Psychological Factors of Stress

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The purpose of this essay is to apply psychological factors of stress to Sarah’s case study. Sarah is a 23 year old single parent who has suffered from arthritis since the age of 8 years old; due to this condition she has periods of pain that fluctuates leading to mobility problems. Sarah receives support from her mother and her friend to help care for her daughter when she has poor mobility. Sarah also has issues with her estranged boyfriend over visiting rights. Sarah is in receipt of welfare benefits which are under threat due to new welfare reforms. Sarah has been referred to mental health nursing as she is suffering from depression, due to life events this may have been caused by stress. The definition of stress that I have chosen to use is “Stress occurs when a person perceives that the demands of an external situation are beyond his or her perceived ability to cope with them” (Lazarus, 1966). Too much or on-going stress can lead to physical and emotional problems to our well-being. The reason this happens is because the body releases hormones called cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline into the bodies blood stream causing the fight or flight response this causes the body to get ready to deal with the danger or threat (stressor). If the stressor continues the body remains to release these hormones causing other problems to the body, such as high blood pressure and this happens when too much adrenaline is released through the blood stream. Continued stress then leads to further complications and in such cases disease and chronic illness begin to manifest including mental illness leading to anxiety and depression. A scientist called Hans Selye introduced the General... ... middle of paper ... ... Works Cited Dr Coleman V (1993). A Consultation with Dr Vernon Coleman, Stress and Relaxation, Hamlyn: Reed International Books Limited, p68-88 Friedman M, Rosenman R.H (1990), Modifying Type A Behavioural Pattern; A personal overview. Journal of Social Behaviour and Personality, 5, 1-24. Holmes, T.H, and Rahe, R.H, (1967). The Social Readjustment Scale. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 1 (11), 213-18 Lazarus, R.S, and Folkman, S, (1984). Appraisal and Coping. New York: Springer, 18-25 Lazarus (1982) http://www.psypress.co.uk/ek5/resources/pdf/chap18.pdf?oo=420.cognitiveappraisal,21st 21st November 2013 Selye,H. (1956). The Stress of Life. New York, NY: McGrawHill APA: Selye’s Theory: General Adaptation Syndrome)-Current Nursing.(n.d) retrieved from http://www.currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/selye%27_stress_theory.html

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