Stress-Related Problems and Their Treatment - Essay Example

? Stress-related Problems and Treatment Introduction An individual’s physical health depends much on different factors, many of which affect it with minimum notice. Crises in life are some of the factors that contribute a lot to a person’s health or its deficiency. People attribute various physical disorders like headache, reduced productivity at work or insomnia to an illness, but these disorders might result from stressful crises in life. There are many crises related problems that people encounter in life, which largely affect a person’s body, behavior, or their thoughts and feelings. However, there are various ways of treating these problems some of which have effective outcomes as opposed to others. The essay that follows identifies two problems related to stressful crisis, and two interventions made towards solving these problems and compares and contrasts them making observations to determine the efficiency of the intervention models. Crisis-related problems i. Stress Stress is a psychological disorder caused by activities in an individual’s body or mind that make cause strain on body tissues responding to forces applied on the body and mind. It is a normal physical response to events that turn threatening or upsetting on an individual’s balance (Melinda, Robert & Jean, 2013). The body normally responds to either real or imagined threats as a way of protecting the individual. The response comes from the physiological mechanism called “Fight or Flight” that energizes the body with strength needed to face the stressful encounter (Busch, 2013). To get this energy, there is increasing heart rate, which consequently increased blood supply to the heart and brain making more glucose energy that restores the body to normal after the stress ends. However some threats might exceed the body’s adaptive capabilities and cause stress. There are several problems associated with stress that cause physical health problems and others even lead to death (Melinda, Robert & Jean, 2013). Some of the physical problems associated with chronic stress include blood pressure, chronic muscle tension, and decreased immune response. People can prevent these problems through a number of ways and live a stress free life. Symptoms of stress Response to stressful moments that come along an individual requires physical reactions that have an impact on the whole body (Busch, 2013). Symptoms associated with stress are thus physical, behavioral and emotional. Physical symptoms include high blood pressure, headaches, chest pains, sleeping disorders, and heart tremors, among others. Emotional symptoms may include loss of concentration, getting worried, sadness, anger, and forgetfulness, while behavioral responses are being isolated from others, eating little or too much, and drug abuse (Busch, 2013). ii. Depression Depression is one of the problems related mostly related to stress. It refers to a syndrome or group of symptoms reflecting a sad mood that is beyond normal anger or grief (Dryden-Edwards, 2012). Sadness accompanying depression defers from normal sadness in that it is more intensified and endures for a long duration accompanied by disabilities in body’s normal functioning. Apart from negative behavior, moods and thoughts, other symptoms accompanying depression include bodily function changes like body aches, low energy production, sleeping disorders, weight loss, and eating problems, among others (Dryden-Edwards, 2012). These changes are initiated from the nervous system as the brain controls all the physical functions of the body leading to either decreased or increased level of activity. Symptoms of Depression For these symptoms to be clearly evident, they must be present in an individual daily for a period of two weeks, and must have the ability to affect one’s functional ability (Busch, 2013). The main symptoms include reduced energy and low interest in normal activities. Other symptoms are loss of appetite, weight loss or gain, and little or completely no sleep. It can also lead to disturbance and lack of concentration, and later cause death or suicide. Effects of depression There are a number of effects associated with depression. According to Dryden-Edwards (2012), statistics in the United States show increased amounts of directs costs caused by treatment of depression, and indirect costs resulting from loss of productivity or absenteeism from school and work (Dryden-Edwards, 2012). Medical studies also show that depression causes more problems associated with normal functioning of those affected, compared to other diseases and increases the risk for other illnesses like HIV and Asthma, among others. It has a high ability to cause other health and illness problems and even cause death. Its coexistence with other mental illnesses worsens the health status of those who have a combination of the two. In the elderly, depression tends to be chronic with low recovery rate, and mostly undertreated. This poses a high risk since elderly people are prone to suicide in situations like these (Dryden-Edwards, 2012). Medical treatment is thus necessary for patients suffering from depression because under treatment can cause mortality. Comparison between Stress and Depression These two disorders share some common characteristics as well and as well they have differences. Some of the similarities between stress and depression include causes and symptoms. Both depression and stress can result from events in life and medical conditions. They all result from biochemical responses made by the body. When a person undergoes stress, the body releases chemicals for production of energy that helps them overcome or challenge the stressful situation. Likewise, when an individual is under depression, they require energy from the body to overcome the situation. Stress and depression both share some behavioral symptoms for example, social isolation. Both stressed and depressed individuals tend to isolate themselves from other people and live alone (Busch, 2009). This is because the mind lacks enough energy to accommodate other people’s opinions. In both stress and depression, the patients exhibit an increase or decrease in eating habits. Disturbances in sleep and potential drug abuse also occur in both stressed and depressed individuals. Another common comparison is that continued or repeated stress and negative mindset on depression in individuals makes them feel helpless and may lead to actions like suicide (Busch, 2009). Their effects may both have long-term effects. For instance, prolonged stress can lead severe illnesses like high blood pressure and weak immune system (Busch, 2013) while depression also can cause heart problems and other physical health problems due to isolation. Contrast However depression and stress share some similarities, they differ in a number of ways. First, their causes can widely differ according