Stress Essay

Stress is a common factor in all of our daily lives. Learning to manage stress can be life changing and be very useful in both our personal and work environments. Stress can be caused by many different situations, such as family problems, work problems, finances, deadlines, information overload, unhealthy eating, lack of exercise, public speaking, trust issues, friendships, and so on. Stress is defined as, “an adaptive response, mediated by individual characteristics and/or psychological processes, that is a consequence of any external action, situation, or event that places special physical and/or psychological demands upon a person” (Kreitner and Kinicki, p.551). Stress triggers are different for different people. Although we would like to avoid stress, it is impossible. We need stress in our lives in order to stay alive and help us make quick decisions in life or death situations. Stress can actually be a good thing such as eustress, stress that is good or produces a positive outcome. When a person experiences stress it causes one of two reactions, fight or flight, which allows us to make the decision to either accept the situation or run away. According to Kreitner and Kinicki , “Physiologically, this stress response is a biochemical “passing gear” involving hormonal changes that mobilize the body for extraordinary demands” ( p.550). The main point is we cannot avoid stress; stress is good for us to a certain extent. Our efforts need to be aimed at managing stress and learning to live with and embrace it.

There are two basic types of stress that affect our every day lives, good and bad stress. Managing psychological stressors to optimize reward is good stress, the kind that leads to peak performance, especially at the workpla...

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...ively with their peers and managers. Some guidelines for reducing employee stress within an organization are to ensure there is two-way communication with employees; be fair and honest, act as a safety valve to allow employees to vent, project positive attitude, lighten up, plan effectively, display organizational loyalty and maintain a personal counsel, and foster a healthy working environment (Sewell).

Even though many people recognize that stress can have an impact on their health, mood, work, family, and well-being, they don’t always take action. Learning techniques to reduce stress; becoming aware of the stressors and preventing them; and engaging in routine exercise can improve the toll stress takes on your body and mental health. With the appropriate support from peers, family members, friends, and coworkers managing stress can become easier with experience.