Understanding Stress: Impacts and Influences on Humans

Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very

demanding circumstances. It effects all humans and animals and is a positive and negative

thing. It helps animals adapt and react to things around them which is a good survival trait.

However it affects humans much more frequently and for much more reasons.

has developed anxiety and discomfort through stress even during every day menial tasks. Stress

is a huge influence in the study of psychology.

After watching Stress, Portait of a Killer I learned numerous things about how stress

effects the human body. Stress is such a common problem for me throughout the day. I

experience stress very often and found it interesting that humans have

a hard time turning

off their stress responses. On the other hand animals generally only experience stress during brief

life threatening events, while humans can experience that same stress during a public speech

event. I found it very interesting that there are two kinds of stress. One kind which negatively

affect humans and the other kind which can be enjoyable at times. A good kind of stress could be

riding a roller coaster for example. I found it very interesting that stress affected baboons

similarly to humans. They have evolved large brains and play mind games on each other which

produces stress as well.

In the Holmes and Rahe stress scale i scored a 165. This means that I “have a moderate to

high chance of becoming ill in the near future”. I found this assessment to really target where

stress is generating. These results really surprised me because although I do have a high

level of stress I didn't expect it to seem so lethal! The two psychiatrists Thomas Holmes and

Richard Rahe who decided to study whether or not stress contributes to illness really were

specific with their questions in the assessment. I found it interesting that these two psychiatrists

surveyed more than 5,000 medical patients and asked them to say whether they had experience

any of a series of 43 life events in the previous two years.

I have several personal goals that I am trying to achieve now. One main goal that

stress often affect negatively is my diet and goal to meet wait loss. I find it very

challenging to eat healthy while stressed out. Stress eating is a common psychological influence

for me while being stressed throughout everyday life. Cortisol is a steroid hormone, in the

glucocorticoids class of hormones and a product from stress. This stress hormone has been proven

to also cause weight gaining as well. Another personal goal that coexists with my first goal is

exercising. Both of these goals are ideal for a healthy living situation. My last goal is a

professional goal to become financially independent. I plan on finding a stable lucrative job in

the computer information security industry. This goal would greatly reduce my levels of stress i

all aspects about financial concerns.

One way I can decrease my stress is through killing bad habits in my life. One major

stress causing habit that I have a hard time breaking is procrastination. This bad habit is by far

my biggest stress cause in my life. I find stress more frequent in my life if I am ill prepared

for big events in my life. Even a simple little thing like heading to work right on time can

become instantly stressful if you hit traffic. So little things like heading to work early and

preparing for the day the night before can make all the difference.

Writing down goals and planning out the time and due dates of them is crucial to

effectively carry out these goals. My personal goal for dieting needs a deadline to measure

progress. A way to measure my progress dieting is through weighing myself monthly. Setting a

goal of losing 5 pounds per month is a good sub goal that will ultimately lead to the main goal of

losing a total of 25 pounds. So after dieting for 5 months I should reach my goal.

My goal for exercising can be broken down into two areas cardio and weight lifting. This

goal takes discipline and needs frequent reevalaution to make steady progress. My

goal is to develop the habit of exercising six days week so that overtime it has just become a part

of my life.

The sub goals will be to do weights 4 days a week and cardio 2 days a week. This

goal will work hand in hand with my dieting goal and if done correctly I should have below 10

percent body fat within 6 months.

My last goal for financial independence has several steps and deadlines in order to

achieve it. My first step is to finish college to apply for a better job. This sub goal needs

to be completed within a year from now. After that sub goal is complete I must find a lucrative

job that promotes within. This will allow me steadily work my way up the company while I am

there. If all works out I will be a manager of information security at a consulting firm within 5

years from now.

I know I will meet these goals because I have them written in my room so I see

them every day I go to bed and wake up. This constant reminder keeps these goals fresh in my

mind and keeps me honest about what I really want in my life. I know as long as I keep pushing

forwards towards these goals I will ultimately achieve all of them. That's why it's so important to

recognize the little sub-goals in order to keep me grounded and aware of my

progress.

In Conclusion I experience stress very often and found it interesting that humans

have a hard time turning off their stress responses. On the other hand animals generally only

experience stress during brief life threatening events, while humans can experience that same

stress during a public speech event. One main goal that stress often affects negatively is my

diet and goal to meet weight loss. Another personal goal that coexists with my first goal is

exercising. Both of these goals are ideal for a healthy living situation. Setting a goal of losing 5

pounds per month is a good sub goal that will ultimately lead to the main goal of losing a total of

25 pounds.