Stress in Everyday Life - Term Paper Example

? Stress Introduction Life in modern days comprises various activities which give rise to hassles, demands and tensions. These mentioned forms of disturbances are known to accumulate into a single term, often regarded to be as ‘stress’. For few people, stress has become a part of life while dealing with day-to-day activities. However, stress is not always considered to be negative as in some situations it motivates an individual to perform better under pressure. Although, stress has certain positive impacts but the negative impacts are measured to be more commonly observed on the human beings. Constant stress can affect the health of human beings largely which may result in sleepless nights, less appetite for food and several other forms of ill effects (Helpguide, 2012). The ill hazards of stress on the health of individuals can be protected by identifying the symptoms and taking measures to reduce the damaging effects. Stress can be termed as a normal physical reaction followed by events which are believed to threaten the lives of the individuals. Stress reactions are the way of protecting the individuals from the threatening elements. While analysing the positive impacts it was learnt that stress helps an individual to stay focused and emphasise on the work that is being done. It has also been observed that in emergency situations stress can save the life of an individual by providing the extra energy to defend oneself (Helpguide, 2012). The essay intends to provide an in depth comprehension regarding the concept of stress in everyday life. Furthermore, it will provide a lucid understanding about the physical and psychological effects of stress. Lastly, the techniques for managing stress occurring in day to day life will also be evaluated. Transactional Model of Stress According to Mark & Smith (2008), transactional model of Stress is increasingly cognitive and emphasises on the active relationship that has been generated between the individual and the environment with regard to the mental and emotional processes. The model states that stress may not entail consequences if an individual considers the element of stress as a motivating or challenging factor. Additionally, if the person is believed to posses the required techniques of coping then the element of stress does not develop. Furthermore, the model intends to offer people ways with the intention to manage their respective level of stress effectively and cope up with such related elements. Moreover, the model develops the perspectives of the individuals in relation to stress and presents them with the skills and confidence to handle the effects of stress along with managing different types of stressors (Mark & Smith, 2008). For instance, an individual may perceive that the target of achieving four ‘A’ grades will instigate his/her abilities. However, if the individual is compelled to achieve the target then it leads to development of stress. Thus, the perception is influenced by various factors, such as situational demands, personality and previous experiences (Mark & Smith, 2008). Concept of Stress in Everyday Life It has been often heard from adults that teenage years are few of the best years of an individual’s life. The sayings are known to have evolved from the past years of an individual’s life which already elapsed by getting engaged with various activities and curriculums of schools and colleges, actively participating in different events and performing various activities that satisfied one’s desires. However, lives for certain teenagers are filled with various messages and contradictory demands from teachers, parents, friends and coaches among others. Negotiating these demands and creating a way to differentiate between independence and reliance is regarded as a tough task for individuals. Inability to negotiate between the conflicting demands leads to stress which ultimately results in depression. Stress is categorised by frustration, feelings of sadness, tensions and worry which usually last for few days or hours. However, depression is longer considered to be lasting and rigorous especially which evolves from isolation, worthlessness or hopelessness. Although, stress has some positive impacts, depression only disrupts the mindset of the individuals and creates ill health (Walker, 2002). Stress can crop up due to various factors. Location can be a factor which can accumulate stress. For instance, an individual brought up in cold areas suddenly shifts to warm areas. Due to the unsatisfying climatic condition an individual can feel distressed in whatever activities he/she is doing. Therefore, the factor of unhappiness erupted from the climatic conditions will be stressful for the individual which if not figured out quickly can lead to depression. This is majorly observed with employees engaged in the service sector. Transfers and postings is a part of the service sector people which at times detach them from their families. Thus, the climatic conditions add up with the isolation factor which creates stress on the mind of the individuals. Furthermore, physiological reasons can also create stress on an individual’s mind. Continuous pain and fatigue can make an individual sad about not being able to perform to the optimum level which can result in raising questions regarding his/her worthiness. In addition, psychosocial factors can also be a reason for building stress on the minds of the people. Issues like failing in exams or losing a job can create a feeling of hopelessness which can create stress on the individuals. This can affect him/her as the fear of failing in the minds of the individuals can result in affecting them badly. Thus, the satisfaction level decreases and people move into the state of depression (Scribd Inc, 2012). Physical and Psychological Effects of Stress The human body does not differentiate between the psychological and physical threats while stress mounts on the minds of the people. If an individual is disturbed by workload or any arguments with colleagues or friends, the body strongly reacts likewise to the threats of life. Continuous and long lasting stress can lead to serious health issues