Define “stress,” “stressor,” and give several examples of the three types of stress,. Explain what is meant by “Holistic Health” and summarize the various dimensions
of health Summarize the various sources of stress; then explain the three basic approaches to managing stress which will be utilized in this course
1.2 Discuss the various stress vulnerability factors; then complete “The Tombstone Test”
1.3 Explain the concept of homeostasis and the various physiological responses to stress Summarize the General Adaptation Syndrome and give an example of
It’s application List and dispel the 5 myths about stress
Answer
- Stress, Stressor, and Types of Stress
In psycho-physiology, stress is defined as a response to a demand that is placed upon you. It is a negative concept that can affect your body, your mind, and your behavior. It is caused by major life events such as illness, loss of a loved one, or life transitions; traumatic stress can be caused by any kind of abrupt and major disruption in your life such as a major accident, an assault, or a natural disaster; chronic stress is a type of stress that wears away at you day after day and year after year. It is different from acute stress, which has a quick onset and a short duration. Acute stress might be caused by preparing for a wedding, taking a final exam, or making a public speech. In the table below, think about some of the major changes that have occurred in your life. This list is called “change units” and was first published in 1967. The Social Readjustment Rating Scale, as it is called, assigns a number of change units to many life events. The higher the score, the more stressful the event is considered to be. This is a common way of determining life stress. For example, “death of a spouse” is considered the most stressful event and is assigned 100 life change units. On the other hand, “change in sleeping habits” is supposed to be the least stressful event but is still given 16 life change units. One approach to evaluating stress is to assess “life strain,” or the pressures and demands on an individual or group. The list includes pressures and demands from within and from others in the environment. And, the list of events includes positive and negative changes as well as chronic stressors. For example, children, marital disputes, registration, and money pressures are common “life strains”. The instrument is used by researchers and clinicians to help in the assessment of stress.
1.1 Definition of stress
Stress can be described as a reaction to a stressor. According to the United States National Institute of Mental Health (2019), stress is the body’s natural response to a difficult situation such as public speaking, a job interview, or an argument. Hans Selye, a renowned biological scientist, provides a more general definition of stress. He argues that stress is a condition of the body that makes the person feel challenged and unable to cope with the demands being made on them (Pettit, 2019). Selye’s definition allows for the possibility that a person might feel stressed even without a specific identifiable stressor. It is not just the immediate physical impacts of stress that cause problems for the body. Stress, in a wider sense, is viewed as the body’s response to a “physical, emotional, social, or intellectual challenge… that requires a response or change.” Stress, in Selye’s view, is the result of “natural drives and mechanisms that can help life to develop” (Pettit, 2019). Selye also argues that the effects of stress depend on what to whom, and when. Different people experience stress in different ways – what is useful to one person may, in fact, be harmful or damaging to another. In contrast, Bill Knaus and Albert Ellis argue that not all stress is bad. They point out that “optimal stress skews towards the center of the stress range” and whereas too little stress can lead to boredom and “depression anxiety and helplessness”, so can too much stress (Knaus and Ellis, 2007). The stress response can be divided into three key stages. Firstly comes the “alarm stage”, in which the body is responding to the initial exposure to a stressor. Secondly is the “resistance stage”, in which the body tries to “return to a state of normal functioning” and increase its capacity to respond to the stressor. Finally, there is the “exhaustion stage”. If the stressor remains present for a long period of time, the body’s resources can become depleted and the body experiences a kind of ‘breakdown’ as a result. This can have serious effects on both emotional and physical health (Ivancevich et al, 1987). Stress can become a problem when a person is unable to manage the demands being made and begins to feel like he or she is losing control over the situation. Stress differs from other states, such as fear or anxiety, in terms of format: stressors always have an identifiable cause whereas feelings of anxiety and fear can be much more complex and more difficult to pin down to a specific issue. The duration of the symptom is important as well – temporary exposure to a stressor can actually be beneficial to a person, improving motivation and one’s capacity to deal with the challenge. But where stress becomes prolonged or chronic, it can lead to a range of harmful effects on a person’s physical health and, in the longer term, mental health too. Alasdair A. Logie explains that “the chain of events set in place by acute and chronic stress can affect all systems of the body” and the body’s natural response to stress can be viewed as a trigger for many types of illness, from heart problems to inflammatory conditions. He points out that continuous production of increased levels of hormones such as cortisol may serve to hinder the body’s natural ability to stabilize and maintain homeostasis. As we shall see in following sections of the paper, stress has a pronounced impact on the human body and represents an area of particular interest in modern medical research and psychological investigation.
