The Causes of Stress Today - Essay Example

College Thesis ment Stress in modern day is increased compared to decades ago. The causes of stress today are rather basic and close to everyone. It boils down to the daily life related issues such as the economy, security, work hours and so on. Stress however leads to diseases that are in most cases chronic. These include, hypertension and heart related conditions Body Causes of stress (Lewis, 2007) Terrorism 1. Who is affected? (Fields, 2001) Terrorism takes away people’s hope and feeling of security. It leaves them worried, in fear of the future. In the recent past, terrorism has grown worldwide. It is no longer wars against countries but terror from militia groups, who claim to seek justice, money, and power from the governments. Victims of terrorism are the most affected. They experience trauma for periods of time depending on the levels of shock. There are different types of victims, there are those who lose loved ones, those who witness the terror attack, those who survive the terror attack and those who hear about it first hand from close people. For example, in the September 2001 attack on the USA. Al Qaeda and Bin Laden attacks in the past have rendered so many afraid. The security system of the United States celebrates the death of Osama Bin Laden but however cannot forget the almost ten different attacks on their citizens and the many deaths caused by terrorists mostly of the Jihad culture. According to the USA security system, over seventy terror related reports were identified in a year in 2001. Many studies in the colleges and universities on terrorism and communication have in the recent past began. 2. What you may experience. (Fields, 2001) Post-traumatic stress has been common for the ones who lost loved ones. They experience a dis-attachment to the real world. According to Fields, the victims of terror experience a great feeling of loss. Some may feel guilty as to why they survived the 2001 terror attack. The incidents that happened recur in their minds and they are afraid that such an ordeal could happen again. The most common effect is isolation. It is easier for victims to isolate themselves from others; remain in the house or in familiar surroundings only. On the other hand, traumatic stress is characterized with the reluctance to express oneself. More so for the ones who witnessed a terror ordeal, they are withdrawn and they require guidance and therapy to overcome stress and trauma. Rise of prices 1. Bank fail. The cost of living has in the past drastically changed. Each year, the cost of living keeps fluctuating. However, one thing is certain, life has become more expensive now than in the pats. There are more bills to pay and more that takes away one’s salary in a brink that in the past decade. Stress tests are tests conducted for banks in order to predict how a bank will react to changes in the market in terms of financial help. They mostly refer to a market or economic crisis. The stress tests set for banks to review their financial performance has left many surprised. Most American banks have failed in the stress tests. In London, the Cooperative bank was reported to have failed in 2014. The stress tests are conducted annually to enable banks to improve their financial strength. This is crucial because so much is dependent on banks. They have a lot of investors and stocks and exchanges in the money and commodity markets depend on them. The stress tests results have gone down according to tests carried out in 2014. When there are fails in the stress test, it means an economic down cut on money market. This leads to an economic change and cost of living becomes higher. 2. Food prices (BBC news 2013) Food is a basic commodity, so is housing and an education. When the cost of basic needs rises, then the greater number of people will be stressed about life. Due to economy changes, banks keep loaning out money to people. The more people have loans, the more they fear what to do. In 2013, the USA citizens were warned that food prices would go high due to drought. The changing climatic conditions contributed greatly to the reduced food production. Due to this, the price of food went high by about one percent. When this happens, there are many people affected. The most affected are the poor because they may have nothing left than to deal with the tough crisis. Stress comes in due to increase in prices. This is because food is a necessity and every family seeks to provide food. Almost 80% of the people in America were reported to be concerned about the rise in food prices. This is an alarming rate because it means food security is an issue. Stress is inevitable when prices keep going high. The inflation rate in less than ten years is reported to be over 12% related to food prices. Unlike former years, food production was among the most basic and well doing sectors of the economies. Now, life is changing a lot and food security is causing over three quarters of a country to be afraid of the future due to this necessity. Long working hours. 