The contents of this essay shall outline the physiological and the psychological effects that consume the human body during stress. This essay will also consider evidence and discuss positive and negative coping mechanisms that are employed in the hope of combating stress. The conclusion shall summarise effective coping strategies that are known to have positive results.
When stress is experienced over a period of time and has manifested itself as chronic stress; the physiological effects can be quite frightening and even catastrophic. It has been exhibited that the immune system reduces; this allows the body to become susceptible to colds, the flu and viral infections. The heart is known to be affected by high blood pressure, arrhythmia, clotting and thickening of the arteries, it has also been suggested that there are strong links between chronic stress and coronary disease, heart attacks and even heart failure (Medicine Net, 2013). Sufferers are known to experience altered sleep patterns or even insomnia, making day to day activities harder to execute. Muscles can be affected and constant tension can lead to neck, shoulder, and lower back pain; rheumatoid arthritis may become aggravated over time. Digestive and stomach problems such as reflux, ulcers, irritable bowel syndrome, or ulcerative colitis have known to be aggravated by stress. Skin problems such as acne and existing skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis are proven to flare up (Energetic Nutrition, 2013).
Chronic stress can also have damaging psychological affects which leaves the sufferer cognitively impaired and unable to function in everyday tasks or handle situations appropriately. Mood swings will see sufferers become more irritable which can lea...
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Therefore, prolonged stress included adverse psychological and physical health effects as well as the increased risk of premature death (Denollet, J., et al.
What is stress? Physiological stress represents a wide range of physical responses that occur as a direct result of a stressor causing an interruption in the natural balance of a human body. When such a disruption occurs, either psychological or physical, the equilibrium in the body responds by stimulating the central nervous system, the endocrine system, and the human immune system. The reaction of these systems causes a number of physical changes that have both short and long term effects on the body. Members of the healthcare and Allied Helping Professions have devoted the last three decades to researching the specific short and long term effects of stress and the effects on the human body. This has led to highly specialized stress appraisals and the development of sophisticated coping techniques in all disciplines of the healthcare industry. Recent innovations have focused on the fact that stress impacts everyone in different ways, and that individual differences must be factored into the treatment milieu. Research continues to explore the correlati...
To a great extent, stress can be a helpful response, especially for prehistoric humans. During this era, our species needed to react quickly to outside stimuli through a response of “fight or flight”. Through stress, certain hormones are released to help the individual resist the stressor, which may have meant running away from a natural predator. Thus, stress is a positive response that ensures the survival of the species. However, stress over a prolonged period of time causes exhaustion in the individual. Consequently, although stress can be helpful for individuals today, many often experience chronic stress, inflicting varying degrees of damage to their bodies.
The stress not only causes physiological, but also psychological problems. How does our body react when the stress comes? That will be “hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal”, which is called ATP , the system regulate the stress. When facing stressors, our mouth becomes dry, as it is conserving fluids because our HPA axis sensing danger. It’s used to escape predators or fighting with beasts. But this system isn’t designed for today’s diverse stressors because in modern world, most people need to worry about mortgages, relationships and promotions more than the fight for food. If we continur to let our body work under these stressful conditions, it will break down the strain. This process is called ”allostatic load”. HPA axis also produce serious and long-lasting negative effects, like physical and psychological in our
The purpose of this paper is to define stress and how it effects the body's physiological systems. This paper will include the normal functions and organs involved in the following five physiological systems, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, respiratory, immune and musculoskeletal. This paper will also include a description of a chronic illness associated with each physiological system and how the illness is affected by stress.
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 can be narrowed down into two different types which are acute and chronic stress. Acute stress is the type associated with short term responses to stressors. For example, a corporate trainer may experience acute stress when he briefly loses control of a training classroom environment. Acute stress includes physical symptoms like excitement, sadness, worry, an energy boost, an increased metabolism, and a loss of one’s appetite (Hitt, Miller & Colella, 2011). Chronic stress relates to ongoing long-term stress. Employees that worked for companies during the recession that had to constantly deal with the threat of a layoff experienced chronic stress. Also, having a bad boss or being constantly micromanaged is considered chronic stress. Chronic stress is the more dangerous of the two as it creates an imbalance in the body’s energy supply called a stress response that is hard to restore (Hitt, Miller & Colella, 2011). This...
Personality Changes: When a person is stressed they may experience feelings of irritability, hostility, anger aggression, miscommunication, isolation, disinterest in appearance, impulsivity such as gambling and compulsive behavior rituals such as cleaning.
Stress is “the body’s reaction to a change that requires a physical, mental, or emotional adjustment or response.” Many people realize that stress has a great impact on psychological health; however, they do not realize that physical health can be compromised as well. When the body is put under stress, physiological changes take place, such as increased heart rate or blood pressure. Many individuals do not know the extent to which stress can impact their bodies because they cannot see the changes taking place. If stress is prolonged, physical symptoms may begin to arise. These symptoms are real; however, they may or may not be due to some sort of physical disorder. Stress-induced anxiety may begin to form within the individual because of a constant fear that they have a serious medical condition. The cycle will repeat itself with potentially worsening symptoms.
Seward, B. (2012). Managing stress: Principles and strategies for health and well-being. (7th ed.). Burlington, Ma: Jones and Barlett Publishing.
Stress may play a causal role in a wide variety of mental disorders. Some of the mental disorders in which stress appears to have a causal role are anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and substance-related disorders.
Stress is an ongoing dilemma that occurs in each and everyone’s life. It is a factor that is undoubtedly a part of daily living. Due to the trivial problems that occur in people’s daily lives massive amounts of stress can arise. People perceive and manage stress in many different ways. The causes and effects of stress are numerous and one’s ability to manage stress is vital in maintaining healthy living.
Stress is a natural occurrence that most every person will experience at some point in his or her life. A stressor, as defined by Potter, Perry, Stockert, and Hall (2013), is any kind of event or situation that a person encounters in their environment that requires him or her to change and adapt. When a person responds to stress, his or her coping mechanisms and actions are individualized. No two people are going to handle stressful situations and cope with experiences the same exact way. Each person is unique and has his or her own customized way of dealing with stress. While some people are very open and honest about what they are dealing with, others keep their feelings bottled up. I find this topic so
Suppression of the Immunity System: stress causes the immune system of the body to be weakened because it fights of the stress from the stressor. This makes the body even more vulnerable to certain infections, like multiple sclerosis and arthritis. It has been discovered that stress slows the body’s rate of recovery from infections.
Modern life is full of troubles, frustrations and deadlines. People have to suffer stressful from many directions and they seem to be consent to live with stress. Many people think that they can stand with stressful and it is harmless, but it is not. If people live in stress during a long period of time, it has bad effect to health and spirit. Therefore, there is actually that you can protect yourself by understanding stress and how to reduce these harmful effects caused by stress.