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Scientific Definitions of Stress

Date: January 15, 2010
Author: Penny Pettman
Categories: Advice
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It is said that you can find every definition and explanation you seek in life. The problem comes when you have to distinguish them and choose the definition that is accurate if you believe accuracy exists in the first place. When it comes to the topic of stress, you will find very many views and perceptions and the main ones are scientific and conservative views. Firstly, scientific and conservative definitions of stress differ greatly and you will be convinced by the explanation that is going to make more sense to you. Background and orientation of various groups of people will affect their view on stress.From a lay mans view, stress is an occurrence that will make an individual loose themselves mentally, physically and psychologically. It is often seen as a culmination of a breakdown where all systems of a person become less motivated to go on. The modern or scientific explanation of stress recognizes stress as a motivating factor which is sometimes necessary to enable human beings to go the extra mile and in the process learn a few life lessons. Stress has been observed to produce some of the greatest achievements in society. This has been evident in people who have risen above the common and uncommon barriers to come up with great discoveries, inventions, ideas and to go through great hurdles under very stressful situations.It has been said that there is a type of stress that is good and there is stress that is harmful. Conservative definitions of stress totally reject the above statement. Their belief is that stress is not good period. Therefore, conservatives are always seeking ways to eradicate stress totally because it is not acceptable to have severe suffering from stress. The scientific definitions of stress will often seem to make a lot of sense and the following statement is a summary of the definition. Stress is what you will have when your resources are not greater than the demands for the same resources in your life.Many people can easily identify with the above definition because it describes the feeling of being pushed into a corner where there is no escape which is stress. Our minds constantly want to have the ability to conceive that everything is under control or that there is something that can be done about a specific situation. This is however contrary to life and as we progress to become more mature, we realize that we cannot always have everything under control. This feeling or knowledge will give rise to a certain kind of frustration which can be defined as stress.Although with many differences, scientific and conservative definitions of stress agree that certain levels of it will cause harm to the body. Although there is no tangible evidence of how exactly stress causes this, the effects and results of stress are only too evident. Remedies for stress today have not been able to totally eradicate it but there is management available that will see a person regain their sense of being. Make sure your are not caught up in the definition debate, in expense of what you can do to solve the problem in your life.

Internal and External Causes of Stress, What is Stress

Date: January 15, 2010
Author: Penny Pettman
Categories: Advice
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Stress’ is a condition which can disturb the normal physical and mental health of an individual. It is defined in Oxford Dictionary as “a state of affair involving demand on physical or mental energy”.

Stress is a regarded as twentieth century syndrome. Modern life Daily hassles and demands, exhausting work schedule and major life events such as a divorce, death, midlife crisis, financial worries, persistent strain of caring for a chronically sick child, nagging health problems or managing a physically or mentally challenged family member can act as potential stressors. A sudden unemployment or lay-off from a job can leave you under tremendous stress.

Stressful depends on various factors, including your personality, problem-solving abilities, and social support system. Stress conditions can be real or just perceived by you. Our brain reacts to both causes of stress by releasing stress hormones equal to the degree of stress felt. The brain cannot differentiate between real and imagined stress. In challenging situations the brain prepares the body for some defensive actions—the fight or flight response by releasing hormones, namely, cortisone and adrenaline. These hormones raise the blood pressure and prepare the body to react according to the situation. It could happen while watching a movie or when one is apprehensive of some imminent danger.

Listing the potential causes of stress is tricky and highly individual. Stress factors react differently from person to person as Extreme stress situations for an individual may prove to be mild for another. Stress symptoms depend partly on the nature of the stressor itself and partly on your own personal and external resources.

Some External causes of stress.

An unsafe neighborhood, pollution, noise, and uncomfortable living conditions can produce a stress situation (flight response) the hormones and chemicals remain unreleased in the blood stream for a long period of time. It results in stress related physical symptoms such as tense muscles, unfocused anxiety, dizziness and increased rate of pulse. For people living in war-torn regions, the stress may be unrelenting.

Relationship demands mental health. Problems with friends and family members are valid causes of stress. Marital disagreements, dysfunctional relationships, rebellious teens, or caring for a chronically-ill family member or a child with special needs compels the mind and body to be in an almost constant alarm-state in preparation to fight or flee. This also can increase the risk of both acute and chronic psychosomatic illnesses and weaken the immune system of the human body.

Pressure at workplaces – In our career-driven society work can be a source of stress. Work stress is caused by things such as job dissatisfaction, insufficient pay, office politics, meeting deadline, and conflicts with co-workers. These factors can trigger stress conditions.

Social situations can cause stress. Poverty, financial pressures, racial and sexual discrimination or harassment, isolation, and a lack of social support all induced adverse feelings and anxieties.

Internal Causes of Stress

Stress can also be self-generated. Internal causes of stress include…Pessimistic attitude, low self-esteem, excessive or unexpressed anger, lack of assertiveness, unrealistic expectations from others and Self-criticism.

Symptoms of Stress – Warning Signs of Stress

Date: January 6, 2010
Author: Penny Pettman
Categories: Advice
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Stress Introduction

Stress is something that has become synonymous with our everyday life. Though everybody has problems, tragedies, challenges, and frustrations, being stressed for long time, and habitually can drain you out physically, as well as mentally. A stressed mind requires you to make certain adjustments in your attitude, your priorities, your life style, your habits and the way you respond to certain situations. However, when you fail to do so, for one or more occasion, you are stressed. Gradually, it becomes a part of your life and as medical practitioners say, stress is a disease that becomes chronic over a period of time.

