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Stress as a determinant of health
Effect of stress in our life
Stress as a determinant of health
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Stress as an epidemic in the 21st Century – The Mental Health of Medical Professionals This paper considers stress as an epidemic in contemporary society in light of the mental health of medical practitioners. Stress, will be defined in terms of the symptoms and characteristics of three types of stress, that of acute, episodic acute and chronic stress. Intrapersonal effects and impacts on the families of practitioners of long term work related anxiety is considered while statistics from studies on the incidence of stress related suicide of doctors is discussed. Other factors such as internal and external influences are reviewed while a link between empathy and compassion fatigue is considered. Prevention of stress related illness, rather than cure is considered with regards to primary and secondary prevention. It is proposed that a connection lies between the high rates of chronic stress induced emotional illness amongst medical practitioners, and the professional role and responsibility to community felt by physicians. To consider stress as an epidemic in contemporary society, one must understand what stress is, how it is caused, and how it manifests itself in the quality of lives. Early recognition of stress came by way of a young medical student known as Hans Selye, who observed identical emotional symptoms and signs in patients, although they suffered from differing physical conditions (Rosch, n.d.). Rosch (n.d.) explains that it was investigation of this appearance of ‘general sickness’ that led Selye to develop the theory that chronic stress causes long-term chemical changes in the body, thus identifying stress as a major cause of disease. Stress, usually considered to be a negative feeling, is the body’s reaction to per... ... middle of paper ... ...This paper commenced with a broad definition of stress and progressed to a discussion of stress in terms of its three types. A connection was established between the prevalence of stress amongst health care professionals and the difficulties faced by them when experiencing emotional stress, caused by compassion fatigue and burnout. It has considered the reasons why physicians are more vulnerable to stress related illness than the general population as well as the effects of mental illness on the physician’s family and patient care. This essay has drawn attention to the need for societal awareness and care of carers concerning stress and mental health conditions, and may be more appropriately summarized by Firth-Cozen (2003, as cited in Wong, 2008, p. 7) “Getting things right for patients means first getting things as good we can for those who deliver their care”.
In her article The Personal Toll of Practicing Medicine, Elaine Schattner issues the physician burnout due to work overload and physical demands based on her personal experience as a working physician who specialized in blood diseases and cancer, cell biology laboratory researcher with one time NIH grant, teaching professor as well as a wife and a mother of her two children. She argues that there is few to not existing resources and support for medical providers who experience toll on their health as a result of increasing demands and pressure during everyday workloads. She asserts that clinicians need support, multiple resources, back-up, rest, and protection in order to promote long-term health and maintain compassionate healthcare for their patients.
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.
Burnout is a highly unusual type of stress disorder that is essentially characterized by emotional exhaustion, lack of empathy with patients, depersonalization, and a reduced sense of personal accomplishments. The nature of the work that healthcare practitioners perform predisposes them to emotional exhaustion. On the other hand, the lack of empathy towards patients is caused by the nurses feeling that they are underpaid and unappreciated. Numerous researches have associated burnout with the increasing rate of nurse turnover. This paper explores the causes of burnouts in nurses as well as what can be done to prevent the them.
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.
While the public is aware of some of the basic effects that stress can have through educational and medical exposure, but there is still plenty of information that the general population is missing. Part of the reasoning for why the general population may not have wide spread knowledge concerning stress and its fatal effects is the lack of attention stress is given in educational and medical settings, medical professionals for many people across the world don’t educate and check their patients on the stress they may be experiencing, schools also do a poor job of educating their students on the topic of stress and essentially ignore students who may be undergoing tremendous amounts of stress from school, extracurricular activities within or outside of school, issues at home or with friends, etc. Another issue concerning the lack of knowledge about stress among the general population is the idea that communicating about stress with family, friends, health professionals is
The nursing profession has often been dubbed as the backbone of the healthcare system because nurses are first in line when it comes to the patient’s medical care. Hence, nursing quality is one of the major factors that affects the well-being of the patient. Nurses and other healthcare professionals are expected to possess the characteristics of caring and empathy towards their patients. However, when there is too much care for patients and too little for one’s self, a negative effect to the overall health of the caregiver may develop. Additionally, nursing work is seen to be strenuous and challenging due to its need for specialization, complexity, and requirement to handle emergency situations (Benoliel et al., 1990; Su, 1993). Nurses, in effect, may feel overworked, underappreciated, frustrated and emotionally exhausted. These stressors that healthcare providers undergo are described by different terms including compassion fatigue, caregiver burnout and other related issues. In this paper, the nature of compassion fatigue and caregiver burnout are first defined and discussed. The symptoms as well as the coping strategies for these phenomena are then explained.
