Stress and Personality

Hello guys, a big thank you to those who read the last post on Suicidal Ideation, and to those who shared and made comments and suggestions. You are simply the best! It's another week when we talk about our mental health issues and how we can simply deal with them. As you know and for those who didn't read it, last week I talked about suicidal ideation/thoughts and how our thought process is actually the beginning of suicidal attempts or suicide in itself. Aaron Becks called it 'Suicide Mode', which can become activated by cognitive (thoughts) - affective (emotions) -
motivational (actions) - and finally behavioral systems. Therefore a cognitive restructuring using CBT would go a long way in helping people with suicidal thoughts.

Today I would be discussing a very important topic that cuts across board, at some point in time we all must experienced it, at work, school, family, religious places, etc. Stress is a major trigger for suicidal crisis and other psychopathological issues as far as I know. The word "Stress" is a common phenomenon in today's world. We come in contact with different stressors in our day to day living. From simply been held up in a traffic, to changing or losing a job or accommodation, right to losing a loved one, or struggling with an addiction issue, being in an abusive relationship or etc. Therefore I would be right to say that we continually live to face stress and try to overcome them. But if it is not well dealt with can possibly lead to Psychological Distress.

Psychological Stress is described as an unpleasant feeling or emotional discomfort that impact or threatens the physical, mental and social functioning of an individual. This means that some people would face these discomforts but can deal with it in such a way that it won't disrupt their functioning. Using various coping mechanisms, Ego defenses or stress management that has been learnt from a trained mental health practitioner. While some would face the same and breakdown. Individual differences!

Our personalities goes a long way in telling how we deal with stressors that we encounter on a daily basis. Personality is a broad concept that we can't exhaust here but one thing I want you to know is that our personality which is our individual unique qualities that differentiates us from others is formed by two factors. The Genetic factor and the Environmental factor (i.e. the biosocial model). We are sometimes prone to naturally display or act in ways our parents would do if found in the same situation. However, our environment (social interaction) has a way of shaping the way we think and how we act also. Hence, parents should pay much attention on the environmental influence because of the impact on their children's behavior.

People who are highly emotionally sensitive (neuroticism) are more irritable, read a lot of meaning to everything, are more prone to psychological distresses, those with low self esteem and are totally not open to experiences are also in that category as well. This is why I always talk about knowing your personality.

Go for psychological assessment so you know what you are capable of doing and can easily seek help when faced with stressors that you are not built for. And also to help you develop coping strategies to increase your resilience level.

I would finally be listing a list of symptoms that are indicators that one is already distressed. They are weight gain, anger management problems, obsessive thoughts or compulsions, physical symptoms not explained by a medical condition, decreased pleasure in sexual activities, anxiety, delusion, hallucination, believing that others are hearing your thoughts, depression, reckless acts, believing that your thoughts are not your own, strange or unusual behavior etc. If you are experiencing any four of those then you should not wait any longer.

Talk to an Expert!
Talk to a Psychologist!

That would be all for today. Happy Eid Mubarak to all my Muslim friends. Cheers!