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Stress definition essay
Stress definition essay
Stress definition essay
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In the book “The Science of Mental Health”, the author defines stress as an environmental, or psychological demand of an individual that the brain interprets as a challenge. In regards to behavioral response to stress, the sympathetic nervous system is activated, which moderates the flight-or-fight response of the body. This response leads to increased heart rate and blood pressure, and redirects the blood to the muscles which is a result of the release of epinephrine (adrenaline). When a person is stressed, significant signals are produced from emotion-processing regions of the brain, such as the amygdala, which contain the gray matter that produces neurons for communication in the brain. If a person is chronically stressed, gray matter is
Everyone everywhere has experienced stress with something they have dealt with in life. Whether it is school, paying bills, managing a busy schedule or work, stress affects everyone. Although everyone experiences stress, many people don’t actually know what stress is. Stress is the physical response of the body to harmful situations that threaten someone’s well being. When someone says “stress”, the word is automatically associated with a negative effect on people but small doses of stress can benefit a person, if used to correctly. Everyone’s stress level is different and the amount of stress that can be handled varies from person to person but a stress overload will not benefit anyone. “When you feel threatened, a chemical reaction occurs in your body to allow you to act in a way to prevent injury” (“Stress Management Health Center”). The chemical that is released when stressed is known as cortisol, also known a stress hormone. “Cortisol is like a long-term form of adrenaline, produced in the adrenal gland when the body is under pressure” (“The Effects of Stress on Your Reproductive Health and Fertility”). Adrenaline is also released to send the body into, what is known as, emergency action (“Stress Symptoms, Signs and Causes”). This emergency action speeds up reactions preformed by the body and the mind. This is a way of protecting the body. While in emergency action, this stress caused by threatening situations can save your life. In emergency situations, you are given “extra strength to defend yourself, for example, or spurring you to slam on your brakes to avoid a car accident” (“Stress Management Health Center”). Signs of being in this emergency action are a racing heart, blood pressure rises, quickening of breath and tigh...
After taking this class, it would be impossible to see things, specially people or myself, the same way. Whether or not the intention of the class is to provide self-improvement information, it would be impossible for the student to ignore the issues, disorders, etc., identified throughout this fast-paced plethora of information. Of course what the student decides to retains is obviously subjective; which lead us to the application of the stress and health profiles. After the completion of the scales provided, and the grading associated, it would be hard not to realize how we can better our lives, if we make minor adjustments in our way of life. I for one, personalized a large part of this information, something I probably would not have been able to do, at least at the same level, back when I was a young adult.
The amygdala is where all the information is gathered from all our senses. It requests all the stress hormones to be released from the hippocampus or the hypothalamus, the pituitary and the adrenal glands. This gets the body ready for either flight, freeze or fight mode (Rosenthal, 2015). These glands releases noradrenaline, epinephrine, cortisone and glucose which gets pumped into your limbs making you ready to fight or run away from the situation (Seahorn, 2016). The increase in stress hormones interferes with the body to regulate itself and the nervous systems remains highly activated leading to the body being fatigue (Rosenthal, 2015).
In the 2008 National Geographic documentary Stress, Robert Sapolsky and other scientists explain the deadly consequences of prolonged stress. “If you’re a normal mammal,” Sapolsky says, “what stress is about is three minutes of screaming terror on the savannah, after which either it’s over with or you’re over with.” During those three minutes of terror the body responds to imminent danger by deploying stress hormones that stimulate the heart rate and blood pressure while inhibiting other functions, like digestion, growth and reproduction.
Stress means different things to different people and stress effects people in different ways. Some people think stress is something that happens to them such as an injury or a promotion and others think that stress is what happens to our mind, body and behaviors in response to an event. While stress does involve events and how one responds to them these are not the critical factors, but our thoughts about the situation in which we are involved are the critical factors. Essentially, stress exists whenever homeostasis is disturbed or cannot be maintained (Stress and the Social System Course Guide, 2013). Homeostasis refers to the body's ability to keep the internal chemical and physical environments constant. As your body begins to react to stress several changes occur. These changes include increased heart rate, blood pressure and secretion of stimulatory hormones. Ones body prepares itself in stressful situations to either stand ground and fight or to flee from the situation. Walter Cannon called this stressful reaction the fight-or-flight response (Greenberg, 2012).
According to the American Institute of Stress, stress can be defined as an individual’s response, physical, mental or emotional, to an event that causes a demand for change (Selye, 1936). For athletes, that demand for change can be caused by an injury, which ultimately can have a significant impact on overall stress levels. While a physical injury can cause psychological stress, mental trauma can similarly affect an athlete physically. An athlete’s psychological stability has a great affect on an athlete’s susceptibility to pain and can alter the response to and recovery from an injury (Ahern, 1997).