1.2 Definition of stressor
Stressors are events or conditions in your surroundings that may trigger stress. There are two types of stressors: external stressors, which are stressors that you’re exposed to in your life, and internal stressors, or stress that comes from within you. Work stress, interpersonal stress, and stress from being too busy are examples of external stressors. Exercise and poor nutrition are examples of internal stressors. A stressor may be a one-time or short-term occurrence, or it can be an occurrence that keeps happening over a long term. When something that is producing stress is removed, the stress resolves, and the body returns to its normal state. However, if a stressor continues to be present, the body continues to produce stress hormones and the body experiences a state of chronic stress. Chronic stress can lead to a variety of health problems. It has been shown to have an effect on a person’s immune system, which can make them more susceptible to infections. It can also have an effect on the cardiovascular and digestive systems. In fact, recent medical research has pinpointed chronic stress as a factor in the development of heart disease, a leading cause of death in the United States. Psychological research has found that those who have experienced chronic stress early in life, such as childhood neglect or abuse, show more fearful behaviors and have a reduced lifespan compared to physically abused children who did not experience what was defined as chronic stress. This shows how chronic stress can affect not only physical health but mental health and developmental stages of life as well. In order to manage stress more effectively, it is important to identify the causes of stress in our life. This is good knowledge to have because the conditions which cause stress in our lives are many, and each person reacts to stress in their own way. By identifying our causes of stress and understanding how stress affects us, we will be better prepared to deal with stress in a productive and healthy way.
1.3 Examples of physical stress
Many of us feel stress in some form on a daily basis. Physical stress is stress that is caused by a physical injury or trauma to the body. When the body is subjected to physical stress, it responds by going into a shock-like state. This means that the body starts to shut down certain systems in order to deal with the physical problem. An example of physical stress is when a person is in a car accident. The physical trauma of the impact causes the body to go into a state of shock and the adrenaline levels in the body will rise. This can result in pupils dilating, the heart beating faster, and the body preparing to fight potential threats, such as a fire, or to run away. Another example of physical stress is when you participate in a very physical sport, such as rugby. The body will come under physical duress in the form of impacts, knocks, bumps, and the overall strain placed on it by vigorous physical exercise. Regular hydration and fuel, such as food, are important. The body requires a careful balance of fluid and energy intake to keep the muscles and body well-nourished and functioning properly. Muscles require hydration in order to maintain their pliability and to prevent injuries, such as tears and strains. Furthermore, without an adequate supply of energy-giving nutrients, such as fats and glucose, the body’s systems, in particular the immune system, can start to weaken so that the body cannot defend itself against, for example, the effects of mental stresses. A final example of physical stress is during pregnancy. The body is placed under physical pressure as it attempts to adapt to accommodate a growing fetus. For example, the lower back is placed under additional strain as the weight of the baby pulls the mother’s body forward. This can cause a range of physical problems such as the restriction of blood vessels in the legs and the lumbar spine becoming exaggerated as the pelvis tilts anteriorly.
