Stress

"There's only one way of dealing with stress - that's to identify the cause and
then work to reduce or eliminate that cause. I believe bullying is the main,
but least recognised, cause of stress in the workplace today."
Tim Field
"Poor management is a major cause of stress."
Dr Peter Graham, Head of Health Directorate, UK Health & Safety Executive,
24 September 1998

Stress comes in two forms: positive and negative:
Positive stress (or eustress) is the result of competent management and
mature leadership where everyone works together and everyone is valued
and supported. Positive stress enhances well-being and can be harnessed to
enhance performance and fuel achievement.
Negative stress (or distress) is the result of a bullying climate where threat,
coercion and fear substitute for non-existent management skills. Employees
have to work twice as hard to achieve half as much to compensate for the
dysfunctional and inefficient management. Negative stress diminishes quality
of life and causes injury to health resulting in the symptoms of ill-health
described on this page. When people use the word "stress" on its own, they
usually mean "negative stress".
Stress plays havoc with the body's immune system.
Symptoms
The symptoms of stress seem to cover more pages of every book published
on the subject.
Stress caused by bullying results in these symptoms (and more):

main symptoms - stress, anxiety, sleeplessness, fatigue (including
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - see below), trauma
physical symptoms - reduced immunity to infection leading to frequent
colds, coughs, flu, glandular fever, etc (especially on days off, e.g.
weekends and holidays), aches & pains (with no clear cause - this lack
of attributability suggests stress as the cause - sometimes diagnosed
as fibromyalgia), back pain, chest pains and angina, high blood
pressure, headaches and migraines, sweating, palpitations, trembling,
hormonal problems (disturbed menstrual cycle, dysmenorrhoea, loss
of libido, impotence), physical numbness (especially in toes, fingers,
and lips), emotional numbness (including anhedonia, an inability to
feel joy and love), irritable bowel syndrome or IBS, paruresis (shy
bladder syndrome), thyroid problems, petit mal seizures, skin
irritations and skin disorders (e.g. athlete's foot, eczema, psoriasis,
shingles, internal and external ulcers, urticaria), loss of appetite
(although a few people react by overeating), excessive or abnormal
thirst, waking up more tired than when you went to bed, etc
psychological symptoms - panic attacks, reactive depression (which
some people describe as Adjustment Disorder with depressed mood),
thoughts of suicide, stress breakdown (this is a psychiatric injury, not
a mental illness), forgetfulness, impoverished or intermittently
functioning memory, poor concentration, flashbacks and replays,
excessive guilt, disbelief and confusion and bewilderment ("why me?" -
click here for the answer), an unusual degree of fear, sense of
isolation, insecurity, desperation, etc; one experiences acute anxiety
at the prospect of meeting the bully or visiting the location where the
bullying took place, or at the thought of touching the paperwork
associated with the case; one is unable to attend disciplinary meetings
and may vomit before, during or after the meeting, sometimes at the
thought of the meeting or on receiving a threatening letter insisting
one attends (these are PTSD diagnostic criteria B4 and B5)
behavioural symptoms - tearfulness, irritability, angry outbursts,
obsessiveness (the experience takes over your life), hyper vigilance
(feels like but is not paranoia), hypersensitivity (almost every remark
or action is perceived as critical even when it is not), sullenness (a
sign the inner psyche has been damaged), mood swings, withdrawal,
indecision, loss of humour, hyperawareness (acute awareness of time,
seasons, distance travelled), excessive biting, teeth grinding, picking,
scratching or tics, increased reliance on drugs (tannin, caffeine,
nicotine, alcohol, sleeping tablets, tranquillisers, antidepressants,
other substances), comfort spending (and consequent financial
problems), phobias (especially agoraphobia), etc
effects on personality - shattered self-confidence and self-esteem, low
self-image, loss of self-worth and self-love
Other symptoms and disorders reported include sleep disorder, bipolar
disorder, mood disorder, eating disorder, anxiety disorder, panic disorder,
skin disorder.
The traumatising effect of bullying results in the target being unable to state clearly what is happening to them and who is responsible; the target may be so traumatised that they are unable to articulate their experience for a year or more after the event. This often frustrates or prevents legal action: see 12-week tribunal application limit and psychological reactivity of PTSD.
Bullying results in strong feelings of fear, shame, embarrassment, and guilt, which are encouraged by the bully to keep their target quiet. This is how all abusers (including child sex abusers) silence their targets.
Work colleagues often withdraw their support and then join in with the
bullying, which increases the stress and consequent psychiatric injury
Poor concentration, impaired memory, and fatigue are common and early
signs of excessive stress. These have significant Health & Safety implications if the employee drives a vehicle, operates machinery, or is responsible for the care or welfare of others as part of their duties. RoSPA estimate that in the UK at least 1000 road deaths each year involve people for whom driving is part of their job. Fatigue is a major factor.
Fight or flight: the stress response
The fight or flight mechanism, or stress response, is designed for responding to physical danger (e.g. being about to be attacked by a sabre-toothed tiger) but today is more likely to be activated by a psychological danger (e.g. bullying at work, harassment, stalking, abuse) for which it was not designed.
The stress response can also be activated by anticipation of low-probability or long-term or non-life-threatening events such as financial problems (clinching the next big deal, how to pay the mortgage next month, wondering when the next benefit cheque will arrive), motorway traffic jams, job security, picking up a parking ticket for a car park overstay, etc.

Different people respond with different degrees of stress to different
stressors, a fact which has dogged research. However, there are at

least four factors which determine the degree to which one will

feel stressed:

control: a person feels stressed to the extent to which they perceive
they are not in control of the stressor; at work, employees have no
control over their management
predictability: a person feels stressed to the extent to which they are
unable to predict the behaviour or occurrence of the stressor (bullies
are notoriously unpredictable in their behaviour)
expectation: a person feels stressed to the extent to which they
perceive their circumstances are not improving and will not improve (a
bullying situation almost always gets worse, especially as one gains
insight into the cause)
support: a person feels stressed to the extent to which they lack
support systems, including work colleagues, management, personnel,
union, partner, family, friends, colleagues, persons in authority, official
bodies, professionals, and the law