Stress and coping - Essay Example

Again sometimes certain happy occasions are considered “stressful”. For instance the birth of a child, moving to a new house, or promotion in the workplace may prove to be stressful. This may be because one is not prepared to deal with such events. Stress is personal and there are different forms and levels of stress. How one copes with stress varies from individual to individual. Each individual looks at a situation differently and hence copes with it differently. Often people react to situations with fear and anxiety, all signs of stress, because these situations had caused stress in the past.

For instance a student who has failed in an examination may feel stressful the next time he takes an examination. Every individual exhibits different coping skills. Hence two persons will not respond to a situation in exactly the same way. If a person responds to stress in a negative way it may affect health and happiness. By understanding the stress inducing situation and responding accordingly one can handle stress effectively. Today in the modern world life is full of demands, worries and frustration, all causing a certain amount of stress.

Stress has almost become a way of life. Stress per se is not bad. In small amounts it may motivate you and help you to perform better. But when a person is constantly under stress it may affect his mind and body. According to Hawkins (1994), “…too much or too little stress can have deleterious effects on performance with resultant effects on the health of the individual and the organization.” Again, the impact of stress on health depends on our perception of the event that causes stress and how we react to the situation.

Sometimes an event may motivate or even energize us. For instance events such as taking a vacation or winning a game may energize you. Sometimes we may perceive an event as stressful and react to it in a way that can have a negative effect on our mental and physical health.