable behavior.

Earlier we learned about cultural relativism and what is considered normal by a culture can change over time due to shifts in accepted values and expectations. For instance, just a few decades ago homosexuality was considered taboo in the United States and it was included as a mental disorder in the first edition of the DSM; but today, it is generally accepted. Likewise, public displays of affection do not cause a second look by most people unlike the past when these outward expressions of love were restricted to the privacy of one’s own house or bedroom. In the United States, crying is generally seen as a weakness for males but if the behavior occurs in the context of a tragedy then it is appropriate and understandable. Finally, consider that statistically deviant behavior is not necessarily negative. Cognitive genius is an example of behavior that is not the norm. Abnormality alone is not an indication of a disorder or problem.

Though not part of the DSM -5 conceptualization of what abnormal behavior is, many clinicians add a fourth D – dangerousness to this list. Dangerousness refers to when behavior represents a threat to the safety of the person or the safety of others. Individuals expressing suicidal intent, those experiencing acute paranoid ideation combined with aggressive impulses (e.g., wanting to harm people who are perceived as being out to get them), and many individuals with antisocial personality disorder may be considered dangerous. Mental health professionals (and many other professionals including researchers) have a duty to report to law enforcement when an individual expresses an intent to harm themselves or others. Individuals with depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder are typically no more a threat to others than individuals without these disorders. It is very important to remember that having a mental disorder does not automatically mean that a person is dangerous and most dangerous individuals are not mentally ill.

Psychological consequences and methods of preventing distress / Blog / Armine Voronova

March 03, 2022

When a person is pressed by negative emotions for a long time, stress passes into the next stage, into distress. With distress, a person is no longer able to deal with a negative mood, the body is so weakened that it is not able to mobilize against the disease on its own. Exhaustion occurs, which G. Selye still considers as the third stage in the development of stress. nine0003

As you know, a mild form of stress is even beneficial. It mobilizes a person, promotes development, but not distress. At this stage, dangerous changes in the psyche are already taking place, a person is not able to adapt to the proposed situation. When experts say that it is necessary to deal with stress, they mean precisely confronting distress.

A small comparison to make the essence clear: doctors recommend not to bring down the body temperature in case of colds and other diseases, if it is about 38 degrees. The body, in this case, copes with viruses on its own. But when the temperature exceeds this norm, medical intervention is already required so that there are no unnecessary complications. So with distress, one’s strength is no longer enough to cope with an alarming state. nine0003

Causes of distress

Distress can be "earned" from a strong psychological shock, or living in a constant, albeit insignificant, at first glance, stressful regime.

Psychotrauma can be the cause of distress. Moreover, people live the same situation in different ways: someone will be “hurt to the quick” and cause an emotional outburst, while someone will simply pass by without taking it to heart. The reaction of people to defeats and losses is completely different. A serious illness or death of loved ones can mobilize someone to survive this period, while the other is simply crushed by circumstances and does not have the strength to escape from the heavy captivity of psychotrauma on his own. nine0003

The root cause of the manifestation of distress may be the inability of the human psyche to adapt to the proposed realities.

People who have a low sensitivity level are more resistant to distress.

Some people have a stable mentality from birth, while others gain experience in overcoming stressful situations over the years. Composure and equanimity are developed with experience, a person, having overcome various psychological traumas, becomes restrained and more balanced.

Those people who have a higher sensitivity threshold are less resistant to distress. They are emotional, unable to control their reaction. In extreme situations, they do not give an account of their behavior, it is difficult for them to get together and resist circumstances. They do not like to leave their comfort zone, they are calmer in familiar surroundings.

The reasons for the formation of distress experts include a person's value system, his worldview and life realities. These same reasons can be the key to the reasonable elimination of stressors. nine0003

It is enough for one person to discover “signs of a terrible disease” in himself in order to fall into depression, while the other will steadfastly fight a real fatal illness without falling into a psychological hole, overcoming all signs of distress.

The most common causes of distress:

  • loss of a loved one, family member;
  • family troubles, betrayal of a partner;
  • severe illness;
  • court, imprisonment; nine0036
  • incapacity in case of injuries and other ailments;
  • bright changes in life, such as a wedding planner, a change in status;
  • long job search, dismissal, business failure;
  • lack of money;
  • constant presence next to a sick person requiring care;
  • expectation of a child, his birth;
  • sexual problems;
  • change of place of residence, study, work; nine0036
  • first steps in a new field;
  • sleep disturbance, new daily routine or work schedule, transition to a new diet;
  • a sharp rejection of established habits, including harmful ones;
  • change of habitual life realities;
  • dissatisfaction with something;
  • loss of habitual environment, frantic pace of life or forced inactivity;
  • dissatisfaction with oneself and surroundings;
  • loss of interest in life. nine0036

There are several types of distress:

