Stress

Stress is a distasteful state of emotional and physiological awakening that people experience in situations that they perceive as dangerous or threatening to their well-being and lives. For example, “A threat to your life or safety triggers a primal physical response from the body, leaving you breathless, heart pounding, and mind racing (nih.gov,1)”. It is also a natural reaction by the body that happens when a part of the brain perceives unstable activity. The word stress means different things to different people. Some people define stress as events or situations that cause them to feel tension, pressure, or negative emotions such as anxiety and anger. Others view stress as the response to these situations. This kind of reaction includes physiological changes such as increased heart rate and muscle tension, as well as emotional and behavioral changes. However, most psychologists regard stress as a process involving anyone’s interpretation and reaction to a threatening event (Reuter’s health.com).

Stress is a common experience. According to Reuter’s health.com, the stress response of the body is somewhat like an airplane ready for take-off. Virtually all systems (the heart and blood vessels, the immune system, the lungs, the digestive system, the sensory organs, and the brain) are modified to meet the perceived danger. We may feel stress when we are very busy, have important deadlines to meet, or have too little time to finish all of our daily activities. Often people experience stress because of problems at work or in social relationships, such as poor evaluation by a supervisor or an argument with a friend. Some people may be particularly vulnerable to stress in situations involving the threat of failure or personal humiliation. Others have extreme fears of objects or things associated with physical threats, such as snakes, illness, storms, flying in an airplane and become stressed when they encounter or even think about these perceives threats. Major life events, such as the death of a loved one, can cause severe stress or emotional uproar.

Stress can have both positive and negative effects. For instance, “Whether from a charging lion, or a pending deadline, the body’s response to stress can be both helpful and harmful. The stress response gives us the strength and speed to ward off or flee from an impending threat (nih.gov,1)”. Stress is a normal behavior and adaptive reaction to a threat. It signals danger and prepares us to take defensive action. Fear of things that pose realistic threats motivates us to deal with them or avoid them. Also stress motivates us to go above and beyond and fuels creativity. Although stress may hinder performance on difficult tasks, moderate stress seems to improve motivation and performance on less complex tasks. In personal relationships, stress often leads to less cooperation and more aggression. Stress can lead to diminished sexual desire and an inability to achieve orgasm in women, and impotency in men (Reutershealth.com,7).

When dealing with stress some factors including change can contribute massively to your body. These changes can be sudden trauma, major crisis, small daily hassles or our simple over reaction to everyday events that may occur. Major conflicts in our personal lives can attribute to stress directly and can eventually cause anxieties and emotional disorders. An example of an anxiety is not being able to eat, sleep and the feeling in the pit of your stomach that causes all of these symptoms (Reutershealth.com,12). Having no time for yourself can also contribute to being stressed because you might not have the energy to complete