Stress as a Health Behaviour That Affects Healthy Living - Coursework Example

Stress as a Health Behaviour that affects Healthy Living Name Course Name and Code Instruction’s Name Date Stress is one of the health behaviours that have highly significant impact upon a healthy lifestyle. This is a term that is highly used hence its exact meaning has become a bit more difficult to classify. In general terms, stress is any factor that poses the danger of having a negative effect on one’s physical or psychological health (Ogden, 2007). Stress can either be externally caused or internally caused. There are external factors that pose the danger of stress while there are some stress factors that are created from within a person. For instance, the manner in which one reacts to a danger or to any upsetting circumstance can create stress. Generally, a factor that can create or stir up stress is referred to as a stressor (Carr, Unwin & Pless-Mulloli, 2007). Stress has a wide range of symptoms which include loss of memory, poor concentration, unbending pessimism, anxiety and agitation, moodiness, tendency to remain in isolation, general body aches, digestion problems, decreased immunity, decrease or total loss of sex drive, headaches, poor eating habits, poor sleeping patterns and addiction to alcohol, drugs or other sedatives. In addition, it is common for a stressed person to have high blood pressure and an increased heart rate, and to have drastic decrease in the immunity of the body (Ross et al. 2006). Stress has a great impact on the healthy lifestyle of an individual because it causes great imbalance in the body and in the mind as the body responds to stressors. The body, when exposed to stressors, involuntarily stimulates the nervous and the hormonal systems so that substances can be released into the system to enable the body to brace itself (Fink, 2000). Therefore, blood pressure rises as the rate of the heart beat increases, more glucose is broken down to increase energy, pupils become dilated and more blood flows to the muscles to increase the muscles’ energy. All of these responses cause an increased rate of metabolism and hence more heat energy is emitted, prompting the body to trigger the sweat glands so that the body can cool down. The body is designed to activate all these processes in response to stressors and to reset itself to normal when the stressors are absent. However, problems begin when the response to stressors goes overboard (Ogden, 2007). In as much as this essay discusses stress as health behaviour which has adverse effects on healthy living, it is important to mention that stress is not always dangerous to the healthy lifestyle or general lifestyle of an individual. For instance, it is stress that enables or quickens one to prepare for a major exam, to remain stable during a presentation, to make a quick move in a game or to avoid an accident by swerving or braking. Low and manageable stress levels greatly help one to stay in anticipation of any oncoming condition so as to avoid the drastic response of the body due to lack of preparation. Such stress levels, when low enough, also help manage the disappointment or depression encountered when an individual has unrealistic expectations or standards. Stress caused by any unfinished or procrastinated work can help one to take action by finishing the pending work, hence producing desirable results (Fink, 2000). Stress is caused by factors called stressors, which can be either positive or negative. A stressor is any factor that exerts pressure of change or adjustment on an individual (Webb, 2007). Positive stressors can come in form of getting a promotion at work, getting married, acquiring a property or joining a new institution of learning. Negative stressors include financial difficulties, health, having a hectic daily schedule, difficult relationships, bringing up and maintaining a family. Other stressors include death of a close person, crime, self-harming and negative addiction, environmental changes, having a new or added responsibility and argument or disagreement with another person. These negative factors are externally caused; internally caused stressors include pessimism, perfectionism, and unpreparedness, being impractical, low self-drive and having a bad attitude or poor self-image (Aggleton, 1990). Effects of stress can be physical, mental or emotional. Stress is a major cause for lack of sleep, headaches, and changes in one’s personality, moodiness and depression. Stress can also cause hair loss or premature baldness especially when its levels are very high. Heart disease and heart failure are cumulative effects of stress on an individual who experiences major and prolonged stress (Carr, Unwin & Pless-Mulloli, 2007). In addition, the respiratory system is adversely affected by stress, thus triggering respiratory problems such as asthma. The large and small body muscles become overloaded by prolonged stress, hence making them more sensitive, weak and less capable of handling any physical strain (Joseph, 2000). The digestive system, being a system that is heavily controlled by messages from the brain, is highly upset by stress. Therefore, disorders such as stomach and intestinal ulcers, gastritis and extremely sensitive colon are triggered due to an imbalance in the production of digestive juices and hormones. The reproductive system, too, is heavily reliant on hormones, which are triggered from various glands in the brain. Therefore, stress causes an imbalance in hormones controlling the reproductive system hence triggering vaginal and urinary tract infections, irregularity in monthly periods, uterine cramps, impotence and premature ejaculation (Fink, 2000). The skin is the largest body organ and it is an external reflection of the condition of the internal body systems. As a result, stress causes low immunity of the skin and imbalance of the hormones and environment off the skin hence triggering outbreaks on the skin such as acne, blackheads, warts and eczema among others. In addition, the body becomes less immune and therefore more susceptible to viral and bacterial infections and diseases; these include sexually transmitted infections, HIV, and some cancers. Long-term stress keeps the body alert in a negative manner leading to excessive breakdown of body and muscle fats. This may lead to excessive weight loss, slackening of the muscles controlling speech and heart conditions due