Environmental Stressors
When people are not content with their circumstances, they can adapt by either adjusting to or altering their living environment to make it more pleasant. However, this trait of flexibility meets daily challenges involving external forces, such as crime, war, natural catastrophes, or developments in technology, in addition to internal forces, such as seeking greater material goods. When these forces combine to threaten adaptability in humans, it is commonly known as stress (Veitch & Arkkelin, 1995). To deal with stress, one must first understand what it entails. By understanding the concept of stress as well as the physiology and psychology of it, one may identify atmospheric environmental stressors and
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The problem with this response-based approach is that an increasing heart rate as well as other immediate responses can also be a response to completely different stimuli than stress, such as when a person is simply exercising (Veitch & Arkkelin, 1995).
Other theorists emphasize the impact of environmental events on human functioning. These events can include major changes in an individual’s life or simply the noise level and air quality surrounding one at a particular moment; in other words, anything that may have an influence on one’s responses after either prolonged exposure or immediately. According to these theorists, an example of a stressful environment may be one with a very high noise level. However, this approach does not consider individual preference; some people can study while listening to music whereas others prefer to be in complete silence. It also does not consider the context of the environmental event; loud noise levels, such as music, can be enjoyable at a party, but stressful while trying to watch television (Veitch & Arkkelin, 1995).
Although the exact definition of stress has yet to be articulated, stress unmistakably exists and appears to include responses that can help individuals meet the demands of their changing environment and in some cases even alter that environment. These responses can be behavioral, psychological, and physiological (Veitch & Arkkelin, 1995).
Physiology and psychology of stress refers to how the body
Stress is described as a psychological and psychological and physical strain or tension generated by physical, emotional, social, economical or occupation circumstances, events, or experience that are difficult to manage or endure (Andrew M. Colman, 2015). Stress can affect all aspects of your life, which include your emotional, behaviours thinking ability, and psychical health (webmd, 2016). More than one in five Australian have reported mental health issue as a source of stress (psychology, 2014).
According to Janeway1, “stress is a physical or psychological stimulus which, when impinging upon an individual , produces strain or disequilibrium”.1 Stress is a biological, physiological and behavioural response to environmental demands. An appropriate amount of stress has protective and adaptive functions however a high amount of stress can cause pathological changes or even death.4 Exposure to stress can lead to painful emotions such as anxiety or depression, as well as physical illness.3 People under an overwhelming amount of stress may experience tachycardia, palpitations and rapid breathing.7
The definition of stress according to the Oxford dictionary is “A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances.”
As WebMD states, stress is the human body’s normal response to changes that may require a response or adjustment. The human body responds to these adjustments with emotional, mental, and physical responses. Despite varying levels of stress, this is a natural part of human life. Anything that an individual may respond to may cause stress in the human body. Stress may occur from tour body,
Stress can come from anything we do in our daily lives, even if it is a positive or negative change. To measure the amount of stress a single event can cause two men named Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe came up with the Social Readjustment Rating Scale. Over time this scale has been modified to accommodated for
Stress is defined as an automatic physical response to any stimulus that requires you to adjust to change.¹
Stress is defined as the “non specific response of the body to any demand for change”. It was coined by Hans Selye in 1936. A highly subjective phenomenon. There are many signs of having/getting stress; Physical, Psychological, Behavioural and Emotional.
Stress is a psychological term that occurs when an individual perceives that environmental demands exceed his or her adaptive capacity.
Cooper & Marshall (1976). A response based definition; this comes in three stages, first being the body is alerted and responds with a reaction. Moving on to the next stage being autonomic activity is activated so the body prepares to deal with the stress, but if the stress becomes overbearing the body cannot handle this and begins to breakdown and become damaged Selye (1956) And lastly stress as a dynamic process; this definition of stress which has contributing factors to the other two definitions of stress. This suggests stress is a dynamic process including internal and external factors, the characteristics of an individual and also the interactions between them. Cognitive factors are more focussed upon in this definition; the amount of stress experienced by a person is determined by demands. This definition suggests there is a link between emotional and environmental factors Sulsky and Smith (2005). The definition of stress is subjective to an individual and each have their own perceptions of what stress is. Stress is the concept how well a person can deal with lifestyle factors but in fact there are many ways stress can impact in anyway, it depends on the individual’s tolerance and view of a situation. In addition to Butler.G., the researchers Kranner, I., Minibayeva, F. V., Beckett, R. P., and Seal, C. E. (2010) definitions of stress were largely
Stress could be defined as a normal physiological response by the body to situations or stimuli which the brain perceives as dangerous or threatening to the body. The body is a complex system and over time developed a way of responding that was designed to keep us safe. Our subconscious mind is alert for anything that might threaten our well being and when the brain perceives a threat a physiological response occurs that prepares us
First, stress is defined as an unpleasant state of emotional and physiological arousal that people experience in situations that they perceive as dangerous or threatening to their well being (Patel, 14). Stress is a universal feeling to everyone but the word stress means different things to
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),
Hans Selye (1982) points out that few people define the concept of stress in the same way or even bother to attempt a clear-cut definition. According to Selye, an important aspect of stress is that a wide variety of dissimilar situations are capable of producing the stress response such as fatigue, effort, pain, fear, and even success. This has led to several definitions of stress, each of which highlights different aspects of stress. One of the most comprehensive models of stress is the Biopsychosocial Model of Stress (Bernard & Krupat, 1994). According to the Biopsychosocial Model of Stress, stress involves three components: an external component, an internal component, and the interaction between the external and internal components.
Stress is part of our lives. We live with it, deal with it, and above all worry about it. Our way of life, the area in which we live, the economy, and our jobs can cause a great deal of stress. Not everyone deals with the same level of stress and there are several factors that can impact our lives and cause us to have higher or lower stress levels. We can have stress caused by Cataclysmic events which according to Feldman (2009) are events that can affect many people at the same time and are “disasters such as tornado and plane crashes, as well as terrorist attacks”. (p418). Other factors are personal stressors and can be caused by events such as a divorce, death or a loved one or the loss of a job. (Feldman, 2009). The
Everybody has at least one thing in common. Can you guess what it is? If you guessed, heartbreak, you’re right, but that’s not the answer I’m looking for. The correct answer is stress. Everyone has stress in his or her life at one point or another. It’s one of many inevitable parts of life. Whether it’s busting out a research paper for Psychology at the last minute, expecting your first child to be born, to making sure you’re up in time to catch the Saturday morning cartoons, it’s clearly evident that everyone goes through stress. The real question is, how is stress handled in our society? A person is defined by how they handle the stressors in their lives and how they overcome stressful moments. This paper will explore the aspects of