  1. Emotional and psychological distress manifests itself as a person's reaction to what is happening around. Its occurrence is influenced by the accumulating problems, the emotional background, the events taking place in society, to which the individual is forced to respond. As a result, with this type of stress, a person's relationship with the environment worsens.
  2. Distress of a physiological nature is caused by the influence of negative conditions in which the individual finds himself. Another reason is the dissatisfaction of needs: loneliness, when a person does not feel protection and love, malnutrition, lack of water or other vital factors. With this type of distress, the whole body suffers, it cannot sleep normally, and disturbances in the functioning of the organs appear. It is unlikely that you will be able to cope with physiological distress on your own, even if you eliminate the root cause of the disease. Suppose a person has adjusted his diet, diets and refusal to eat - this is all in the past, but the body cannot be rebuilt momentarily, it is in a fever, distress will not just recede, it will not be possible to cope without special help. nine0036
  3. Chronic distress is perceived as something ordinary. Whatever happens around, a person accepts it as the norm, he lives in a constant stressful situation until a nervous breakdown occurs. A person can fall into a deep depression, even suicide is possible.

All three types of distress emasculate the body, they are dangerous, and the intervention of specialists is necessary to eliminate the symptoms.

Signs of distress

Distress shakes the emotional background of a person, causes a lot of sensory experiences, which are very different:

  1. In the beginning, a person has anxiety, he becomes restless, he is overcome by a feeling of fear. All of these emotions are associated with the cause of distress.
  2. Next comes the denial of manifesting emotions, the root causes of fear. The person rejects all thoughts about his problem.
  3. The person begins to realize that he has a serious problem, he admits it. At the same stage, there is a realization that he is powerless to fight on his own. He has emotional exhaustion, which a specialist will help to cope with. nine0036

Signs indicating the onset of distress:

  • fatigue;
  • irascibility;
  • aggressiveness;
  • abnormal reaction: tearfulness, panicked laughter;
  • indifference;
  • refusal to eat;
  • new hobbies;
  • indifference;
  • loss of interest in the environment and in oneself;
  • vanity;
  • anxiety; nine0036
  • nervous movements;
  • sudden forgetfulness;
  • physical disorders: various pains, increased sweating, tremor, lightheadedness, vomiting and similar manifestations;
  • speech disorders;
  • confusion of thought;
  • apathy and decreased sexual desire.

Wrong approach to the problem leads to such severe psychological problems as depression, neuroses, anxiety disorders, psychoses. nine0003

Incorrect tactics of behavior in case of distress:

  • Panic that prevents a sober look at the situation from the outside, in which the logic is turned off and the person ceases to believe in himself.

  • Aggressive behavior, self-destructive activity. Behavior that causes conflict situations, unreasonable anger.

  • Various wild manifestations, unusual for a healthy person. nine0003

  • Dependency on something.

  • Constant concentration of attention on the cause of distress, which does not allow to comprehend the ways of solving the problem.

The most correct tactic in case of distress is avoiding the conditions under which it manifested itself, or changing them in a positive direction, under which the situation may change.

Most often, distress strikes when a person is faced with conflict situations, when he cannot somehow express himself or is not satisfied with his life: there are needs, but there is no way to fulfill them. The most important thing is to find the causes of distress, decompose them and understand whether they can be overcome or change the situation in which they manifested themselves, to figure out what in this situation depends on the person himself, and what is outside his area of ​​responsibility. You can only change what you have influence over. Trying to change something that does not depend on you is pointless. nine0003

What is important to pay attention to in the prevention of distress?

  • Emotions and relaxation methods. The emotional-volitional sphere has a significant impact on the level of our productivity at work, helps to overcome the negative impact of the environment. It is important to be aware of your true feelings and emotions; recognize them and express them in a proactive way, not a reactive way. It is no secret that during the day we have many moments that can cause irritation, anger, anger, bewilderment. How to behave psychologically competently in such situations, how to learn not to suppress emotions and pretend that “everything is fine” with you, but to manage your mood? The answers to these questions can be found in the practical exercises offered in this manual. nine0036
  • Values. It often happens that we set false goals for ourselves, goals that do not correspond to our true values ​​and desires. We spend a lot of effort and energy trying to achieve success in what we do not really need. Perhaps these were not even our own goals, but they were simply imposed on us, they decided for us who we should become and how we should live. Awareness of one's life path, one's true purpose, one's place in the profession, development prospects is a very important component of the process of self-realization. nine0036
  • Creativity. In each of us there is a creative beginning, there are talents that we sometimes do not know about. We are talking about creativity as a person's desire to transform life, as a creative ability aimed at development and the search for something new. One of my clients was surprised that she had the talent to find a reasonable compromise in difficult negotiations. She believed that this quality could hardly be considered something outstanding. Yes, perhaps there is nothing special about this, but when a person knows his talents, his strengths, he can rely on them, he can apply and develop his talents, creatively transforming himself and the world around him. The author of the book “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, well-known in business education, S. Covey, speaking about the secrets of success, notes that highly effective people are distinguished by the ability to maximize their potential. As you know, the left hemisphere is mainly responsible for logical-verbal activity, and the right - for intuitive-creative. The left operates with words, the right with images. Appealing to images, metaphors, we develop our intuition, learn to find non-standard solutions in difficult situations, and think creatively. Turning to our internal resources, we are more aware of our goals, we become more confident and stronger. And most importantly, we not only imagine what we would like to become, but we take real steps to implement our plans. nine0036

However, it happens that in our life, in our professional path, we do something that does not correspond to us. This discrepancy blocks our activity, leads to demotivation, and sometimes to emotional burnout and depression.

