How Occupational Stress Affects Mental Health - Essay Example

?Occupational Stress and Mental Health To say that stress impacts mental health is an under ment. This is because stress is a major variable in the mental well-being of an individual. Biologically and psychologically, there are empirical evidences that show how it could lead to the breaking point of an individual’s mental health and the ability to perform. It is not uncommon to read in medical journals, for instance, how stress are linked to negative mood states, poor employee performance, and the ability to cope and function within personal relationships. The number of effects that demonstrate how stress leads to several mental disorders are diverse and numerous. This paper will explore how occupational stress affects mental health. What is Stress? The most effective explanation of what stress is, is the one posited by the biological school. Central to this explanation is the amygdale, which is the emotional center of the human brain and is designed to produce a fast response, but not necessarily an accurate or an appropriate one since it responds to messages and cues that are yet to be processed. (Tangri 2003, p. 33) This body part produces the reactions to sudden movements and surprises that can immediately affect every system in the human body especially the system that process that create the “fight or flight” response. (p. 33) The biological process involved underscore how stress could regulate, control and shape our well-being. It is a biological stimulus, a phenomenon that falls in the natural scheme of things. In this context, Hardy, Carson and Thomas posited that it is the body’s response to the demands or stressors that are placed upon it, involving the activation of several nervous system processes. (p. 1970) To further understand how stress works, the three-stage model posited by the researchers will be cited: the first stage involves the alarm phase, a brief period of lowered resistance followed by a time of heightened arousal wherein the body prepares itself for a rapid response. The second stage is referred to as the resistance, those responses on the alarm phase that leads to adaptation. The collapse is the final stage, the phases wherein resistance becomes futile indefinitely and the energy and resources are depleted and an individual becomes exhausted. (p. 1970) These stages along with the previously cited variables underscore how the work environment can be a major stressor and could have an adverse impact on a worker’s mental processes, resistance and coping capabilities. Occupational Stress If one has to calculate the amount of time that Americans spend in the workplace, there is an average of 8 to 9 hours devoted to work related activities every day. This is more than 90 percent of the time that working individuals are awake. So what transpires within this period and environment composed a significant portion of stressors that greatly impacts their thinking processes and their bodily functions. This is the reason why occupational stress greatly impacts mental health. Certainly, the sector susceptible to occupational stress and its negative effects on mental health are the workers within an environment that are characterized by high tension, high workload and high incidence of interactions with varying players coming from different backgrounds. Teachers are cases in point. In a study by Mearns and Cain (2002), it was explained that the factors that make the teaching profession stressful are: “interpersonal demands, the diversity of tasks required, lack of professional recognition, and discipline problems in the classroom; administrative red tape, bureaucracy, and lack of support; workload and time pressure” among others. (p. 71) The researchers cited how these factors collectively lead to the incidence of burnout among teachers, which is considered to be a symptom of emotional exhaustion. (p. 72) Tetrick and LaRocco (1987) provided the model for the relationship of occupational stress and mental health. The model explains that objective work conditions can lead to perceptions of stress. This, in turn, “leads to job-related strains such dissatisfaction, boredom, , and turnover, and to individual strains such as anxiety, depression, and physical illness.” (p. 538) Now this model, as supported by the body of academic research on the subject, supposedly demonstrates three important points about occupational stress and its role in mental well-being of many adults. These are: a) demonstration that certain job conditions lead to adverse outcomes (e.g., role ambiguity and role conflict lead to job dissatisfaction); b) the demonstration of the direct effects on stress and strain of factors external to the workplace; c) the demonstration of the moderating effects of these internal and external factors. (Tetrick and LaRocco, p. 538) These three points tell us that job conditions can bring about stressors. As anyone will agree, the workplace is a microcosm of society that involves relationships. Therefore, all the conflicts of the social interactions such as those brought about by class, gender, race, religion, point of view and age, among others all come into play. Workers have to play roles and the performance of their duties and responsibilities can be a source of extreme mental anxiety, triggering exhaustions and adverse mental and bodily reactions if the disruptions, chaos, and instability are present in such role-playing environment. Another important insight provided by the previous point is how the stressors in the workplace can be aggravated or mitigated by external variables. Now this leads us to the numerous by which we can cope with occupational stress. Since external variables play its part in dealing with the negative effects of stressful environment, then we can identify these in order to focus and cultivate on the factors that enable us to resist and adapt to stressors. Tetrick and LaRocco’s study revealed how social relationship can help mitigate the negative impact on stress on our mental health. Our family is an excellent example. It serves as a strong, stable support variable that serve as our anchor or strength to deal with problems and stress at work. Conclusion Having understood what stress is – how the phenomenon is considered natural human stimuli – it is easy to recognize where the problems are. This, in turn, allows us to identify ways to address and mitigate them so that we could lead a tolerable, productive and successful working hours. This will prove to be very helpful in my future career. The insights on stress and its relationship with my mental well-being will allow me to identify effective coping mechanisms so I could adapt better and perform as well. References Hardy, S., Carson, J. and Thomas, B. (1998). Occupational stress: personal and professional approaches. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes. Mearns, J. and Cain, J. (2002). "Relationships Between Teachers' Occupational Stress and Their Burnout and Distress: Roles of Coping and Negative Mood Regulation Expectancies," Anxiety, Stress and Coping, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 71-82. Tangri, R. (2003). Stress Costs: Stress Cures. Victoria: Trafford Publishing. Tetrick, L. and LaRocco, J. (1987). "Understanding, Prediction, and Control as Moderators of the Relationships Between Perceived Stress, Satisfaction, and Psychological Weil-Being," American Psychological Association, vol. 72, no. 4, pp. 538-543. Read More