or problems. Chronic stress is learnt to disturb most of the nervous system in the human body. Serious issues like increased blood pressure, weakening of the immune system, higher probabilities of heart attack or stroke and increased chances of infertility can be observed as the outcomes of stress. Long-term stress can disrupt the thought process of human brains and increase the level of anxiety or depression within the individuals (DeLongis, Folkman & Lazarus, 1988). Furthermore, sleepless nights are also considered as one of the physical outcomes of stress. Due to the excess level of stress possessed by the individuals, the brains fail to stabilise which makes the individuals keep on thinking over certain issues constantly. Thus, individuals are found to spend sleepless nights which as a result affect the digestive system of human beings. Moreover, due to the non-compliance of the minimum sleeping hours as specified by doctors’ makes the individuals witness various problems on the following day. Their working ability gets disrupted along with a trim down in the level of concentration. At times, due to loss of focus, people might even encounter accidents while walking or crossing the roads. In addition, stress also causes obesity which is one of the major concerns for most of the countries (Helpguide, 2012). According to Thompson (2010), modern day leaders of various organisations are known to be affected by the hazards of stress. It was further stated in this regard that good leaders are the ones who possess the competencies to take sound and rapid decisions according to the demands of the situation. However, recent corporate scenario revealed that good leaders having excellent track records also committed huge blunders while taking effective decisions. The reasons cited behind this actuality are the consequences of stress which was known to evolve from numerous activities in relation to the daily life. Experts have mentioned in this context that increasing the leaders’ emotional intelligence helps to combat and manage stress. However, the authors further argued that stress is one of the sole factors that obstruct the accessibility to emotional intelligence (Thompson, 2010). The effects of stress are not always observed to be negative. Weiten, Dunn & Hammer (2011) argued that stress also entails few positive effects which have been noted in the 21st century. The positive effects of stress can be classified into three categories. Firstly, stress can encourage positive psychological growth which can also be termed as post-traumatic growth. In other words, it can be stated that stressful events at times force people to innovate skills, re-evaluate priorities, learn new techniques and obtain increased strengths. Furthermore, the adaptation methods instituted by stress may guide to personal changes in terms of attitude or physique. For instance, discontinuation of a relationship among a couple may guide an individual to change the attitude or behaviour considered unsatisfactory by either of them. Secondly, events evolving out of stress help in satisfying the need for motivation and challenge. It has been observed that people generally prefer a mid-level of stress which relates to neither too much work load, nor under load of work. Although, too much of workload is considered stressful but even less load of work is also known to create stress. People feel bored with their lives as challenges or developing innovative skills for tackling the overloaded work ceases to exist. Thirdly, stress which has been experienced once can train the human mind from encountering the similar form of stress arising from a particular event. It was also additionally mentioned by the authors that dealing with stressful events prepare individuals for succeeding events (Weiten, Dunn & Hammer, 2011). Hancock & Szalma (2008) observed that stress is one of the most crucial factors of understanding human beings. Stress is an omnipresent fact of life which is perceived differently in modern times in contrast to the preconceived concept. It was also stated in this regard that the capacity to adapt and react rapidly in various situations is considered to be one of the competencies of human beings. Thus, it can be stated that stress at times help individuals to rapidly adapt to situations and take up different challenges in life (Hancock & Szalma, 2008). Techniques for Managing Everyday Stress Stress is the wear and tear which is experienced by the minds and bodies as individuals continually adjust to complex situations arising from the changing environment including work. However, a positive form of stress can lead to force individuals to undertake such actions which can derive new and exciting results. Although, there are numerous sources from which stress arises, similarly several alternatives are also known to exist for managing it. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO, stress resulting from work is the second most common health problem experienced by one third of the employed people in the European countries (Varvogli & Darviri, 2011). Therefore, effective stress management can be conducted by promoting health related issues which are discussed below: Progressive Muscle Reaction (PMR) – It is a technique that reduces stress and anxiety by contracting as well as ‘relaxing the muscles’. The technique was developed by Edmund Jacobson, an American physician in the year 1920. He stated that since anxiety is related to muscle contracting, therefore, an individual suffering from stress can reduce his/her anxiety level by learning the techniques of relaxing the muscles (Varvogli & Darviri, 2011). Autogenic Training (AT) – It is a self relaxation process by which a psycho-physiologically identified relaxation reaction is obtained. This technique was developed by Johannes Heinrich Schultz who stated that the relaxation process aims to provide enhanced degree of relaxation and reduce stress. While practicing the techniques of AT, a set of exercises have been prescribed and are believed to control the blood pressure and heart rate along with body temperature (Varvogli & Darviri, 2011). Relaxation Response (RR) – It has been observed by Herbert Benson