The Effects Of Stress On Physical Health

Stress is the process of measuring and responding to a threatening or challenging event. If it lasts a short time it can actually be beneficial and can mobilize the immune system to fight off infections and heal our wounds. Stress has an arousal property that motivates us to solve our problems. Extreme or prolonged stress on the other hand can be very harmful and can lead to chronic disease. Stressors fall into three categories: Catastrophic, significant life changes, and daily hassles. All can be bad for us.

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

Stress is a quantity that every human is afforded. It is how the body and mind interact in response to a stressor. Each stressor whether in the form of a major life experiences, traumatic events, work, school, and even exercise can be stressful. Stress of any amount makes an impact on a persons’ health and behaviors. Therefore, it is important to take notice of how you manage stressful events in your life however great or small an effect. Though everyone experiences stress in one way or another, no two people cope with stress in the same manner. Some individuals are more effective and recover from demanding situations quicker than others do. Consequently, the quality of health is contingent upon the type of stress and duration of

Stress is very well known for just what it means: STRESS. Its effect on human beings from a local and a global standpoint is far greater than any of us imagine. Stress can overtake one’s body physically, mentally, emotionally, as well as behavioral aspects. This is not something to take lightly. This is actually very serious. If you notice, it’s not just older people that die this day and time with heart attacks, suicide, and things of this nature. People of all ages. Older people, younger people, and even really young people. Children, yes, I said children. Don’t automatically think that stress only affects older people that have lived a longer

People are increasingly facing more stress since the Human-Being society became developed and complicated, by ignoring the physical influence to our body, Human’s health suffered considerably from stress. Many people was suggested to solve the stress problem by using psychological approaches, however, the research in recent decades has identified a significant awareness gap between the benefits of physical activities and stress relief. The following paper is aiming at exploring how stress affects physical health and how to relieve stress physically.

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.

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).

Webster defines stress as a “state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life, work, etc.” (1). There are a variety of factors that can cause someone to be stressed and stress can affect people in many different ways. “Nearly one-third of Americans are living with extreme stress and nearly half of Americans (48 percent) believe that their stress has increased over the past five years” (APA, 1). While a certain amount of stress is healthy and can increase productivity, it also has many negative physiological effects on people including weight gain, mental health issues, and immune deficiency. Stress is also linked to the leading physical causes of death including heart disease, cancer and stroke (Lazarus, 4, 8). There are many different situations that one might perceive as stressful and an ongoing stressful situation, or chronic stress, can be exaggerated by a poor diet and lack of exercise. Going to work in an unpleasant environment, speaking in public, or the death of a loved one are all examples of different stressors. (McEwen, 171).

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

“Stress can be defined as any event or environmental stimulus (stressor) that we respond to because we perceive it as challenging or threatening.” (Pastorino, 2013). Stress is common and occurs when someone is experiencing a certain standard of pressure toward a situation or event that seems hard to cope with. Stress is classified and divided into four major categories: major life events, catastrophes, daily hassles, and conflict. Stress levels vary from person to person and from situation to situation. Stress cannot caused an illness on its own but research has shown that stress can make us more susceptible to illness because stress can caused our immune system to be less effective. Therefore, under stress our bodies become more prone to devolving

“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

Psychological stress is pressure placed on a person to adapt, cope, or adjust to a situation (Rathus, 2016, p.284). The result of prolonged stress can affect a person’s mood, pleasure experience, and have harmful effects on physical health (Rathus, 2016, p.284). Society in the twenty first century places high demands on people. Technology makes it very difficult to separate work life, school life, and home life. Today, society places a high value on a busy lifestyle for individuals. For example, many places of business are open twenty-four hours a day. In addition to societal pressures, attending a university adds to the stressors a person may experience. Going to school not only includes classroom time but it also includes homework,

Memory performance can often be hijacked by a given load of stress on the body. Stress is both a versatile agent that disrupts the human body’s normal mental, physical, and emotional state, and the body’s natural reaction to change (Staal, 2004). The effects of this amorphous phenomenon have been studied from a number of angles including but not limited to stress-related sleep pattern disturbances, mood swings, attention spans, weight gain, long-term illnesses, and cognitive function. This review will focus on the effects of psychological stress on people’s ability to encode, store, and retain memories.

A substantial amount of Canadians experience stress in their lives. In fact, nearly one-quarter of the population over the age of 15 are stressed on a daily basis (Statistics Canada, 2013). Stress can be defined as a mental and emotional state of tension, in which one perceives the environment around them to be strenuous and overwhelming. Although some stress is necessary for survival, it can adversely affect both the physical and mental health. Its detrimental effects include but are not limited to: lack of confidence, concentration, motivation, decision making and increased heartrate, sweating, tension, as well as other physical and psychological problems such as headaches and insomnia (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2015). These health complications strongly emphasize the need for further research in ways to cope with, and reduce stress. Henceforth, the purpose of this paper is to use established research to better understand stress, then propose my own study that would investigate another stress-reduction method.

     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