Have you ever felt overwhelmed? Continuous worrying about a certain situation you are facing? Well, these are a few signs of stress. Stress is the physiological and psychological response that either threatens or challenges a person’s situation to adapt or adjust to it. There is a great amount of evidence shown that a prolonged amount of stress can cause health issues. The way the body functions when stressed is what causes health problems to arise. Stress works differently among people and many models, research and articles gives us a closer look into the health and stress perception.
Researchers and practitioners turn to a model that concentrations on “health as well as illness and holds that both are determined by a combinations of biological, psychological, and social factors” (Wood, Boyd, 2008, pg.324), known as the Biopsychosocial model. Biological factors that promote health include a healthy lifestyle, exercise, diet and relaxation, while factors that initiate illness is lack of exercise and poor diet. The Psychological factors for health is stress management, positive thoughts and self-regulations, on the other hand factors that cause illness is depression, negative thoughts, worrying and anxiety. Social factors also play a role in health such as participating in social groups while loneliness and poverty can cause illness. A health psychologist participates with people to assist them in “health, illness and recovery”(Wood, Boyd, 2008, pg.324) to reduce future health encounters.
The sympathetic nervous system activates when someone is going through stress. Our body starts to prepare itself either to resist or escape a situation known as the flight-or-fight response. For example, if it is late at night and you are walki...
... middle of paper ...
... “prolonged cognitive representations of stressors” (Segerstrom, O’Connor, 2012, p.131). Coping with stress decreases the chance of a health issues arising.
Research shows that conscientiousness has the ability to moderate stress related changes in “health behaviors such that individuals low in conscientiousness respond more negatively to stressful encounters compared to high conscientious individuals.” (Segerstrom, O’Connor, 2012, p. 131). Everyone is unique in there own way and the way stress is handled is different with everyone. Multilevel methods in stress research have taken place for many years now and shows that “fluctuations in a persons stressful daily hassles are important in understanding stress-outcome processes” (Segerstrom, O’Connor, 2012, p. 134). Stressful events impact somatic health consequences mainly because people continue to worry about them.
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...
Therefore, prolonged stress included adverse psychological and physical health effects as well as the increased risk of premature death (Denollet, J., et al.
Jones, F, Bright, J, Clow, A (2001). Stress: myth, theory and research. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. p. 10.
1. Summary: From small incidences, we can distinguish two types of people: the ones who sigh in frustration out of small mistakes and those who promptly deal with them without uttering any more than a single complaint or sigh. According to Michael D. Robinson(PHD at North Dakota State University), how we cope with these most dull incidents can reveal a lot about us as humans and our temperaments. In fact, this small deviation in behavior can prove detrimental to our health long term. Just as significantly stressful events can cause stress hormones to flood throughout our body, these small incidents can harm us according to Nancy Nicolson(associate professor of psychiatry and psychology at Maastricht University). Furthermore, Nicolson points to a 10-15% increase in cortisol levels for such small annoyances, which may be small compared to the 100% increase that we usually experience from greatly stressful events such as tests, but when accumulated over time, can lead to a bad combined effect. Carmen Sandi further states that feeling chronically stressed can weaken the immune system and increase heart disease. Rosalind S. Dorlen adds on, claiming that mental strategies can be practiced to help us exercise the brain region responsible for reasoning as long as we train ourselves to deal with this persistent tissue. Next, the article lists 5 signs of stress and how to deal with them. Often, we feel inconvenienced about a situation such as when a bus comes late and view our waiting of it as a “waste of time”. Perhaps, Dorlen concludes, we should try to see why the bus may have been late and take the issue from their perspective such as a maj...
In the past thirty years there have been a significant number of studies done to establish a connection between psychological stress and the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD refers to the negative change towards the normal process of the heart and blood vessel system (What Is Cardiovascular Disease (Heart Disease)?, online). Psychological stress is defined, but not limited to being a demanding condition in which the normal behavioral conditions are exceeded thus overwhelming the behavioral resources of the organism (Kamarck, 2012). In the world today it has been shown that the impacts of psychological, social, and environmental stressors from daily lives are increasing the physical well being of individuals. Two different types of stressors can attain cardiovascular responses: "acute major life stressors and chronic exposure to continuing stressors" (Dimsdale, 2008). A stressor is any condition which causes stress on an individual. One may be exposed to acute stressors during periods of intense stress that are not regular to one’s lifestyle. Those who are exposed to constant chronic stressors are at an increased risk for hypertension, atherosclerosis, and stroke (Hojt, online). The increased levels of psychological stress present in individuals lives is providing for alarm due to the direct correlation it has with risk for cardiovascular disease.
