Stress and Health

Stress and health are linked closely. It is well known that stress, whether it be constant over time or come on quickly, can lead to many mental and physical health disorders. Immediate physical problems such as muscle cramps, fatigue, frequent colds, and nausea can result from stress. In the long run stress may also affect our immune, cardiovascular and nervous systems.(Ciccarelli & White, 2006.) Stress refers to the consequence of the failure of an organism to respond adequately to mental, emotional, or physical demands, whether actual or imagined. (Rosch, n.d.) When a person perceives a threat, their nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones rouse the body for emergency action. The stress response is the body's way of protecting the person.(Rosch). When working properly, our body's stress responses help in staying focused, energetic, and alert. But when stress levels overwhelm our bodies, physical, mental, behavioral, and emotional problems are sure to follow.

Stressors

Ciccarelli & White define stressors as events that cause a stress reaction (2006). My personal life the past couple of years has been a textbook on stressors: I changed careers, became the full-time primary caretaker of my terminally ill mother-in-law, experienced the death of my mother-in-law, I started college (again), and have had to juggle work, family, and college responsibilities.

Changing careers was stressful for both me and my husband. I had been working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for 12 years and thoroughly enjoyed my job. I not only had an above average salary, but also looked forward to going to work every day. When my mother-in-law Deloris, who already was suffering from Alzheimer's Disease, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, my husband and I decided to care for her ourselves instead of utilizing a nursing home. Since she absolutely could not be left alone and needed constant care, this required one of us to resign from our jobs. Since he was much closer to retirement than I was, it was decided that it would be me to do this. Caring for Deloris in and of itself was difficult. She spent her life as a Registered Nurse, and wanted to argue about each step of her care. The Alzheimer's, however, made it impossible to reason with her. As she grew weaker and sicker, I watched her turn from a strong, independent woman back into a child-like state. Her death was devastating, but also a blessing, as her suffering was over. After her death, instead of returning to the F.B.I.,I accepted a part-time contract job with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security and also decided to return to college to become a nurse myself. I attended Indiana University post high-school, but had not been in an academic atmosphere for over a dozen years. I had to relearn how to juggle school responsibilities with my responsibilities of my new job and my home life.

Effects of Stressors

The stressors mentioned above not only affected all aspects of my life, but completely changed my life. My personal life was greatly affected. My job resignation created a moderate deal of financial stress. While my contract job did pay well and allow me to work very flexible hours, money was much tighter. This was not as devastating as it could have been, however, since caring for my mother-in-law did not allow me to leave the house anyway. Being homebound in and of itself was stressful for me mentally, as I am a person who enjoys being busy. Physically and emotionally I was exhausted. Every morning at 2:00AM, my alarm sounded. I would get out of bed and administer morphine to Deloris. My alarm again rang at 5:00AM; this is when my day really started. I would shower and dress for work. Before leaving the house, Deloris received her 6:00AM dose, and off I went. I would work from 6:30AM - 12:00 noon, making sure I was home before my husband left for work at 1:00 PM. Being physically tired was only the beginning. The next 10 hours were spent continuing the administration of medications every 4 hours, often having endless conversations each time about what each pill was for. Deloris would often try to leave our house, or demand to be taken home. She would walk around the house, unplugging electronics, or playing with our gas stovetop. It was like