1.4 Examples of psychological stress
For instance, one recent study on generalized anxiety disorder discovered that the brains of those suffering from the disorder are unable to generate the appropriate emotional response to a given situation. The discovery, made by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Illinois at Chicago, was made by tracking brain activity in patients at one of the most well-known psychiatrists in the world and patients at UW Health, where one of the study’s authors works. Scientists found that the part of the brain which usually responds to an emotion-provoking event, the amygdala, was largely inactive in these patients. The amygdala is critical in generating and regulating the body’s “alarm response” or fight-or-flight response. The study used an experimental design. It is essential for experiments on anxiety and depression to be experimental, and a control group that was not suffering from generalized anxiety disorder or any other known disorders which could affect daily life was also monitored, in order to verify that the difference in brain activity was due to the presence of the disorder. As a result of the study, the lead author explained that it was concluded that the brain of a person with anxiety is ‘misinterpreting’ situations that are not dangerous and generating inappropriate responses. This is not just front-page news for the scientific community – discoveries such as this can have far-reaching effects, with treatment plans for mental disorders being reshaped by such significant neurobiological findings. However, the media portrayal of psychological disorders can often be less than complimentary; linking to the ‘Myth 3’ sections, a common assumption for people with these disorders is that they are experienced as a result of personal weakness or character flaws. Such widely held misinterpretations about everyday disorders can often bring about isolation and ridicule for those who have been diagnosed and a disregard for the seriousness of such conditions. His finding work can serve as an interesting demonstration of how unwarranted explanations can factor into someone’s mental health experience. “It is not a matter of ‘just being anxious’ and it is certainly not something that can be easily dismissed,” as lead author Jack Nitschke is quoted in the official report published by UIC today. So while the study offers a greater understanding of how an anxiety response actually originates in the body, an endeavor to promote that form of knowledge over the misconceptions like those in ‘Myth 3’ is still crucial for those struggling on a daily basis with mental illness and that the researcher’s insight may lead to advancements not only in the biological and neurological field, but also the attitudes and efficacy of psychiatry and associated therapies as well.
1.5 Examples of emotional stress
Whether it’s significant sadness, high levels of anger, an excessive fear or even just feeling constantly drained, emotional stress is a type of stress that’s very easily understood. We have all experienced the signs of emotional stress at some point in our lives. For example, when we are tired, close to our stress limitations, and dwelling on our problems, physical warning signs of emotional stress like a headache, upset stomach, back pain, and difficulty sleeping can appear. Mentally, we might feel anxious, irritable, or even depressed. This is because our body’s stress reaction helps feed off of and further perpetuate emotional stress, which can make us feel stuck in an unhealthy cycle. To help end that cycle, and better manage your emotional stress, it’s important to learn how to recognise the signs that you’re under stress and also what you can do to relieve that stress and avoid it in the long run. When you consider the following situations, you would be talking about emotional stress because you are dealing with the loss of something in the past. This could relate to the death of someone close to you, the end of a relationship or the loss of something that you feel you depended on or had high expectations for, like not getting a job you really wanted. Those can be referred to as agents of psychological and emotional stress – what caused the emotional stress as well as the pressure to the brain and the body. Residents who are confronted with increasing prices, political events and policies that make it hard for a large category of people, and even high school scholars who are under pressure to succeed all suffer from emotional stress subconsciously and appealing to. Such emotional stress can end in cases of chronic emotional stress and may lead to diverse health impacts. Just from these few instances of emotional stress, it is easy to see how people can be triggered by an emotional event and realise the way in which it manifests into various diseases. Every emotion has a particular different growth and mirroring effect in the cell structure of our body, as does emotional stress. It generates an environment for sickness and epidemic.
- Holistic Health and Dimensions of Health
2.1 Explanation of holistic health
2.2 Summary of various dimensions of health
- Sources of Stress
3.1 Overview of sources of stress
- Approaches to Managing Stress
4.1 Introduction to managing stress
4.2 Explanation of the three basic approaches
- Stress Vulnerability Factors and “The Tombstone Test”
5.1 Discussion of stress vulnerability factors
5.2 Completion of “The Tombstone Test”
- Homeostasis and Physiological Responses to Stress
6.1 Explanation of homeostasis
6.2 Overview of physiological responses to stress
- General Adaptation Syndrome and Application Example
7.1 Summary of General Adaptation Syndrome
7.2 Example of General Adaptation Syndrome application
- Myths About Stress
8.1 List of 5 myths about stress
8.2 Dispelling the 5 myths about stress
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