Personality types prone to "stress"

According to a psychologist, stress is known as a natural reaction of the body for survival, but when suppression of emotions occurs, psychological pressures in the remaining hidden layers gradually become a chronic condition; A situation in which a person, instead of showing the usual symptoms by getting used to the tension, imagines that these pressures are part of his personality traits.

Psychologist Atefeh Arabi said: Stress is the state of pressure that we experience in our body, emotions, thoughts and behavior, which is the body's natural reaction to various physical and mental pressures. These pressures can originate from intrapersonal, interpersonal, occupational, social, financial, or even daily life events; For example, for many housewives, this concern may be, "What should I cook today?" be a source of stress. When we talk about stress, we need to understand that it can act as a trigger for us, so we should not think of stress as "bad" at all.

He continued: When we are stressed, the sympathetic system, which is part of the automatic nervous system, is activated in our body. This part is responsible for regulating the body's response in fight, flight, or freeze modes, and it does this by regulating heart rate, breathing rate, and pupil size. In simple words, when we are exposed to stress, we evaluate to determine why this happened, how threatening it is for us, and what resources and capabilities we have to overcome this stage.

This psychologist added: In this situation, three stages happen in the body; The first stage is "siren", when the sympathetic is activated and physical symptoms such as sweating, heart palpitations, heaviness of the head and shallow breathing appear, symptoms that are unique to each person, and at the same time psychological symptoms such as sadness or fear are activated with it.

The difference between positive and negative stress and the risk of burnout

Regarding the difference between positive and negative stress and the risk of burnout, Arabi said: The stresses we face in life can be positive or negative. When we are exposed to it, the sympathetic is activated, the heart rate increases and the whole organism of the body resists this phenomenon to fix it. The difference between acute and chronic stress is also determined in the same period of time. If we stay in this stage of resistance for a long time, we will reach exhaustion.

This psychologist continued: Stress can also be positive. For example, someone who wants to get married is still stressed, but the result is good. Conversely, when a person has to move to a much smaller house or experiences a separation, stress takes on a negative aspect.

Emphasizing that all these mechanisms have survival and growth functions for us, Arabi said: If we cannot pass this stage safely and do not have the skills to manage stress, this situation can expose us to collapse, because the hormones cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline are strongly secreted and the individual's performance decreases, so it is necessary to improve our skills.

He added: The sources of stress and the perceived stress of each person are also different, in the sense that the stress I feel in the exam situation is different from what another person experiences, and this causes the difference in our performance.

The concept of hidden stress and the reasons for its silent occurrence

According to him, hidden stress occurs when a person is under psychological pressure, but due to emotional deprivation, suppression, emotional inhibition, denial or having parents who were not supportive and did not form a secure attachment, he does not show normal and obvious stress reactions. Such a person does not show restlessness, worry, irritability, anger, crying, heart palpitations, tremors, muscle tension or sleep and appetite disorders, he may not even show headache, heartache, fatigue and loss of performance, because he is so used to these conditions that he thinks that this chronic condition is part of his personality traits and from the outside he displays a completely masked and calm and calm face.

Personality types prone to hidden stress

Enumerating vulnerable personality types, Arabi continued: Perfectionist people who are constantly afraid of making mistakes and are always under pressure to be perfect cover their stress with control and more effort. The other category is over-responsible people who are constantly busy solving their own and other people's problems and don't allow themselves to rest or get help. Also, people who have learned to suppress their emotions since childhood and are inhibited, do not express their anger, fear and discomfort and internalize psychological pressure, as a result, they may react disproportionately to the smallest spark.

He added: The other group is people who are used to stress and crisis, just like those whose house is near the airport or railway and are used to noise. For these people, long-term stress seems like a normal way of life, although their performance declines over time. Also, controlling people who try hard to control the future and behavior of others hide and suppress their stress. In addition, very busy people keep their mind away from emotions and anxieties with constant work and activity, especially in modern society where being busy means success and social class.

The difference between everyday stress and hidden stress

This psychologist pointed out: Everyday stress usually has a specific cause, but in hidden stress, the person remains in the resistance stage and has not resolved it so much that this situation has become a chronic matter, in this case, our direct perception of stress may have decreased, but the accumulation of small daily pressures has finally turned into a large amount of hidden stress.

In the end, he stated: stress is not always conscious and in many cases, it takes on a chronic and hidden state; The amount of perceived stress is different in people, and unconscious layers, birth order, parents' parenting style, attachment style, and the amount of individual resources and skills also play a significant role in its formation and intensity.