1. Views differ and argue (Ohio, 1999) It is evidenced that more than 60% of the people in US work overtime. There are many effects of long working hours on people. In the past, jobs were less demanding compared to today. The competition and the technological globe the world has turned into pushes firms and people to work more hours in a day. Stress is a common effect for long working hours. Most people have to rush through their day to beat deadlines and do more in a week than in the past. Due to this, agitation is common and anxiety. These are among the factors that lead to stress. Also, people lack time to interact with their families and have some free time, thus, they become negative and repulsive. This is because of stress related issues due to longer working hours. While other may disagree, health problems are a risk of long working hours. Most stress related health problems emanate from the agitation and pressure from work. 2. Long shift hours (Marvin ) One of the biggest problems most people have from long shift hours is managing their sleep and social activities. For many, sleep is minimal and their social life tends to grow off due to long shifts. Many people have had more thoughts about what they need to get done while in their shifts. This brings in a lot of stress. According to Marvin, it helps to work out and relax before a shift. These builds energy for the body. Also, before a shift, it is great help to sleep early to avoid drowsiness. Diseases caused by stress: (Smith, 2014) Raise blood pressure Due to anxiety and the restlessness that comes with worries, many people who have hypertension experience raised blood pressure due to stress. 1. How to avoid this disease (UK). (Mayo Clinic, 2012) It is important to exercise and to maintain a healthy diet to avoid high blood pressure. On the other hand, limiting alcohol intake also boosts one’s health. For those who have the disease already, it helps to exercise, avoid agitating situations and many are encouraged to lose weight because excessive weight worsens the condition. 2. Stress and hypertension (USA). ( Kulkarni, 1998) The hormones produced when one has stress increase blood pressure levels. In most cases, these leads to sever hypertension. Some may not be aware they have the disease but fatigue and limb aches are common for this. Stress continuously increases the blood pressure in one’s body as the nervous system tries to bring to a balance the hormones produced such as adrenaline. It is important to avoid stress related circumstances to control hypertension. Heart diseases 1. Increasing adrenaline by stress is a reason.(UK) (MARSDEN, 2014) Stress is said to lead the body into an overdrive. When this happens, there is increased adrenaline and the heart rate also changes. Stress is said to increase the rate of heart attacks and strokes by a great percentage. 2. Stress and heart health(USA) (American Heart Association, 2014) In the recent past, the diseases that kill people are heart related. Most are because of stress issues and cholesterol. However, stress is said to worsen the heart functioning and in some cases, the symptoms of heart disease may not be noted early unless one goes through a heart attack. It is important to control stress levels or seek therapeutic help in order to reduce stress for one’s good health. Conclusion In conclusion, it is clear that among the causes of stress in modern day are terrorism, increased prices and long working hours. The main diseases that are common today due to stress related issues include hypertension, heart attacks and strokes. In my opinion, it is important as life goes by, for people to value their health and lives more than their activities. This is because more people die every day due to such diseases. It would be of great use if more treatments and information reaches people in order to manage stress easily and avoid health hazards. Works Cited American Heart Association (2014) Stress and heart health. https://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/StressManagement/HowDoesStressAffectYou/Stress-and-Heart-Health_UCM_437370_Article.jsp BBC news (2013) Rising food costs causing stress - Which? Survey http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24192396 Fields, R. (2001). Managing traumatic stress: Coping with terrorism. http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/terrorism.aspx Kulkarni, S. (1998, December). Stress and hypertension http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9894438 Lewis, D. (2007, April 11). Modern life causes major stress http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6545811.stm MARSDEN, R. (2014, June 23). Proof that stress really does cause heart attacks: Adrenaline can increase white blood cell production which can cause ruptures read more http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2665424/Proof-stress-really-does-cause-heart-attacks-Adrenaline-increase-white-blood-cell-production-cause-ruptures.html Marvin , R. Shift work & you [Web log message]. http://sleepfoundation.org/shift-work/content/shift-work-you Mayo Clinic. (2012, December 06). Stress and high blood pressure: Whats the connection? http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-depth/stress-and-high-blood-pressure/art-20044190 Ohio, C. (1999). Stress at work. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/99-101/ Smith, M. (2014, December). Stress symptoms, signs, and causes http://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-symptoms-causes-and-effects.htm Read More