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Chapter 37 stress and coping
Effect of stress on health
Chapter 37 stress and coping
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Modern life is full of hassles, deadlines, frustrations, and demands. For many people, stress is so common that it has become a way of life. Stress is essentially an upset of a person's psychological balance. It can be due anything from internal and external environment which affects our physical and psychological balance. It usually requires action to restore back to the normal state. Stress is what keeps us on our toes during a presentation at work, sharpens your concentration, or drives you to study for an exam when you'd rather be watching TV.
But beyond a certain point, stress stops being helpful and starts causing major damage to your health, your mood, your productivity, your relationships, and your quality of life. The Transactional Model of Stress and Coping is useful for health education, health promotion and disease prevention. Stress does not affect all people equally, but stress can lead to illness and negative experiences. Coping with stress is therefore an important factor.
The illness experience, medical treatment, a diagnosis of illness, and fear of developing an il...
The term ‘stress’ was generally thought to have been a concept created by Robert Hooke in the 17th century. He worked on the design of physical structures, such as bridges; his concept of stress came from how much pressure a structure could withstand. However, Lazarus (1993) pointed out that the term ‘stress’ has been used as far back as the 14th century, when it meant hardship or adversity. Back then it referred to the external stressor, such as the death of a spouse or financial worry; in the 20th century, there are many different schools of thought on this area. Hans Selye (1956), brought together the work of Cannon and Bernard and devised a comprehensive system of physiological stress; which he termed the ‘General Adaptation Syndrome’, and is a 3-stage process. He theorised that a certain level of stress called ‘eustress’ (Cox, 1978) could actually be beneficial to our overall performance. Later In 1976, Cox & Mackay devised another model called the ‘Transactional model’. This model takes into account the individual differences in the perception of the amount of stress experienced by the person. The main difference between these two models is that Selye’s model only accounts for the physiological side of stress, whereas Cox’s model takes into account both the physiological and psychological aspects of stress. Therefore, both models will have slight similarities and differences in their explanation for how stress occurs in individuals, which is the main focus of this essay.
Stress, as defined as a reaction to a stimulus that breaks our physical and mental harmony, is ubiquitous. However, stress has two sides – the bad and the good, in which the latter is mostly overlooked as most people suffer from the affliction of the former.
Human bodies that are being continually exposed to stress can develop widespread positive as well as negative effects in terms of physical, social, and emotional conditions. Due to the fact that stress can bring broadened effects to human body, it is vital to learn proper stress management techniques. By learning how to properly avoid being stressed will help us stay away from serious and chronic diseases and illness.
Stress can come from any event or thought that makes us feel frustrated, angry, or nervous. All of us experience stress and usually cope with it well. Stress is an omnipresent part of life and is a reaction to external stimuli that disturb our physical or mental equilibrium. It is a system in our body that helps us to deal with real danger and / or perform at our best. Any event or happening that induces stress is called stressor.
Stress has various effects on the body, both psychological and physiological. Stress can have positive effects on the body and can be beneficial, but frequent stress will eventually cause negative effects on the body.
"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
“All of us have a personal relationship with stress, but few of us know how it affects us.” In the film “Stress- Portrait of a Killer” by National Geographic, Robert Sapolsky is researching baboon’s to find a link in stress and potential health risks in humans, Carol Shively is also researching macaques for that reason. Sapolsky is an american neuroendocrinologist that went to Africa “on a hunch” to study non-human subjects to test his theory, this experiment actually got Robert Sapolsky “MacArthur Foundations Genius Fellowship”. He did this by darting the baboons with anesthetic to put them to sleep, to make for easier blood samples. In the samples Sapolsky is measuring the levels of stress hormones found in the blood, he devoted thirty years of his life to this study with the help of his wife Lisa Sapolsky. This experiment relates to sociologic analysis, because Sapolsky’s study happens to draw a conclusion between economic activities and how it genuinely affects the quality of life. Some of the sociological themes we’ll be discussing are how “stress impacts our bodies and how our social standing can make us more or less susceptible”.
Life is full of obstacles and has shown people that stress is very common and a part of life. When you are running around all the time like you are in an emergency mode, your body will pay the price. What some people do not know is that stress can actually be helpful and can cause a positive effect on you. It can serve as a motivation and be useful under pressure. Without stress, our lives would be boring and pointless.
What is stress? Stress is state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances. Stress can from depression, work, and much more. One doctor says, “Stress is a silent disease.”
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.
Stress is in our everyday lives. We allow things such as the way we live, school, work, family, relationships etc to stress us out. Some people deal with stress way different from others. Some may know how to cope with stress better than others. We allow stress to take a major toll over our lives when we are suppose to fight it, but a lot of people can’t do that. Stress makes you act and do things that are not like yourself. Stress is a negative word; it comes in all different shapes and forms.
People are always at risk when it comes to stress because it is something they deal with on daily basis. Stress can be defined as a psychological or a physiological reaction that happens when an individual comes in contact with a stressful event. When people think of stress they tend to think that stress is only bad meanwhile there can be a good reactions when it comes to stress. People need a certain amount of stress to work well and have the energy and willpower to achieve goals that they have set up for themselves. If life was not stressful we would all be bored and we would not give our 100 percent when we worked. Bad stress can lead to complete shot down. Someone being exposed to stressful events on a regular basis can result to having mental health problems. There are many different ways to deal with stress such as hobbies and exercise. Some people are not well educated when it comes to stress disorders. This subject should be more elaborated because if untreated stress can lead into bigger or worst mental health problems. Having poor education on the subject can interfere with getting the proper kind of help someone would need. This research essay will be talking about all the different kind of bad stress that can be harmful to a person. This research essay will also talk about all the information a person would need in order to be educated on the subject. (Allard)
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.
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.