to the wearing off of the heart muscles. Long-term stress also causes a prolonged increase in the blood sugar levels, hence triggering diabetes and failure of the pancreas (Cotton, 1990). There is several risk behaviours related to or prompted by stress. Some individuals have the tendency to overeat when stressed, thus resulting to complications and disorders associated with bad eating habits (Griffiths & Hunter, 1999). Overeating mainly leads to obesity, which in turn leads to complications such as constriction of blood vessels, high blood pressure, heart failure and impotence among other health complications. Overeating, especially of the wrong combination of food, may result to abnormal formation and growth of cells leading to development of cancerous cells in the body. In addition, people who overeat as a response to stress tend to overspend, thus leading to other financial and social complications; this risk behaviour is not only a response to stress but also a source of stress itself (Aggleton, 1990). Addiction to alcohol, drugs, cigarettes and other sedatives is a common risk behaviour prompted by stress. Any people respond to stress by drinking, smoking or taking drugs with the aim of relieving or forgetting the stress for a moment. This they do without realizing that sedatives only cause forgetfulness of the stress for a moment ad after the sedatives are at low levels in the body, reality springs back to life – in a worse manner than before the drinking or smoking (Joseph, 2000). Such addictions to sedative substances pose great danger to the health of the individual: drinking presents liver and digestive tract problems, degradation of brain cells, impotence, birth defects and infant mortality, gout and dehydration of the body. Smoking presents the risk of lung cancer, lip cancer, amputation of limbs, impotence, health risks to secondary smokers, birth defects and infant mortality, et cetera. In addition, abuse of such substances has social and legal implications apart from having serious health implications (Cotton, 1990). People who are stressed have the tendency to relieve stress in ways that are risky to them and to the people around them. For instance, stressed people may subconsciously or consciously take to bad driving habits for instance overlapping, impatience with traffic lights, overtaking, accelerating, sudden braking, drunken driving, irritability and being irrational as they drive. The above behaviours are known to be the leading causes for most of the road accidents that occur. This directly affects them and the people who are close to them, as well as the society at large (Griffiths & Hunter, 1999). Crime is also a risk behaviour prompted by stress; some people resort to engaging in criminal activities as a way of relieving stress, as a way of relieving their financial problems and s a way of finding acceptance in the eyes of their company or peers. Crime has serious economic, legal and social implications because it is a major drawback to the economic development of the nation, it is illegal and it leads to alienation of criminals from the society due to the bad image associated with criminals. Prostitution is also a social problem whose major root cause is stress (Beattie et al. 1993). It is also important to address the risk factors for stress, which include gender, age, health conditions, trauma, personality traits and family history. Gender: Statistics indicate that women are twice more likely to have stress than men due to several contributing factors. Cultural factors greatly contribute to this fact because women experience the cultural pressure to sacrificially put everyone else’s needs before theirs. As a result, women go about their day to day lives piling up stressing issues simply because they feel that such issues are trivial compared to the needs of other people that they are expected to meet. For instance, women are culturally expected to cope with a sour or abusive marriage because ‘they have to put the needs of the children first’ before their own need of happiness and contentment (Gochman, 1997). Age: Children are more likely to experience stress caused by anxiety and phobias of darkness and other elements or creations of nature. In addition, some children are affected by prenatal stress caused by the parents before they are born; however, only high stress levels in parents affect children before birth. Teenagers are more likely to have stress caused by anxiety, substance abuse, panic, peer pressure and irrational social fears. Older people are exposed to stress caused by marriage, divorce, work, raising children and financial expectations (Absi, 2007). Health Conditions: Some health conditions are risk factors associated with stress. Premenstrual syndrome causes anxiety, moodiness and irritability, thus creating an atmosphere for stress to thrive in, digestive problems are a cause for anxiety and irritability which also lead to stress and sleeping disorders also lead to nervousness, irritability and poor concentration thus creating an avenue for stress. Chronic fatigue syndrome and migraines directly cause stress (Griffiths & Hunter, 1999). Trauma: Psychological factors cause some individuals to be more vulnerable to trauma, thus creating stress disorders. Childhood trauma caused by abuse and instability in parents’ marriage leads to anxiety and emotional instability, thus creating stress. Traumatic exposures can also create phobias towards certain things in children, teenagers or adolescents, and adults; phobias lead to anxiety and, consequently, stress (Joseph, 2000). Personality Traits: Shy and reserved people are more likely to be victims of bullying and rejection during their childhood, and this may create a greater probability for the person to have anxiety and withdrawal even past their childhood, thus creating stressfulness. People with the temperament that causes them to have little patience or lenience towards situations that have ambiguity tend to worry a lot, creating a higher probability for stress-causing anxiety (Beattie et al. 1993). Perfectionists are also more likely to have stress because of the tendency to have extremely high expectations that everything should be done perfectly, and such people end up getting anxious especially when they fail to meet deadlines or expectations. People who have a personality trait of procrastination also experience stress because they do things under pressure