An example from the practice of a psychologist.

In my practice there was such a case: an employee of a pharmaceutical company Svetlana turned to me as a coach. An experienced specialist who knows his business, has been working in the company for more than five years, she is valued and respected in the team. Svetlana was recently appointed head of the department, before that she had no managerial experience. The department is small - only eight people - but, nevertheless, this is a new activity for her. She is a good specialist, but not a manager, - Svetlana believes. nine0202

The most difficult thing for her at this stage is to understand how to manage her former colleagues, how to position herself correctly. “If I used to go to work with pleasure, I understood the scope of my duties and knew how to communicate with colleagues, now for me every new working day is like a hard test, when I come home in the evening, I feel like I was unloading the wagons,” she said. It would seem that a new position, career growth, salary increase should have inspired and motivated the employee, but instead of increasing efficiency and activity, the opposite effect turned out. nine0202

Stress management classes helped Svetlana take a fresh look at her professional and personal competencies and gave her the opportunity to develop such important qualities necessary for a leader as flexibility, spontaneity and openness to new experience. Until now, she was used to acting according to certain patterns and was looking for someone who would give her clear instructions on how to act in various situations. In the process of psychological work, we acquire an inner balance that creates a balance of rational and intuitive vision of various situations. nine0202

Albert Einstein remarked, "The big problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." Stress management tools expand our understanding of our capabilities, change the perspective of many life situations and suggest new solutions.

Our daily life is built on interaction and communication: we communicate with our relatives, friends, we communicate on the way to work and at work with colleagues, subordinates, superiors, we participate in negotiations. Sometimes communication can be a source of stress. nine0003

  • How can you make your communication more effective?
  • How to recognize that you are influenced by other people?
  • Why do we listen to some with pleasure, but communication with others is a burden?
  • What irritates us in communication, and what makes us a good and interesting interlocutor?
  • How to behave in a conflict situation?
  • How to learn to defend your personal boundaries?

Such questions concern many of us. Indeed, each person asks himself how to make his life more meaningful and eventful, how to ensure that our plans and goals correspond to our life goals, where can we draw strength to achieve what we want? And most importantly: what I want is really my desire, or is it imposed on me from outside. nine0003

The use of various stress management techniques allows interlocutors, employees to find a common language, the right intonation in the dialogue in order to more effectively convey information, to be convincing and enjoy communication. These methods make the communication process more flexible, creative and fun. Psychological techniques and techniques help us make decisions in difficult situations of choice, primarily based on our strengths, values ​​and our own ideas about success. Stress management is aimed at introspection and finding the source of inner strength. There are people who believe that the source of this power is in the outside world. Therefore, they look for ways to make up for the lack of energy and activity and, using other people or new circumstances. nine0003

At stress management trainings, we learn to rely on ourselves: after all, everything that a person needs is in himself.

Stress management techniques include the following components:

  • Positive thinking;
  • Ability to prioritize;
  • Appeal to the strengths of the personality;
  • Development of responsibility for one's emotional state.

Who are internals and externals? nine0003

What is assertiveness?

Appearance and self-acceptance

Abuse: recognize and fight back. From psychological violence to psychological independence

Carl Rogers Client-Centered Psychotherapy

Rational Emotive Psychotherapy by Albert Ellis. Psychologically healthy person

Distress. What is "Distress"? The concept and definition of the term "Distress" - Glossary

Glossary. Psychological dictionary.

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Distress is a negative form of stress. The famous physiologist Hans Selye at 1963 proposed to distinguish between the categories of "bad" and "good" stress, introducing the concepts of distress and eustress.

When stressful situations arise in the human body, adaptive reserves are activated. When this process is successful, stress has a beneficial effect on the body, increasing its functional reserve. However, if the immune or nervous system is not sufficiently strengthened, then stress takes on a negative form, which affects the general psychophysiological state. nine0003

Distress is characterized by fatigue, irritability, loss of sexual desire for a partner, as well as a number of individual characteristics - for example, some patients suddenly discover a change in taste preferences or laugh for no reason. Distress develops as a result of a person's subjective perception of objective circumstances, therefore, to correct it, it is necessary to change either the way of perception or circumstances.

For example, in the case when the patient is not satisfied with his work and this becomes a cause of distress, the doctor may recommend two ways to resolve the internal conflict: try to look for positive moments or change the type of activity. It is important to understand that distress is a dangerous condition for the body, which, regardless of the form of manifestation, has negative consequences. Continuous distress leads to neurosis and psychosis.

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