Pressure turns into stress when individuals feel they are unable to cope with the situation. People have different ways of reacting to stress, so a situation that feels stressful to one person may be a positive challenge to someone else. Many of life’s demands can cause stress such as work, relationships and financial issues. When individuals feel stressed, it can obstruct them from dealing with demands, or can affect everything an individual does (Choices, 2016d). Stress can have a big impact both emotionally and physically. There are two ways people can portray signs of stress, psychological and physiological. Stress can affect how individuals feel, think, behave and how the body works. Psychological signs of stress can include: irritation, frustration, confusion, forgetfulness, anxiety, bad habits, headaches, behavioural signs of stress which can include avoiding others or decreased contact with family or friends and depression. Physiological signs of stress can include: heart palpitations, inflammation, insomnia physical tension, headaches and digestive problems. These stress hormones are released to enable an individual to deal with pressure or threat of "fight or flight" response. The theorist Walter Cannon 1920 developed the fight or flight response also known as ‘acute stress response.’ Stress is a biological and psychological response experienced when faced with a threat that people do not have the resources to deal with. The flight or flight response is a surge of hormone; adrenaline which is produced by glands located in the kidneys, which are released into the bloodstream. It is the response of the sympathetic nervous system to a stressful event and therefore, preparing the body to fight or flee. This can include an increased metabolism and heart rate, increase blood flow to the brain and muscles, erect hairs, raised sugar levels,
"Stress is a natural physical and mental reaction to both good and bad experiences which can be beneficial to your health and safety." (8 Ways Stress Is More Dangerous Than You Think) Everyone 's body responds to stress by releasing hormones, also, you brain receives more oxygen. Stress starts to occur when we become worried about a task or responsibilities we face. Major stress is called chronic stress. It can cause symptoms that can affect your health in a larger way. Some people may say that they succeed more under stress, but sadly, that’s rarely the case. Research has shown that "stress makes a person more likely to make mistakes" (Stress Symptoms, Signs, & Causes). For most people, stress is extremely normal for them that they don 't see it as anything but ordinary. However, stress can motivate someone while under pressure and even get you through a tough or dangerous
Kumar, Anil, Puneet Rinwa, Gurleen Kaur, and Lalit Machawal. "Stress: Neurobiology, consequences, and management." Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences, 2013: 1-7.
The term “stress” has multiple meanings. As Richard Lazarus stated in his 1966 book “Psycho...
Stress is something that everyone has to deal with in life, whether it is good or bad stress. Stress management techniques are a great way to deal with stress. Some of the stress management techniques that I learned from this course are prioritization, scheduling, and execution. Using these techniques has effectively helped me deal with my own stress. When it comes to dealing with stress I still have many strengths and weaknesses that I will explain. Some stressors I have in my life that I will discuss are psychointrapersonal, social, life events, and daily hassles. Next, I will give my opinion on my post-course survey, and compare and contrast it to my pre-course survey scores. Finally, I will explain my last goals for this stress management course.
There is something that everyone in this world tends to encounter; stress is that thing. For most people stress is an everyday thing. For others it can be just an occurrence from time to time. It can also affect our personal relationships without even us realizing that it was the main issue. Stress is “a person’s response to events that are threatening or challenging” (Feldman, 2010). Since there are many different type of stressors, they can be places in different categories. Stressors can be categorized as cataclysmic events, personal stressors, or even as background stressors (“daily hassles”). Though no matter what type of stress one has, there is always a way to cope to get through it and keep it from harming our relationships. Even if it is an everyday occurrence or a once in a while occurrence.
Stress is the combination of psychological, physiological, and behavioral reactions that people have in response to events that threaten or challenge them. Stress can be good or bad. Sometimes, stress is helpful, providing people with the extra energy or alertness they need. Stress could give a runner the edge he or she needs to persevere in a marathon, for example. This good kind of stress is called eustress. Unfortunately, stress is often not helpful and can even be harmful when not managed effectively. Stress could make a salesperson buckle under the pressure while trying to make a sales pitch at an important business meeting, for example. Moreover, stress can increase the risk of developing health problems, such as cardiovascular disease and anxiety disorders. This bad kind of stress is called distress, the kind of stress that people usually are referring to when they use the word stress.
During this response certain hormones are released, which speed the heart rate, slow digestion, and reroute blood flow, in order to elicit the desired response of fight or flight. The behavioral response to stress involves coping. “Coping refers to active efforts to master, reduce, or tolerate the demands created by stress” (Weiten & Lloyd, 2006, pp.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Stress is an ongoing dilemma that occurs in each and everyone’s life. It is a factor that is undoubtedly a part of daily living. Due to the trivial problems that occur in people’s daily lives massive amounts of stress can arise. People perceive and manage stress in many different ways. The causes and effects of stress are numerous and one’s ability to manage stress is vital in maintaining healthy living.