Stress : A Psychological Problem

Stress Is the body’s way of responding to the hectic lives most of us live, whether good or bad. The body releases chemicals into the bloodstream, which creates a rush of energy and strength If an individual is feeling stressed. This energy can prove useful if an individual is in physical danger. Because it enables a person’s survival instinct kicks in; it is often described as ‘fight or flight.’ In addition, stress can also have a negative effect on the body, for example: suffering from stress and leaving it unchecked can contribute to health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

There are three different theories that are used when talking about how we react to stress through the physiological aspect or the psychological aspect. The first is part of the physiological aspect of stress called the Cannon Fight or Flight theory which was proposed in 1914. Fight or Flight response is a physiological stress response that evolved to help organisms to survive immediate danger. The theory states that when an organism, human being or animal, faces imminent danger (acute stressor) the body arouses quickly and is ready to act via two different systems. They are the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system. The sympathetic nervous system stimulates the adrenal medulla which is part of the endocrine system and is the region that produces the hormones such as adrenaline and noradrenaline. These hormones increase heart rate, blood flow, and glucose levels to prepare the body for an emergency. This response from the body suggests that the body knows how to protect itself and reach homeostasis. These two systems work together to either fight against the danger or flight away from the danger. Lord, King and Pfister in 1976 studied the Fight or Flight response in animals through a very unethical study. They administered chemicals on male hooded Wistar rats which inhibited the neurotransmitters from functioning normally. This made it very difficult for the rats to escape an electric shock. The results of the study suggest that the Flight or Fight response

The human body reacts externally or internally in the way of physiological responses. When we experience one of these stressors the physiological responses job is to prepare the body to deal either by adapting to it or simply surviving it. This can promote a functional alteration in the organs normal function.

When put under stress, both humans and baboons have cortisol and adrenaline found in their blood. These hormones are critical for survival, and other physical changes in the body such as a racing heart, increased blood pressure, and quickly responding muscles are all present when the body is put under stress. However, in regard to humans, these same physical responses can occur when the body is not in a life in death situation. Instead, it is common for psychological stresses such as public speaking, taking a test, paying taxes, or driving a vehicle to invoke the same physiological responses as someone in a critical situation. This can be unhealthy for the human body, as many people can get worked up over multiple stressors in one day,

2. Which of the following is the BEST definition of stress? A) the demands that are made on you by other people B) deadlines, daily hassles, or inconveniences C) a negative emotional state caused by your perception that you are unable to cope with events or circumstances D) the mental processes that people use to make sense out of their environment

Stress is a big factor in everyday life. It influences how we approach life and events. Stress is why people run tight schedules and diet regularly. The power stress has is a negative effect over our brain and our body. Many people do not understand how to cope with stress. Therefore, people suffer from physical illness due to stress. Learning is not taking place when someone undergoes stress.

10.) There a many types of stressors that one may encounter, but among most people I believe the most common is sociological stress. Sociological stress can be one of the hardest to deal with because it is stimulated from a relationship with another person. This can cause someone to feel extremely overwhelmed and tensed because they do not know how to deal with the situation at hand. I know personally I have a hard time dealing with sociological stressors, especially when it has to do with a person close to me that I care about. I believe most people feel like they are constantly under social stress, which can cause one to feel anxiety, depression or anger throughout the day. Because we live in such a fast paced environment, many can feel sociological stressors. It can

Stress can build from following a boring daily routine and trying to balance work, social and school life.

Although small doses of stress are good, too much stress is unhealthy and tends to overrule us at times, causing physical and mental harm.

Social life expectations is also a huge stressor, people want to feel the need to be popular and pressured to fit in. Another major source of my stress is financial issues, fortunately my parents are able to provide me with necessary needs like a car, school books, food, home, clothes/shoes and money. At the point where I need be dependent on my own rather than on my parents which causes me a lot of stress. Another major source of my stress is seeing my parents hurt whether it be physically, mentally or emotionally. My parents worked so hard and became successful which inspires me and seeing them hurt stresses me out when i’m unable to do anything. My last source of my stress are certain lifestyle choices. I tend to make poor choices that affect other situations in my life in a negative way. For example, staying up late on a school night or skipping an important event to hang out with friends. Some of my internal factors are being insecure or feeling worried. Feeling insecure on how I look or even how I dress and feeling worried about others opinions or other situations. Other internal factors are being confused with what I’m doing with my life. Some external factors include, school and work. Being overloaded with work causes a huge stress on me along with not sleeping at night or having family issues.

B. Relevance Stress is what you feel when you react to pressure, either from the outside world (school, work, after-school activities, family, friends) or from inside yourself (wanting to do well in

     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

So what is stress? Stress is a normal physical response that happens when you feel threatened or upset. When you feel that you are in danger whether it is real or imaged. Your body has a response when stress occurs and it is a way of actually protecting you. Many times, stress helps people stay more focussed and energetic.

Based on these findings from research done previously I feel that this study is important. Firstly, we need to understand what causes the stressors and how it affects the individual. For example, if you have an entire university with stressed students, not being productive, not performing well academically perhaps thinking of dropping out of university because of the overwhelming anxiety; it can be detrimental to the institution in terms of status and students in terms of individual realisation. Secondly, we soon have to formulate effective and efficient stress management guidelines as we

Kelly Farrell had found symptoms of stress and uneasiness in middle school. As high school came, her symptoms sky –rocketed, and she ended up being diagnosed with Panic Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. That is a crucial part about school stress that one must bring up. It can cause sickness if it takes over physically, as well as leave an opening for a mental illness to evolve in the mental aspect of the person. People with cases like Kelly’s and Bretta’s are what we need to be concerned about. With stress in education, so many things can go wrong.