Stress

Psychology
Stress
“Unpleasant state of emotional and physiological arousal that people experience in
situations that they perceive as dangerous or threatening to their well-being.”
Or
“Stress is body reaction which occurs in response of external or internal demand.”
Stress can have both positive and negative effects. It can be classified into two types on
the basis of its effects.
1. Eu-stress
2. Distress
Eu-stress
Any stress which causes a good and positive result & outcome. Eu-stress motivates us to
achieve and fuels creativity. It also motivates us to get promotion and recognition.
Distress
Any stress which results in negative outcome and causes a burden. It is more than what a
body can bear.
Where stress enhances function (physical or mental) it may be considered as good stress.
However, if stress persists and is of excessive degree, it eventually leads to a need for
resolution, which may lead either to anxious (escape) or depressive (withdrawal)
behavior.
Sources of Stress
“The circumstances that cause stress are called stressors.” There are two kinds of
stressors:
1.Processive stressors
2.Systemic stressors.
Processive stressors
Processive stressors are those stressors which mostly can be experienced in case of
exposure to a new environment.
Systemic stressors
Stressors which are are usually accompanied by pain and/or intensive emotions.
Causes of Stress
Following events & causes can contribute to the stress.
 Catastrophes
 Major Life Changes
 Daily Hassles
 Frustrations
 Conflicts
Catastrophes
“A catastrophe is a sudden, often life-threatening calamity or disaster that pushes
people to the outer limits of their coping capability.”
Catastrophes include natural disasters—such as earthquakes, tornadoes, fires,
floods, and hurricanes—as well as wars, torture, automobile accidents, violent
physical attacks, and sexual assaults.
Major Life Changes

The most stressful events for adults involve major life changes, such as death of a
spouse or family member, divorce, imprisonment, losing one’s job, and major
personal disability or illness.
Daily Hassles
Many people experience the same hassles every day. Examples of daily hassles
include living in a noisy neighborhood, commuting to work in heavy traffic, disliking
one’s fellow workers, worrying about owing money, waiting in a long line, and
misplacing or losing things.
Frustrations
A stress which is associated with blocked goal. It is negative emotional state.
Conflicts
“A stress which occurs when people have to make choice between two alternatives.”
Conflicts can be of many types.

• Approach-approach conflict: Conflicts in which we have to choose between
equally favorable things. In such conflict one is unable to make choice
between two alternatives that are equally favorable.
• Avoidance Conflict: Two equally unpleasant events in which we have to choose
one.
• Approach-avoidance conflict: Single goal that contain both desirable and un-
desirable outcome. E.g. job which causes promotion pays good salary than before
but one has to go far from his/her home.
Effects of Stress
A person who is stressed typically has anxious thoughts and difficulty concentrating or
remembering. Stress can also change outward behaviors. Teeth clenching, hand wringing,
pacing, nail biting, heavy breathing, feeling physically different such as Cold hands and
feet, dry mouth, and increased heart rate are common signs of stress.
A. The Stress Response
In the resistance stage of body against diseases, the body adapts to the stressor and
continues to resist it with a high level of physiological arousal. When the stress persists
for a long time, and the body is chronically overactive, resistance fails and the body
moves to the exhaustion stage. In this stage, the body is vulnerable to disease and even
death.
B. Diseases
Physicians increasingly acknowledge that stress is a contributing factor in a wide

variety of health problems. These problems include
 Cardiovascular disorders
Disorders such as
Hypertension (high blood pressure)
Coronary heart disease (coronary atherosclerosis, or narrowing of the heart’s arteries)
 Gastrointestinal disorders
Disorders such as ulcers
 Stress also appears to be a risk factor in cancer, chronic pain problems, and many
other health disorders.
 The release of stress hormones e.g. Cortisol increases blood pressure, which can
damage the inside walls of blood vessels. It also increases the free fatty acids in
the bloodstream, which in turn leads to plaque buildup on the lining of the blood
vessels. As the blood vessels narrow over time it becomes increasingly difficult
for the heart to pump sufficient blood through them.
C. Decreased Immune Response
Immune system protects the body from disease by seeking out and destroying foreign
invaders, such as viruses and bacteria. Stress makes the immunity of human body to decrease
which makes it very difficult for body to fight against illness causing germs and diseases.
D. Mental Illness
Stress influences mental health as well as physical health