This model believes that an individual may be free from disease or physical injury however social factors that surrounds a person will determine their wellbeing. In the social dimension of health a person has to be able to interact with people, such as friends and family. According to Antonia C. Lyons and Kerry Chamberlain (2006) Health Psychology a Critical introduction ‘studies have demonstrated an association between what is called social integration and physical health, including mortality rates’. The skill to be able to build healthy relationships may give an individual a positive self-image. Poor social skills may mean that an individual may become isolated or stressed. If an individual becomes stressed and isolated they will be free of disease as they will be physically and mentally fit, however the stress will contribute to the health status of the individual. According to Charles L. Sheridan and Sally A. Radmacher (1992) Health psychology challenging the biomedical model ‘attributes like strength, health and attractiveness can be helpful in coping with
Because Stress can cause widespread damages to the body, it’s vital for one to know his/her limit. But how much is too much? This really depends on the people who deal with it; it differs from person to person. Some people favors high level of stress and seem to thrive on the excitement and challenges it brings. People’s ability to tolerate stress depends on many factors, including the health of the relationships they are in, the general outlook appearance of their life, their emotional intelligence, and family genetics. (Help Guide)
Despite that many don 't realize the dangers, stress is one of the most significant problems of modern times, causing serious problems on physical and mental health. Stress symptoms may be affecting a patients health, even though a doctor may not realize it. Don 't assume that an illness is to blame for that excruciating headache or your sleep deprivation. Let 's face it, everyone copes with stress. Sometimes stress is in our favor, but other times it could feel like stress is taking over. " Stress is a normal physical response your body uses to protect itself from challenges life throws at it each day"(Stress and Health: How Stress Affects Your Health) Stress affects everyone differently, so it 's important to understand what may be causing
Many people think of stress as a simple problem. In reality however, stress is complex and often misunderstood. We all know that stress is the body’s reaction to any demand on it. Perceptions of events, whether positive or negative, activate stress. It is, therefore, a highly individual affair. What is stressful to ‘X’ may not be so to another. But it is fairly easy to conclude that everyone lives under a certain amount of stress. In fact, the only people without stress are dead. At the same time it is certainly wrong to conclude that stress is always bad. Mild stress may improve the productivity. It may force people to focus more sharply on the problem and produce solutions. But if stress is severe and persist for long periods of time, it can be harmful. Stress can be disruptive to an individual as any
Stress is defined in the dictionary as “state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life”. Everyone encounters stress in their life caused by many different variables in life and we all cope with in different ways. The way one copes with the stress is how it can affect our body. Some take to working out, eating healthy, take breaks from what is stressing you out and getting plenty of sleep which are good ways to cope with it. Some take to other coping mechanisms that are not very great for the body. Some examples are stress eating, abuse of drugs and alcohol, bottling up the stress, and depression. These bad methods can cause serious damage to one’s health on the body.
When people think of the term health most of the time people think of it in terms of the physical aspect. But, really the term health is made up from several different terms such as class, race, gender, education, and income which can all affect a person 's health in many different ways. A person 's health can be affected positively and negatively because of different social determinants.
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.
Mental health refers to the state of individuals psychologically, emotionally and socially. Mental health affects a person’s emotions, feelings, thoughts, and sections when exposed to different situations. Furthermore, mental health is responsible for a person’s reaction to stress and other social conditions. Generally, mental health affects how a person relates to others and their ability to understand and interact with them. Therefore, problems that affect a person’s mental health affect the abilities to socialize, their feelings, moods, reaction to situations. The person experiencing mental health problem may portray different behaviors when confronted with different issues. Mental health issues have several
Stress is defined as “any circumstances that threaten or are perceived to threaten one’s well-being and thereby tax one’s coping abilities” (Weiten & Lloyd, 2006, p. 72). Stress is a natural event that exists literally in all areas of one’s life. It can be embedded in the environment, culture, or perception of an event or idea. Stress is a constant burden, and can be detrimental to one’s physical and mental health. However stress can also provide beneficial effects; it can satisfy one’s need for stimulation and challenge, promote personal growth, and can provide an individual with the tools to cope with, and be less affected by tomorrow’s stress (Weiten & Lloyd, 2006, p. 93).
First, stress is defined as an unpleasant state of emotional and physiological arousal that people experience in situations that they perceive as dangerous or threatening to their well being (Patel, 14). Stress is a universal feeling to everyone but the word stress means different things to different people. Some people define stress as events or situations that cause them to feel tension, pressure or negative emotions such as anxiety or anger (Patel, 15). Other people may view stress as a process involving a person’s interpretation and response to a threatening event. In any case, stress has many facets of how one perceives and responds to the certain predicament that is ailing them.