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Identifying Stress
What
Is Stress?
It is different things to different people. To a mountaineer it
is the challenge of pushing physical resources to the limit by striving
to achieve a demanding goal. To the homeward bound motorist it can
be the hassles of heavy traffic and obnoxious exhaust fumes. To
the student it can be exam pressure.
Take a piece of paper and write the word stress at the top. Now
write down all the words and images that come to your mind as you
think about this word.
Most people respond to the word stress in negative ways. They see
it as a destructive, debilitating force. However, not all stress
is negative. The word eustress has been coined to describe positive
stress. Eustress results from exhilarating experiences. It is the
type of stress you are likely to experience when you inherit a large
amount of money or receive an unexpected promotion or reward. Eustress
is the stress of winning and achieving.
Negative stress is distress. It is the stress of losing, failing,
overworking and not coping. Distress affects people in a negative
often harmful manner. We all experience distress from time to time.
It is a normal, unavoidable part of living.
Stressors Cause Stress
Stress results from failure to adequately cope with stressors. Stressors
could be loud noise, uncomfortable air-conditioning, debts, ringing
telephones, broken relationships, unrealistic deadlines, discouragement,
fear, pain and thousands of other things that impact upon us in
the normal course of life.
It is impossible to avoid stressors. The only totally stress-free
state is death! Stressors will always be there because we live in
an imperfect and unpredictable world which is going to cause us
to frequently get stressed. We experience stress as the body adjusts
to the external demands placed upon it. Our body constantly seeks
to maintain stability and stress is usually sensed as the body readjusts
to too much pressure.
Scientists use the term HOMEOSTASIS (homeo = the same;
stasis = standing) to define the physiological limits in which the
body functions efficiently and comfortably. Stress disturbs homeostasis
by creating a state of imbalance. The source of stress may be outside
the body or it may originate from within the body in the form of
blood pressure, pain, tumours, distressing events or disturbing
thoughts.
We need to assist our bodies to cope with being
stressed because our natural biological stress-adjustors
are not ideally suited to the demands of modern living. Our bodies
are well suited to cope with the distressing events faced by our
primitive ancestors. The stressors faced by humans conditioned to
a nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle are obviously different to the
distressing lifestyle of today. Our distant ancestors needed chemical
responses to stress to enable them to trigger physical flight or
fight responses to the perils and pleasures of hunting. These types
of responses are inappropriate today. If you physically ran away
from your workplace whenever things got on top of you then this
would not enhance your standing in the Organisation. Conversely
if you punch the boss on the nose when he/she gives you a tough
time then the resulting dismissal and assault charges will generate
considerably greater levels of distress. Consequently we need to
develop special skills to deal with special stressors.
We are all very aware of specific distressing circumstances that
affect us. As already discussed these assume many shapes and forms.
In addition to the specific stressors there are also back-ground
stressors that can have a more subtle but equally damaging impact
on us.
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