 Extreme anxiety and depression.
 Generalized anxiety disorder
 Phobias, panic disorder
 Obsessive-compulsive disorder
 Post-traumatic stress disorder catastrophes often see and re-experience the traumatic event
again and again in dreams and in disturbing memories or flashbacks during the day.
Coping With Stress
Coping with stress means using thoughts and actions to deal with stressful situations and
lower our stress levels.
 People who cope well with stress usually make more positive statements about
themselves, resist frustration, remain optimistic, and persevere even under extremely
adverse circumstances. Most importantly, they choose the appropriate strategies to
cope with the stressors they confront.
 Conversely, people who cope poorly with stress tend to have somewhat opposite
personality characteristics, such as lower self-esteem and a pessimistic outlook on
life.
A. Coping strategies
Psychologists distinguish two broad types of coping strategies: problem-focused coping

and emotion-focused coping. The goal of both strategies is to control one’s stress level.
 In problem-focused coping, people try to short-circuit negative emotions by

taking some action to modify, avoid, or minimize the threatening situation. They
change their behavior to deal with the stressful situation. It involves four steps
1. Identifying the stressful problem.
2. Generating the possible solutions
3. Selecting an appropriate solution
4. Applying the solution to the problem
 In emotion-focused coping, people try to directly moderate or eliminate

unpleasant emotions. Examples of emotion-focused coping include rethinking the
situation in a positive way, relaxation, denial, and wishful thinking.
To understand these strategies, consider the example of a premedical student in college

who faces three difficult final examinations in a single week. She knows she must get top
grades in order to have a chance at acceptance to medical university. This situation is a
potential source of stress. To cope, she could organize a study group and master the
course materials systematically (problem-focused coping). Or she could decide that she
needs to relax and collect herself for an hour or so (emotion-focused coping) before
proceeding with an action plan. She might decide to watch television for hours on end to
prevent having to think about or study for her exams (emotion-focused coping).
B. Social Support
Support from friends, family members, and others who care for us goes a long way in
helping us to get by in times of trouble. Social support systems provide us with emotional
sustenance, tangible resources and aid, and information when we are in need. People with
social support feel cared about and valued by others and feel a sense of belonging to a
larger social network.
C. Social Gatherings
Social gatherings like parties, dinners, trips are a source of pleasure. Greater will be the
social gatherings greater will be the chance to minimize stress.
D. Material Resources
Those with material resources such as money, wealth and properties will be able to meet
the basic needs as a result they will not suffer from problems such as health problems,
desires, and education.
E. Some specific coping strategies

 Relaxation consists of progressive muscular relaxation and meditation.
Progressive muscular relaxation involves systematically tensing and then relaxing

different groups of skeletal (voluntary) muscles. Often individuals make response to the
stress (by repeating cue words such as calm, to them).
Meditation, in addition to teaching relaxation, is designed to achieve subjective goals
such as contemplation, wisdom, altered states of consciousness and motivation. It is
mostly used in firms to calm the employees.
 Biofeedback is a technique in which people learn voluntary control of stress-related

physiological responses, such as skin temperature, muscle tension, blood pressure,
and heart rate. e.g.: self hypnosis
 Aerobic exercise—such as running, walking, biking, and skiing—can help keep stress
levels down. People who exercise regularly have higher self-esteem and suffer less
from anxiety and depression than comparable people who are not aerobically fit.
Resources for coping stress
 Physically healthy people will cope stress more than the physically weak people.
 People with positive beliefs and optimistic approach can cope stress more than people with
pessimistic and negative approach.
 People with positive self image (e.g. self motivation, self esteem) will cope stress in more
effective manner.
 Believe in God, Believe on others and self belief can be important resources for coping stress.
Relationship b/w Personality and health
Type A people are those who talk eat and Type B people are calm, relaxed and they
walk rapidly. They are hasty in doing all the never suffer from time urgency. They can
work, passion for competition worried for relax without guilt.
deadlines of goals. Most hypertension and
blood pressure patients are Type A people.

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Psychology

Major Life Changes

Conflicts can be of many types.

A. The Stress Response

Physicians increasingly acknowledge that stress is a contributing factor in a wide

C. Decreased Immune Response

Stress influences mental health as well as physical health

Psychologists distinguish two broad types of coping strategies: problem-focused coping

 In problem-focused coping, people try to short-circuit negative emotions by

 In emotion-focused coping, people try to directly moderate or eliminate

To understand these strategies, consider the example of a premedical student in college

E. Some specific coping strategies

Progressive muscular relaxation involves systematically tensing and then relaxing

 Biofeedback is a technique in which people learn voluntary control of stress-related

Resources for coping stress

Relationship b/w Personality and health

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