Psychosomatic Diseases - Research Paper Example

Does Stress Cause Diseases Abstract Stress is not a disease but can result to diseases due to lack of proper management of stress. Thus, the paper will discuss various source and cause of stress that lead to disease that affect the health of individuals. Meanwhile, it will evaluate the effect of stress in case individual fails to manage stress properly. Finally, the management of stress is the only significant measure that can prevent stress from becoming a disease; thus, the paper will focus on stress management measures. Stress definition Stress is the ability of the body to react to changes that need a physical and emotional response, and varies depending on the management used to treat (Seaward 7). Stress is not a disease, but it can result to diseases that can be a threat to human beings and affect the daily activities. The magnitude of stress depends on the methods individual utilizes when they are stressed. When people are stressed their body will seem to respond to certain demands because their body responds by producing certain chemicals into the blood. The chemicals that are realized in the blood can offer individuals more energy and strength that can be an excellent trait in case the stress is caused by physical threat. However, this situation can be a threat if the stress is in response to emotional because it tends to reduce the energy and strength. Although, stress is not disease it should be noted that it can result to diseases that can be harmful (Mate, 145). Sources of stress Stress can be caused by diverse ways, and it is reasonable to identify the source of stress so that to put measures manage stress. Frustration is a source of stress because it cause emotional that are harmful to individual and occurs when a target goal is not met (Weiten 56). Individual will experience frustrations when he or she want something and does not get and are a significant source of stress. Meanwhile, some frustrations as a result of failures and losses can be a source of a significant stress, but some frustrations are brief and an insignificant. Meanwhile, internal conflict between individual and families can be a source of stress because it is an unavoidable feature in daily life of human beings (Weiten52). The internal conflict will occur if more incompatible motivations compete for expression and will generate a significant psychological stress. The higher level of internal conflict is associated with higher level of psychological stress and can lead to disease like heart failures. The conflict causes a situation where individuals are faced by indecision situation and end up creating stress. Meanwhile, change can be a considerable source of stress because changes are readjustment in life and can create stress. The positive event like moving to a better house can produce stress because readjustment to the new environment will develop stress. Meanwhile, pressure to perform can be a source of stress in that pressure to perform will put individual to stress if expected to execute responsibility quickly and successfully. There are many sources of stress that can affect the well being of individual and affect his or her daily performing. Cause of stress There the source of stress is supposed to be triggered by various causes that can affect the health of individuals and result to diseases. Environmental factors can be a significant cause of stress because individual tend to respond to things that around him that cause stress (Seaward 6). The pressure from work and noise can be a cause disturbance that lead to stress and can cause serious diseases like blood pressure and eardrum infections. Meanwhile, fatigue can cause stress because it builds up for a long period and affect the functioning of the body. The fatigue can be as a result of lack of proper time management to create relaxation that lead to stress. The survival factors can cause stress because individual tend to be afraid of something that can physically harm them and their bodies will respond and create stress. Meanwhile, internal factors that make people worry about certain things can cause stress, but it is the cause that can be managed effectively before to cause diseases (Macmillan Social Science Library, 77). Stress can be considered to have serious biological effects on humans. There are weighty substantiations sustaining, but not proving the continuation of a causal connection between emotional stresses and unremitting conditions such gloominess, cardiovascular ailment, and HIV/AIDS. The human body is susceptible to absorbing and reacting to stress range from paper-cut to loss of a dear one. Untreated stress can lead to serious illness. People that are exposed to ongoing and unresolved stress may go on to develop significant medical sickness or an anxiety disorder that may eventually result in a clinical depression. Stress is excessively fragile and complicated that it can arise from a muscular calisthenics to food starvation, exhibiting that stress in not only a simple stress in the nervous system, but any strain of the body. From biological perspective stress is and additive on diseases such as the kidney, heart, and blood vessels. Stress is a catalyst in causing diseases and should be truncated to minimize its effects on the human body. No extensive research has been don e to prove that stress is a main cause of diseases. It has been considered unethical to subject human beings to stress so as to carry out trials of prove that stress causes diseases. Several diseases can be attributed to stress a contributing factor to their causal. Such diseases include mental illness, sexual derangement, digestive metabolic ailment, tumor and aging. Other cases evidencing stress as a contributing factor involve the upper respiratory tract infections, asthma, herpes viral infections, autoimmune diseases and wound healing. Stress has been a highly influencing aspect in disease emergence in human beings thus its curbing would decrease the effects exhibited (Macmillan Social Science Library, 67). It has been argued that people that are subjected to extreme stress are susceptible to higher dangers of heart disease. However attributing this claim to stress has been complex to prove because not all stresses are severe to the heart and people react differently to stress when exposed to it. When a person has vital underlying heart conditions, too much physical stress can be probably dangerous although it is a significant element for better physical health. For instance, a person who has coronary artery disease undertaking intense exercise can result demands on the heart muscle that diseased coronary arteries might not meet, thus leading to the heart becoming starved for oxygen. The ischemic heart muscle therefore may result in chest pain, heart attack, and actual death. People that have heart conditions should, therefore, take precautions while exercising. Emotional stress has been highly linked with resulting into heart diseases. Certain kinds of emotional stress, in certain patients and under particular situations tend to contribute to diseases of the heart. Emotional stress may also lead to development of chronic heart disease or impulsive acute cardiac problems go people with preexisting heart disease (www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au, 1). Stress at work and in social life has resulted in an increase in the sun of people undergoing psychiatric illnesses and sub-syndromes of diseases such as headaches, tension and insomnia. Stress at work and in social life has resulted in an increase in the number of people suffering from psychiatric illnesses and sub-syndromes of diseases like headache, tension and insomnia. The most mental disease that was linked with stress was depression. There is a gap of social life of people residing in urban areas. Such populace rarely has an opportunity to communicate with their families, mental problems result from domestic tribulations, disinterest in work, lack of motivation, and personal dissatisfaction. Workaholic stress can lead to different bad reactions from people’s lives. This leads to the person that is working to lose sleep over their own set goals and objectives that they wish to achieve. Some people are ignorant of the stress that they are undergoing; stress is an avoidable and can arise anywhere and at any time. Workaholic stress resulted from several things that are work relate. Every small thing, which irritates the mind, compiles to cause depression. It also causes several other stress related diseases such as chronic fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, among other health related problems (Mate, 231). Conclusion It is often misconception that if one thinks positively he cannot be susceptible to stress but stress is unavoidable. People cannot avoid stress because human bodies are constantly under some level of stress maintaining heart beat, body stimulation and lungs. Even when sleeping peacefully the body is still undergoing stress. Whenever e extreme stress exhibits one should seek medical attention before it results in complications that cause disease thus weakening the function of the body. Stress can be dangerous because it can affect both individual’s body and mind because people under intensive stress can be prone to sickness and lack to think clearly. Thus, individuals should fight the vice by identifying the sources and causes of stress that help in putting proper stress management measures. The effect of stress can be severe and cause diseases that will affect the health of individuals; thus, it should be managed properly. Works cited Maté, Gabor. When the Body Says No: Exploring the Stress-Disease Connection. Hoboken, N.J: J. Wiley, 2011. Print. “Stress.” Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library: New York: Macmillan USA, 2003. Gale. Riverside Community College. Stress can become a serious illness. Better health channel. Accessed on 7 may 2012. From, Seaward, Brian. Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2011. Weiten, Wayne. Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century. New York: CengageBrain Inc, 2011. Read More