This research paper concerns how individuals perceive stress and the serious effect on their psychological thought process and physical and mental health and how they can cope with their anxiety driven thoughts. Research was gathered using printed material obtained at the Syracuse Bird Library, and also using various online sources and scholarly journals. One printed source written by Frank Campbell addresses the health effects stress can have on an individual while author Richard Lazarus explores coping mechanisms individuals can use to attempt to get rid of the their stress. Author Bruce G. Charlton in his publication in the Journal of Medical Ethics, claims that stress is an empty word, with little value and explains the origin of the Stress. Robert Lazarus explains the concept of stress along with the ambiguity associated with the word. Ruth O’Hara explains what situations causes stress. While authors Carolyn Aldwin and Sandi Mann discuss coping and how to alleviate stress.
In the workplace, stress can have some strong physical and mental effects on employees. To best understand stress, it is first important to define it. Stress is defined as “a feeling of tension that occurs when a person perceives that a given situation is about to exceed one’s ability to cope and consequently could endanger one’s well being” (Hitt, Miller & Colella, 2011). Stress on the job is usually the result of people feeling inadequate and unable to perform the given duties of a position at a high level. This could be the result of not having the tools necessary to complete the work or having an outside need that is unable to be met while performing duties. Today, we’ll examine different types of stress and the effects that stress can have on individuals and the workplace.
Burnout in the medical field and mental health field is highly prevalent. While I was working on my undergraduate degree of human services self-care was a regular topic that was brought up. I have often wondered how doctors in the medical field pull off the hours that they work. Then as you pointed the stressors and responsibilities a physician has to face on a daily basis. In the medical profession it seems your need training in all types of counseling family, grief, stress management, anger management. Not that these physicians would be counseling people in these areas, but these are just samples of what they are facing on a daily basis. Grassi, & Magnani (2000) report that when a physician is experiencing burnout, their attitudes and the
Hans Selye said, “It is not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.” Stress can cause it’s victims to suffer from emotional and physical anguish. If stress occurs for prolonged periods of time with little to no reprieve it can result in serious and sometimes fatal health problems. It is ironic that stress can lead to major health concerns, yet some of the most stressed people are those in the healthcare profession. According to an article from the Nursing Standard, stress is a leading cause of illness and depression among nurses (Jones-Berry, 2013). Several studies have shown that there is a direct link between stress, depression and illness and often times nurses fall victim to this link because of poor work environments and a lack of appropriate sick leave to tend to their own needs. Research has shown that stress amidst nurses is directly related to depression and illness; therefore, hospitals need to take actions necessary to decrease stress and promote well-being among their nursing staff.
Stress is the reaction of one’s body to changes, including environmental or psychological changes, as one adjusts himself or herself to the continual changing environment. Nowadays, living with stress is unavoidable, especially in this world where societal changes and pressures are becoming more apparent. From a biological point of view, a little bit of stress can be useful as a motivational force which helps one’s body recognize changes, but in the long run, chronic stress can be a hostile force that can deteriorate one’s physical and mental health; thus, stress is a harmful force that should be reduced and managed correctly in people’s lives.
Since stress can seriously damage individuals’ health and well-being in this paper, the researcher will identify stress, the causes, and treatment.
Stress can be defined as the action by which we distinguish and react to certain events, which we assess as dangerous or stimulating. A momentary stress can mobilize your immune system to fend off infection and heal a wound. (Segerstrom, 2007) Dealing with extreme stress can be detrimental to one’s health. Throughout life, there may be different situations that can cause stress, such as a divorce, or an unexpected death. The circumstances of our lives flow through a psychological filter, and how we assess an event will directly influence how much stress we experience. Since stress cannot be avoided, we must find a way to cope with it. By coping with the stressors in life, you may be able to lead a healthier and happier life.
Despite that many don 't realize the dangers, stress is one of the most significant problems of modern times, causing serious problems on physical and mental health. Stress symptoms may be affecting a patients health, even though a doctor may not realize it. Don 't assume that an illness is to blame for that excruciating headache or your sleep deprivation. Let 's face it, everyone copes with stress. Sometimes stress is in our favor, but other times it could feel like stress is taking over. " Stress is a normal physical response your body uses to protect itself from challenges life throws at it each day"(Stress and Health: How Stress Affects Your Health) Stress affects everyone differently, so it 's important to understand what may be causing
Stressors are both physiological and psychological demands placed on an individual from both internal and external environments that can disturb homeostasis. This disruption requires an action to return the body to a balance. Being able to recognize, understand, and cope with stress is critical to overall health and well being of an individual. The ability to cope with stress productively can alter the outcome of illness and prevent negative health outcomes altogether. Each person experiences and perceives stress differently both physiologically, psychologically, and can portray it differently externally. The way in which each person handles stress can influence the path for care they pursue if illness is present. In the absence of remedial