Stress: Key Q and A

A: You should seek care or crisis intervention immediately. These types of thoughts are more indicative of a depressive disorder than stress, but your health care professional can assess your situation, give you a diagnosis and recommend a course of treatment.

Q: What causes stress?

A: What causes a person to experience stress is different for different people; what may be one person's stressor can be an exciting motivator to another person. However, this doesn't mean one person is weak and the other is strong.

Some common causes of stress are changes in your life like marriage, divorce, a new job or the birth of a child; trauma or crises, like illnesses, death of a loved one or a traumatic event like a burglary; excessive demands on you and your time; conflicts or unpleasant people; small daily hassles; barriers that prevent you from reaching your goals; feeling little control over your life; and boring or lonely work.

Q: Sometimes when I feel stressed out, I feel a pain or tightness in my chest. What is this and what should I do?

A: You need to seek care immediately to rule out heart disease or to begin treatment for any heart-related illness you might have. While you might not have a physical illness, you do need to have this symptom diagnosed. If you don't have a serious illness - rather the stress in your life is causing this symptom - you need to address this issue so your health doesn't deteriorate further.