Stress and Health Psychology

Name: Reinaldo George

Professor: Sonia Cruz

Course: LA 101 - 51

Date: Wednesday 6th February. 2013

Stress and Health Psychology

Stress maybe defined as a psychological state of tension or strain. In simpler words stress is a reaction of the body to facing an unpleasant situation or one that the body is simply uncomfortable with. Extreme or Chronic stress however marks a radical departure from everyday life, such that a person cannot continue life as before and in some cases, never fully recovers. Reactions to regular stress vary from person to person and from situation to situation; common reactions are the tensing of muscles and the quickening of the heart (Charles G. Morris 250).

Stress was also defined by Floyd L Ruch as an unpleasant emotional upheaval which the individual experiences in response to frustration; and adverse condition such as extreme coldness, heat and loud noises. Stress according to Ruch is reactions to frustrations (Psychology and Life Floyd L. Ruch). We generally use the word stress when we feel that everything seems to have become too much; we are overloaded and wonder whether we really can cope with the pressures placed upon us. Most persons often struggle to find out what are the causes of their stress. According to our school textbook, Psychology by The Pearson Custom Library, stresses are caused by what they refer to as stressors. A stressor is any environmental demand that creates a state of tension or threat and requires change or adaptation. There are two main stressors identified in the text: Change and Everyday Hassles along with the "not so rare" cases of self-imposed stress.

Many situations prompt us to change our behavior in some way, but only some cause stress. Consider, for example, taking a nice, long shower when you are leaving your house. Normally, this involves no stress. But now imagine that you are rushing to an important meeting or to meet a date of the opposite sex and taking a shower will surely make you late. Here, stress is triggered because the situation not only requires adaption, but it produces tensions and distress as well.

What can cause stress depends, on your perception of it. Something that's stressful to you may not even faze someone else; they may even enjoy it. For example, your morning drive journey to work may make you anxious and tense because you are worried that traffic will make you late. Others, however, may find the trip relaxing because they allow more than enough time and enjoy listening to music while they drive to get away from reality for a bit.

All stressful events have been noted to involve some degree of change; according to the text. Most people have a strong preference for order, continuity and predictability in their lives. Hence, with total disregard of the nature of the event, anything positive or negative that requires change would be deemed as stressful.

Many psychologists have drawn attention to society that stress is caused by "hassles", life's petty annoyances, irritations and frustrations. These include the petty stuff such as waiting in long lines to purchase groceries, or having a small argument with a family member or friend. Richard Lazarus believed that big events matter so much because they trigger numerous little hassles that eventually overwhelm us with stress. "It is not the large dramatic events that make the difference," Lazarus noted, "but what happens day in and day out whether provoked by major events or not" (Lazarus, 1981,p.62).

Self-imposed stress is another stressor which was mentioned in the text. This was just a better way of describing stress that individuals force upon themselves due to irrational and self-defeating beliefs such as being competent, adequate and successful in everything they do. To these persons the slightest form of failure implies to them that they are worthless beings. This "not so rare" case of self-imposed stress ultimately leads to a person experiencing a lot of depression; which are the feelings of sadness and withdrawal as well as the experience of changes in both eating and sleeping patterns.

The most common feelings experienced by persons that are stressed are those of conflict, frustration and pressure, according to the text. Pressure is probably the most common feeling experienced by humans. It is where we feel as though there is need to speed up or change the direction of a behavior in attempt to live up to a higher standard of performance. Frustration is the feeling we experience when we are prevented from achieving our goal. Conflict refers to the simultaneous existence of incompatible goals, demands, opportunities or needs. The text further divides conflict into two sub categories of Avoidance/ Avoidance and Approach/Avoidance.

Avoidance/ Avoidance are situations where there are two undesirable possibilities, no positives. People usually try to escape these altogether, whilst others wait for the situation to resolve itself. An example is a baseball player caught between bases. Approach/Avoidance is a situation where a person is attracted to and repelled by the same goal, a perfect example is a couple where one wants to get married and the other is uncertain maybe because he or she is uncertain about lifelong commitment however they do want to stay in a relationship with their current girlfriend or boyfriend.

When an individual experiences stress the body reacts in many ways. Walter Cannon's fight-or-flight noted that the primary purpose of the body's responses is to prepare animals to respond to external threats by either attacking or fleeing from them (Charles G. Morris 250). Extending this theory a Canadian psychologist, Hans Seyle, stated that we react to physical and psychological stress in three stages collectively known as the General Adaptation Syndrome.

Stage one of his process was the alarm reaction where muscles tense the heartbeat quickens and we become more aware of our surroundings. Activity in the sympathetic nervous system increases causing the release of hormones from the adrenal gland (Charles G. Morris 250). However in the most famous Psychology Today magazine a description was given where we would experience Adrenaline being released which dilates the bronchial tubes in the lungs to make space for more oxygen and charges the heart enabling more blood to pump. It also dilates the blood vessels so that oxygenated blood can flow freely to where it's needed most (the brain/muscles) which we are now able to run or fight (Singer 79).

In stage two of Seyle's theory, Resistance. Physical symptoms and other signs of strain appear. We intensify our use of both direct and defensive