Analysis
The article “How Stress Causes Disease” explains how I became ill recently (Carnegie Mellon University, 2012). My boss called with a proposed job status change for me from full time to part time which would mean a loss of benefits and 50% cut in pay. The thought of losing my job devastated me not only because it pays my bills, but because I love what I do. Facing this situation has made it difficult to concentrate and sleep. My appetite diminished and I had a hard time eating. I cried and my mood was very sad. I fell ill within 3 weeks of receiving the news of this life altering event. My body was more vulnerable to illness because my immune system was less sensitive to the cortisol levels over time, allowing the inflammation to go unchecked, causing illness to attack my body (Carnegie Mellon University, 2012).
I am a conscientious student, and I put an extreme amount of effort into my studies to achieve a 4.0 in my courses. I know that I am more sensitive to stress after reading the article “How to Predict Who Will Suffer the Most From Stress” (Concordia University, 2014). My heart pounds whenever I complete graded assignments because I know that I must perform well to obtain the marks I strive for in the class. This biological response, if monitored by scientists, would confirm this personal stress risk.
I am at high risk for illness from a score of 438 on the Holmes and Rahe stress assessment (Mind Tools, 2015). Steps I can take to decrease my stress can
They concluded that exam stress reduces immune function, potentially leaving the individual vulnerable to illness and infections. Immune function is also affected by psychological variables such as the stress of life events and feelings of loneliness. These long term stressors may make individuals more vulnerable to the added effect of short term stressors such as exams.
However, I do believe it has taken a toll on my health. It is common knowledge that stress has a direct correlation to one’s health.
Initial response to stress activates immune systems; prolonged stress weakens the immune system making you more susceptible to getting sick.
Society defines stress as anything which forces us to change. Through technical terms stress is defined as “a negative emotional state occurring in response to events that are perceived as taking or exceeding a person’s resources or ability to cope.” To explaining stress researchers came up with the “Cognitive appraisal model”, this system works to tell us whether we believe we have enough resources to deal with the situation without becoming stressed. For instance as a now college student those who have had previous experience taking finales in high school can have less stress than those who have not taken it. This is because they have previous experience with taking the tests and learning how to study while those who have never taken one can become extremely stressed over the unknown of the test. Stress is one of the sub branches that is attached to the world of health psychology. Health psychology is a quickly growing branch that deals with the way the mind and body work together. Psychologists that work in the health field came up with the biopsychosocial model. This model explains the complex interaction with biological, psychological, and social factors.
Getting sick is another negative factor of being overly stressed. Chronic stress compromises your immune system and stress hormones affect the body’s ability to fight off illness due to the fact that thymus’s ability to stimulate and coordinate the white blood cell activity.
All of this stress has a significant impact on one’s overall health and wellness. From cancer to child mortality, nearly every
Keeping a stress journal has opened my eyes to the opportunities that I have around me Everyday. I wake up and ultimately do the same thing day in and day out; the only difference is the stress I encounter. It is hard to believe, it took an assignment to open my eyes about the great things in my life. Reading over my stress journal analysis, I have learned to care for the people in my life and I have notice I have a lot of hate and angry built inside. In my life there many stressors, the main one I have notice through tis project is angry.
Schneiderman, N., Ironson, G., & Siegel, S. D. (2005). STRESS AND HEALTH: Psychological, Behavioral, and Biological Determinants. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 1,
In an acute stressor, the immune system is heightened. But is suppressed in a chronic stressor. In this situation the cortisol levels rise, and weaken the immune system. This weaken system can make the human body more susceptible to serious disease, infections
They have also found that there are strong links between prolonged stress and disorders, mentally and physically. Kiecolt-Glaser et al 1995 also carried out research into the relationship between Stress and the Immune System. Kiecolt-Glaser et al 1995 = == ==
Psychological and physical well-being and the overall quality of life are under a constant threat of stress and thus, psychological and medical sciences have long been concerned with studying stress response. Cox (1979) claimed that because of the poor understanding and defining it, the concept of stress tends to be rather elusive. The term, “stress”, commonly describes any physchological or physical alteration that deranges the organism’s homeostasis (or balance). This essay reviews some of the biological factors involved in stress and it has been organized in the following way. The paper begins by briefly introducing the concept of stress. It will then go on to discus and describe the automatic response (fight or flight reaction),
I believe that stress is gendered. According to “Depressive Symptoms, Stress, and Support: Gendered Trajectories From Adolescence to Young Adulthood,” Sarah O. Meadows, J. Scott Brown and Glen H. Elder Jr. (2006), asserts that stress is gendered and women are the one who are most likely to experience stress. Women stressed a lot more because they have more things to focus on than men. We live in a society where both men and women are able to work in a workforce and on top of that women are the one who most likely take care of the household and their children.
Which collects the health statistics of students from universities all around the world every second year, reported that 40.2 percent of Santa Clara University students identified that stress affected their individual academic performance during the last 12 months of their studies (Temple,2011). Temple (2011) reported a survey conducted in 2004 that assessed the overall well-being of 47,202 undergraduates nationwide. The findings were that 32.4 percent of students recognized stress as the main obstacle to their academic performance. This was said to be above the common cold, depression, death of a relative, sexual assault and eating disorders. Stress is “once considered as the nation’s number one health epidemic; prolonged stress can lead to ulcers, heart disease, stroke, major depression and to a shorter life span” (Temple, 2011).
Chronic stress can also interfere with the body’s immune system directly through hormonal changes. Glucocorticoids-a hormone
“Stress is a silent disease” (Doctor Hobel). Over the years, stress has played a major rule in a large majority of people’s lives throughout the United States. When thought about, it is said to be extremely surprising as to how many people really have stress in each individual’s life. People do not consider what the reasons are for the feelings and emotions they experience. There are all different types of stress, and stress can do a lot to a person. Each person also handles stress in a different way. Some can handle more than others, because every single person’s body works in a different way. Stress has also been told to cause people to act out of character (Dr. David Posen). They often do not act the way they usually would while under