to the situation. Stress for example can result from pleasant activities that await an individual like marriage and promotion (Busch, 2009). On the other hand, most causes of depression tend to be unpleasant like financial constraints, hardships in relationships, or even death. Secondly, although both of them have roots in biochemical responses, they operate in different chemical pathways (Busch, 2013). Their treatment also differs in that relaxation and lifestyle changes can help manage a mild stress while once a person attains depression, they can only receive medication to help restore the chemical balance (Busch, 2013). Intervention models There exist a number of invention methods used in the treatment of stress and depression. These methods used nowadays differ from traditional methods given the rise in technology and advancement in education. Technology has led to introduction of exercise like Tai Chi that therapists use for treatment of the two disorders, while advancements in education bring into action new creative methods like Expressive Art Therapy for dealing with stressed and depressed people. i. The Expressive Art Therapy This is a method that dates back in ancient days when primitive societies use art to express themselves. These arts included paintings, carvings, models, music, and other artistic devices to express their concerns in the society. Techniques used This method uses artistic creations to bring subconscious problems to life and find a solution to them. It uses arts fields like music, dance, painting, modeling and drama to make patients express their distressing moments without the use of words (Expressive Art Therapy, 2013). It does not require one to be an expert in the fields, but the emotions created reveal what a participant goes through (Holm, 2011). The use of expressive art therapy borrows its approach from psychotherapy where expressions are more used than verbal language to come create awareness and help with the situation. Expressive art therapy best suits patients not willing or are unable to undergo psychotherapy for instance, children who may not verbally express themselves (Tummers, 2011). It effectively treats addictive behaviors, behavioral problems or difficulties in learning, and is best for people concerned with personal growth and development of self-confidence. This therapy entails giving the patient time to express themselves through the works of art while the therapist listens or watches, and the patient later explains their experience to the therapist who looks for the appropriate treatment (Expressive Art, 2011). Drama and dance express an inner conflict, anxiety or frustration as music reclaims the body. The use of expressive art therapy can be helpful in that it can bring a solution to a distressing problem given that it is not always possible to disclose one’s feeling to a person they do not know (Tummers, 2011). When a patient suffering from stress or depression creates a work of art, they express their emotions and say a lot about what they experience at the moment. This is a situation where words cannot best express what one is going through. Research concludes that the therapy creates one’s own happiness in that when one sees some beautiful work of art, the brain releases the neurotransmitter that raises positive feelings (Mitchell, 2012). Research has also proved expressive art therapy beneficial for treatment of depression in cancer patients and therapists see it helping patients overcome their symptoms (Bar-Sela et al, 2007). ii. Tai Chi Tai Chi is a form of exercise with its origin in China for self-defense (MFMER, 2013). However, it has now developed a slow form of exercise used for reducing stress and other health conditions. It incorporates a chain of slow movements done in a focused manner together with deep breathing. People performing Tai Chi do not compete as they do it at their own pace with gentle stretching and physical exercise (MFMER, 2013). The movements change from one to the other without breaking the chain to ensure a continued body movement. Tai Chi and treatment of stress and depression Tai Chi reduces stress because it requires mental concentration on the movements only and thus causes interference of thoughts about worries (Tsui, 2013). With all the concentration needed on the movements, it leaves no room for reflecting on the day’s hassles. The many exercises involved in Tai Chi maintain an appropriate heart rate in the correct time frame accompanied by gentle exercise that stretches almost everybody muscle. Tai Chi helps treat depression because it fosters calmness and tranquility in the mind as the mind focuses on the exercise only (Tsui, 2013). Comparison and Contrast between Expressive Art Therapy and Tai Chi Both of these treatment methods show effective treatment of depression and stress. For example, expressive art therapy largely helps people who can express their emotions through works of art (Mitchell, 2012). Tai Chi also helps people who can effectively perform the movements (Tsui, 2013). Although both methods treat these disorders, they still recommend for medical supervision. However, there are differences between the two depending on the age of participants. Expressive art limits age of participants to those who can use the arts. For example, the elderly may not be able to express their emotions through the works of art. On the contrary, Tai Chi favors all ages because it has slow movements, which even the elderly, can perform and effectively get treated (MayoClinic, 2013). Observations and analysis Depression and stress can be a result of each other, but most likely, stress can influence depression through a prolonged moment of stress. The two intervention models can effectively help in reduction of stress and depression, but from the analysis Tai Chi proves to be more effective. When compared to the aspect of age, it covers all age groups opposed to expressive art, which favors may be the literate. Thus, evaluating the efficiency of the models in terms of age gives a conclusion that Tai Chi, when applied in treatment of stress and depression can show effective outcomes. Conclusion Studies conducted on treatment or reduction of stress and depression show that expressive art helping reduce these disorders (Bar-Sela et. al, 2007) as others show effectiveness of using Tai Chi. However, expressive art does not leave room for the elderly. This is because most of them may not be able to see or present their emotions in a form of art. On the other hand, Tai Chi gives room for all age groups to participate given that it is a slow movement that even the elderly can manage and effectively reduce their stress and depression (Lam, 2008). Recommendations therefore go to further research works on the use of expressive art to consider what the art can do to the elderly to ensure they too get help from art. 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