Student Essay on Stress

Stress

Summary:   Stress can manifest itself through conflict, fear, illness and life changes such as divorce, being fired or losing a loved one.

Stress is any circumstance that threatens or is perceived to threaten one's well-being and that thereby taxes one's coping abilities. Many everyday events such as car trouble, waiting in line, bills you can't pay, or Christmas shopping can cause stress. Major and minor stresses are two different things but they can strongly be tied together. For example, someone who is going through a major stressful event like a terminal illness in the family can trigger minor stressful events such as funeral arrangements, the will, and other important decisions.

It is very often that events that are stressful for one person are not at all stressful for the next person. For instance, many people find it stressful to be on a cruise ship, yet others including the captain can not be taken away from the sea. A number of studies have shown that anxious, neurotic people report more stress than others (Watson, David, and Sulls, 1999). Therefore it id believed that stress lies in the mind of the beholder.

There are many various events that can cause stress from one person to another. There are four principal types of stress; frustration, conflict, change, and pressure. Frustration occurs in any situation in which the pursuit of some goal is thwarted, or let down. In this case, frustration can be the result of making a C on a paper you thought you would make an A on. Failures and losses are two types of common frustration that are significantly stressful. Many people who set unrealistically high goals for themselves end up frustrated. Frustration can also result from losing a dearly loved one. This could also lead to depression.

Conflict, the second type of major stress, occurs when two or more incompatible motivations or behavioral impulses compete for expression. Sigmund Freud proposed that internal conflicts generate considerable psychological stress. Conflicts come in three types; approach-approach, avoidance-avoidance, and approach-avoidance. In the approach-approach conflict a choice must be made between two attractive goals. For instance: You go out to a restaurant; do you get the fillet minion or the lobster tails? Amid the types of conflict this one is the least stressful. These conflicts classically have a happy ending. Being torn between two appealing subjects, the decision will most likely be stressful but you won't lose out.

In an avoidance-avoidance conflict a choice must be made between two unattractive goals. Suppose you have a ghastly cough. Should you take the Robitusson that makes you cringe at the thought of the taste, or should you suffer the cough depriving you of sleep? These avoidance-avoidance conflicts are extremely horrid and vastly stressful.

In an approach-avoidance conflict a choice must be made about whether to pursue a single goal that has both attractive and unattractive aspects. These conflicts are quite stressful. Any time that you have to sacrifice something or take a risk for some advantageous result you will engage in an approach-avoidance conflict. For example: The college that you've been dreaming to attend your whole life has accepted you. It far from home and you boyfriend doesn't want you to go. Do you stay with him and forget it, or do you go for it and pursue your dream? Approach-avoidance conflicts frequently produce indecisiveness, forcing you to go back and forth, overwhelmed by the decision.

Life changes, such as change in marital status, moving, or pregnancy, represent keys types of stress. Life changes are any noticeable alterations in one's living circumstances that require readjustment. Whether the change is good or bad, the stress still forms because they produce change. Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe developed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) to measure life changes and forms of stress. Out of 43 major events, death of a spouse rated highest at 100 mean value whereas minor violations of the law rated lowest at 11 mean value. The SRRS asses a wide range of stressful experiences, not just life change.

Pressure, the fourth major type of stress, involves expectations or demands that one behave in a certain way. This happens when you are expected to execute tasks and responsibilities quickly, efficiently, and successfully. For instance, models are under pressure to look perfect, be the perfect weight, and have the perfect form. Pressures to conform to others' expectations are also common in everyday life. Everyone is expected to dress a certain way, walk a certain way, keep their homes a certain way, etc. Weiten has formed a scale to measure pressure as a form of life stress. It appraises self-imposed pressure, pressure from work and school, and pressure from family relations, peer relations, and intimate relations. Pressure has turned out to be more strongly related to measures of mental health than the SRRS has measured. Weiten found a correlation of .59 between the scores on the Pressure Inventory and symptoms of psychological distress.

It is amazing that stress can be so closely related to life threatening diseases. It is also fascinating that there are so many major and minor types of everyday stresses.