and at the last minute. People who are controlling also experience stress when they feel that things are getting out of hand or when things are not going their way (Cotton, 1990). Family History: some anxiety disorders can be passed down from parents to children or between members of the family. Children can, by observation, also inherit some fears and anxieties that their parents have over issues in life and grow with these traits into their adulthood (Gochman, 1997). There are huge economic, social and human costs that come as a direct or indirect result of stress in different individuals. As a result, it becomes necessary that strategies are put in place to address stress as a health issue. Health promotion strategies have been put in place, the main aim being to enable people to be more in control of the factors that affect their health and their healthy lifestyle and thereby bring an improvement to their life and health. Health promotion strategies have been made highly practical in addressing stress as a health behaviour that has direct impact on healthy development and living. The health promotion strategies that have been put in place do not offer instant and guaranteed solutions to combat stress; instead, these strategies are designed to enable the people to have greater awareness and control over stressors, stress and anxiety (Absi, 2007). The Ottawa Health Promotion Agency is one of the current health promotion strategies in place to address stress as a health issue. This strategy has been put in place to enable the individuals to develop personal skills, to be more productive in the society and to have a better atmosphere that promotes health (Sparks et al. 2001). This strategy is also aimed at improving health services so that healthy living can be more easily accomplished. This health promotion strategy has been put in place to enable development of the society at the community level, and it therefore deals with social, cultural, psychological and health inequalities in the community to reduce prevalence of stress in the groups, which are more susceptible. The World Health Organization also has a health promotion strategy for addressing stress as a health issue. This health promotion strategy is not directed towards specific groups or towards a specific stressor; this strategy promotes health to various risk factors, health factors, all age groups, both genders, different personality traits and to various groups in the society (Noblet & LaMontagne, 2006). Working in this area of health does not come easy, as there are many challenges facing health promotion strategies addressing stress as a health issue. One of the challenges of working in this area of health is that health promotion strategies for addressing stress must operate in such a way that they are compatible to other systems in healthcare. In other words, these health promotion strategies cannot work in isolation, as they have no ability to single-handedly give working solutions to stress as a health issue; they are simply a means to a desirable end (Sparks et al. 2001). Health promotion strategies are also heavily reliant on statistical data and facts. As a result, these strategies give very minimal impact when carried out in new areas where the challenges and prevailing factors are different. Different places have different barriers and different government intervention strategies or policies. Therefore, health promotion strategies become expensive and almost impossible to work with because they need new health professionalism and new promoters who are specialized in the specific area where these strategies are being applied (Noblet & LaMontagne, 2006). Stress is one of the health behaviours that have highly significant impact upon a healthy lifestyle, and it greatly affects the healthy lifestyle of an individual because it causes great imbalance in the body and in the mind as the body responds to stressors. However, stress is not always dangerous to the healthy lifestyle or general lifestyle of an individual; there are ways through which stress is beneficial. The type of stress that has been tackled here is bad stress, the one that has undesirable health outcomes. Stress promotes various risk behaviours that come as a response to stressors and as a way of relieving the pressure. It is more prevalent is specific groups of people, who are classified according to various risk factors which include gender, age, health conditions, trauma, personality traits and family history among others (Absi, 2007). Stress management is a vital health promotion strategy since it enables the affected to be in control of their way of responding to stressors and stress itself. In stress management, the individuals are encouraged to speak out about their thoughts, emotions, expectations, fears, uncertainties and about their hopes. The affected are encouraged in undertaking in relaxation and in activities, such as hobbies, which offer relief from the hectic and monotonous routine. Those with severe stress or anxiety are given treatment that involves medication and counselling (Beattie et al. 1993). The impacts of stress can be reduced by engaging in healthier eating habits and by taking the necessary supplements that help reduce stress levels. In addition, engaging in relaxation techniques helps to greatly reduce the impacts of stress. Exercise is known to greatly reduce stress levels and to increase the ability of an individual to have better coping skills towards stressors. In addition, cognitive and behavioural therapy reduces stress levels and the impacts of stress by a great margin. This is better done in support groups than it is when done on an individual. References Absi, M. 2007. Stress and Addiction: biological and psychological mechanisms. California: Academic Press. Aggleton, P. 1990. Health. London: Routledge. Ayers, S., Baum, A., & McManus, C. 2007. Cambridge handbook of psychology, health and medicine. London: Cambridge University Press. 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Ross and Wilson: Anatomy and Physiology in Health and Illness, 10th Ed. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier. Sparks K., Faragher B., & Cooper C. 2001. Well-being and occupational health in the 21st century workplace. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, vol. 74, pp. 489-510. Webb, G.P. 2007. Nutrition: A Health Promotion Approach, 3rd Ed. London: Hodder Arnold. Read More