that there are counterbalancing mechanisms to the reaction of stress. Just as instigating an area of hypothalamus can create stress, triggering other areas of the brain can reduce the stress. Thus, the opposite reactions in order to reduce stress have been defined by him as relaxation response. The RR is a simple process which consists of various characteristics of relaxation such as repeating a word, phrase, prayer or thought which ensures that concentration is obtained. Furthermore, these activities provide a reflexive action to the other thoughts that try to obstruct the concentration level (Varvogli & Darviri, 2011). Biofeedback – It is a term which originated from Weiner’s feedback provided by a team of researchers attending a conference in 1969 in Surfrider Inn in Santa Monica. It is a process that enables a person to posses the knowledge of changing physiological activity for the intention of improving performance and health. Certain instruments which accurately measures the heart rate, brainwaves and muscle activity facilitates providing the feedback to the user. The presented feedback is often found to be a combination of changing emotions and behaviours that maintains a desired psychological change. After certain instances, the psychological changes are found to derive the measurements without the use of the instruments (Varvogli & Darviri, 2011). Guided Imagery (GI) – Joseph Wolpe in the late 1960s introduced certain images related to the techniques of behaviour-modification therapy. Later in the following years several physiotherapists introduced numerous techniques of reducing stress and anxiety by considering various imagery works. The GI is a process which requires to be practiced for 10 minutes for 4-8 weeks before a trained professional by reviewing an audio or script. Therefore, GI uses the individual’s personalised images for promoting health through numerous techniques which are adaptable and reduces stress. The GI aims at providing specified images of an individual in order to make him/her aware about the forthcoming issues regarding health which provokes the individual to take necessary behavioural or physiological changes in order to develop health (Varvogli & Darviri, 2011). Diaphragmatic Breathing – This method has earlier been a part of various yoga traditions which has been included in different modern day relaxation programs. The method is a simple and natural act of breathing which if done systematically relaxes the mind of individuals. In order to experience immediate effects, patients are taught the exact process of inhaling and exhaling, either heavily or slowly. Deep breathing has proved to help individuals in decreasing the level of anxiety and stress by relaxing the mind and body from the daily hardships (Varvogli & Darviri, 2011). Conclusion In day to day lives various planned and spontaneous events take place on a continuous basis which is believed to give rise to the factor of stress. Conversely, it has been mentioned in this regard that tackling and adapting these events effectively is considered to be the main solution in avoiding stress. It has been observed that during the previous years, stress was considered only to have negative impacts on individuals. However, in the modern times it has been found to be stated by the researchers that stress can enforce individuals to become more adaptable to situations and take rapid decisions. Moreover, there exist numerous techniques which have been developed by physiotherapists in order to manage stress. However, sleep and health food are the common remedies to manage stress effectively. Just as stress negatively impacts the physical health of an individual, psychologically stress helps to increase the confidence level as well. It allows people to challenge their own abilities while performing amid numerous participants. In the working environment, increased rate of competition has made it necessary for the employees to analyse their personal competencies and work accordingly in order to effectively compete with their co-workers. However, leaders of modern organisations have been found to assert the actuality that due owing to the level of stress, decision making gets affected adversely. Reports have been found to reveal the fact that an ineffective decision leads to the downfall of various organisations in this highly competitive world. Thus, it can be stated that both negative and positive impacts accompany stress which if analysed appropriately can increase the competencies of an individual. References DeLongis, A., Folkman, S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1988). The impact of daily stress on health and mood: Psychological and social resources as mediators. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(3), pp. 486-495. Hancock, P. A., & Szalma, J. L. (2008). Performance under stress. United Kingdom: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. Helpguide. (2012). Understanding stress. Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm Mark, G. M., & Smith, A. P. (2008). Stress models: A review and suggested new direction. Retrieved from http://psych.cf.ac.uk/home2/smith/Mark_and_Smith_Typeset.pdf Scribd Inc. (2012). Concepts of stress. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/7455650/Concepts-of-Stress Varvogli, L., & Darviri, C. (2011). Stress management techniques: Evidence-based procedures that reduce stress and promote health. Health Science Journal 5(2), pp. 74-89. Walker, J. (2002). Teens in distress series adolescent stress and depression. Retrieved from http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/youthdevelopment/da3083.html Weiten, W., Dunn, D. S & Hammer, E. Y. (2011). Psychology applied to modern life: Adjustment in the 21st century. United States: Cengage Learning. Bibliography Akin, J. E. (2009). 3 concepts of stress analysis. Retrieved from http://www.clear.rice.edu/mech403/HelpFiles/FEM_stress_concepts.pdf Cotton, D. (1990). Stress management: An integrated approach to therapy. United Kingdom: Psychology Press. Dressler, W. W. (1991). Stress and adaptation in the context of culture: Depression in a southern black community. United States: SUNY Press. Read More