Stress adds misery to your life, making you pessimist and negative in perception, and reacting negatively to different situations. The specific signs and symptoms of stress may vary from person to person; however, all symptoms are harmful for your health. It also affects your emotional well-being, and your relationships with others. Generally you can see and tell whether a person had been leading a happy and healthy life style or has been leading a stressful life. There are some common symptoms that are seen in most of the people who are under stress. Symptoms of Stress

The symptoms of stress are seen in one’s body language, physical health, behavior and habits, and one’s mindset as to how one responds in certain situations. One category of symptoms is related to one’s intellectual self. The patient may experience memory loss, inability to make decisions, not able to concentrate, and the person is always in confused state of mind. You lose your power of judgment and are not objective in your approach to life.

Stress can lead to emotional drain of a person. Since you might have lost your judgment and ability of objective analysis of situations, you tend to be emotional. An emotionally stressed person becomes moody and hypersensitive to situations. Depression overpowers you and you are often angry. You lack confidence and are always looking for sympathy from near and dear ones. Since people with high level of emotional stress are moody, you may tend to laugh or cry in such situations where it is not required at all.

Apart from the mental effects, stress also weakens you physically. A person who is stressed and remains tense is not physically healthy. One of the most common symptoms of stress is frequent headache. You may have improper digestive system and a weak immunity. Your body loses strength to fight diseases and you can not sleep properly. Over a period of time, your body loses energy and you are easily fatigued. You may lose weight, or you gain weight astonishingly quickly, even without any change in your diet. Many a times, it develops into some serious disease such as chest pain, breathlessness and irregular heartbeat as well. You blood pressure will rise to above normal will stagnate there, almost permanently. This may lead to life threatening situations.

Stress leads to anxiety disorders and behavioral problems. You may suddenly notice yourself eating too less or eating too much. Same with you sleeping disorder; either sleeping too much, or not sleeping at all. Such patients like to remain isolated, and they overreact to emotional and confrontational situations. You may get used to alcohol or using drugs, thus further affecting your health. You get short-tempered. The situation where you are not comfortable or when you are nervous, nail biting and jaw grinding becomes a habit.

There can be some external factors that contribute to stress. If you notice a few of these symptoms of stress, consult a good doctor and communicate your behavioral changes. It is the job of your physician to identify the core reason of your stress and to guide you out of the situation. Why Symptoms of Stress Vary

Different people respond to same situations in different ways. Even if many people feel stressed because of same situation, the effects on them may vary – physically, mentally, and psychologically. For example, one can feel frustrated because one is not able to convince the colleague or spouse, and is stressed. The other may avoid conflict and still can be stressed. You can be stressed because of your relationships, some issue at your workplace, your neighbor, some social issues that you can not avoid, financial problem, handicap or a prolonged ailment. Stress symptoms vary because of one’s education, upbringing, and the kind of social support system that one gets.

When you tend to avoid conflict because of stress, you develop withdrawal symptoms. You dislike social gatherings, parties, functions and meetings for the fear of conflict. However avoiding the situation further aggravates the problem. People around you should make an effort and support you to come out of this shell. First of all, it is important to understand that this is a medical problem. Next, one should try to understand the reasons that cause stress and then figure out options to overcome that.

Effective Stress Management

Date: January 1, 2010
Author: Penny Pettman
Categories: Advice
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It happens to all of us and sometimes, we feel there is no way out. I’m talking about stress which is one of the leading challenges that the human kind is constantly grappling with trying to understand and deal with it effectively. There might be simple words to describe stress and sometimes it does not need any definition because we all go through it. Experts have been working on effective stress management methods which would seek to remedy all harmful effects that stress is associated with and eradicate it all together. So far, some models have been devised and, they might hold the key to deal with stress and they include the following.The first model in effective stress management is the transactional model. The first thing it seeks to do is to explain what stress is. This model was designed by Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman who defined stress in the following way. According to them, stress is simply an imbalance between the resources that are in possession of a person and the demands that they have to meet every day . Usually, when one has to offer more than they have, the next logical thing that will happen is that they will be drained out. Therefore, the imbalance can be viewed from this perspective. Their explanation of stress, further seeks to suggest that one will not have stress when they have enough resources to cope with the demand.Their perception on stress also implies that stress is not a direct result of a stressor. The traditional view of stress is pretty different because there is a belief that a specific cause or stressor has to be present for stress to be conceived. Therefore, the transactional model has been designed to identify the factors that will predispose a person to shortcomings in regard to their resources. The methods of effective stress management in this model root from the external factors that are unique to each individual and hence the solution to their stress problem will be formulated to act effectively for their case.Finally, in this model, there is a very interesting suggestion which is that if people felt confident enough or resourceful enough to deal and cope with the demand, then the severe stress aspect might be non existent. Therefore, people who constantly choose to feel under pressure will find themselves more stressed. Pressure can therefore act as a stressor although the model creators do not base their model on stressors. The second effective stress management model is the health realization model which is also called innate health model. This model highly banks on the source of a thought and its ability to shape your actions and perceptions.According to this model, stress is only a by product of what an individual chooses to perceive of themselves and others. The thought process when affected by negativity, insecurity and other factors, will obviously produce stress. Therefore, this model will seek to help individuals equip themselves with initial positivity which will also be the outcome, escaping stress. After analyzing the above models, it is clear that there are causes of stress or specific sources whether external or internal and one thing that will help you manage your stress problem, is realizing what the problem is and working towards the betterment of your general well being.