STRESS INJURIES
So what is a stress injury? It can range from sleep disturbances to anxiety to a feeling of being out of control. The responder stress continuum, similar to GAR, ranges from green to red. The goal is to stay in the green and yellow. This means that there is mild stress. In these stages people can still interact with others in meaningful ways, anxiety and stress isn't inhibiting daily life.
But as stress continues and isn’t mitigated it can cause individuals to move into the orange. People in this stage are in a state of near constant hyper-anxiety, this is when stress injury formations start forming. The anxiety and stress is now causing individuals to no longer do all the things they love, some people in this stage start saying things like “I usta go hang out with friends at the gym but now I just can’t seem to do it." Or "I usta go skiing with folks but now I just have a hard time being around people or finding the motivation.” This is the stage when it is really important to start getting help, if not addressed then you can move into the red. In the red stage people can start feeling hopeless, depressed, and constantly on edge. It is nearly impossible to get out of this stage on your own, professional help should be sought out.
Most of us cycle through green and yellow, this whole continuum can be a cycle though. We go through periods of high and low stress and even if you get into the red it doesn’t mean you can’t come back down to green. If you're feeling like you may be in the high yellow or orange, reach out to your support network and definitely consider to reaching out to the Care Team.