1.What is stress?

Stress is our response to factors / events that disrupt, or threaten to disrupt our physical or psychological functioning. For example, performing bad in a test leads to stress.

2.List the types of stress.

Eustress – The optimum level of stress that is required to reach a goal or target is called eustress. For example, learning to drive.

Distress – The level of stress that results in lowered productivity and loss of creativity is called distress. For example, getting bullied.

3.List a few characteristics of stress.

• It is a simple reaction of body and mind to a stimulus.
• It is generated when an individual’s well-being is threatened.

4.Explain stress as a process.

Initially, a physical or psychological demand is placed on the individual. Then, the individual perceives the demand and asses it based on his/her own abilities. If the abilities needed match the demand then the task if easy for the individual. However, if it cannot then it leads to stress. The individual responds physically (like increase in heart rate) and psychologically (like increase in anxiety). Lastly, their performance may improve or decline. In case of improvement, the person is able to meet the demand and stops experiencing stress. If there is a decline then the person undergoes more stressful situations which lead to the perception of new stress making it a process.

For example, a student has to give an exam. If she is prepared then she stops experiencing stress. However, if she is not it leads to stress then she performs badly leading to more stress and disrupting her process to a good college. This leads to perception of new stress and this process continues.

5.What are stressors and its types?

Stressors are the factors which trigger stress. A few are listed below:

1. Physiological stressors include excessive exercise, lack of rest, injury, disease, etc.
2. Psychological stressors are mainly the emotions inducing factors. These trigger emotions like frustration, guilt, conflict, etc.
3. Environmental stressors include pollution, extreme temperature, excessive noise, etc.

6.Explain the GAS model.

Hans Selye developed the General Adaptation Syndrome model – the GAS model. He observed that sick patients showed identical signs and symptoms which is called stress. He conducted long-term research on rats and figured out that during stress an individual is confronted with a threat. The GAS model consists of three stages or reaction:

The Alarm Stage is the first stage in which an organism is suddenly exposed to a threatening stimulus. It involves the immediate reaction to stimulus. The sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system gets activated and prepares the body. There is an increase in blood pressure, heartbeat, secretion of adrenaline, etc.

The Resistance Stage is the second stage which is a rebound reaction to the stimulus. Adrenaline provides energy for fight or flight. The symptoms of the previous stage disappear in this stage because the individual is now aware of the stressor. The body resist the stress and finds ways to cope with the changes.

There are certain hormonal changes that occur. The perception of the stressor is sent to the brain. The brain activates the hypothalamus to release a hormone like structure called the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF). The CRF activates the pituitary gland to secrete the adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH). The ACTH activates the adrenal gland to secrete cortisol in the blood stream. Cortisol breaks down the fats and proteins to release more glucose which helps to cope with stress. This is good for the short run; however, it is harmful in the long run. Proteins are required for manufacturing the WBC’s which helps to fight infections but since it is being broken down by the cortisol, the body becomes vulnerable to infections.

The Exhaustion Stage occurs when the resistance breaks due to persistence of the stressor. In this the body’s capacity to respond to the stressor collapses which leads to burnout. Due to high level of cortisol the person may fall sick or may even die.   

7.Explain the Cognitive Appraisal Model.

The cognitive appraisal model was proposed by Lazarus and Folkman. It is based on their in-depth study of the interaction of the person with his environment. This model considers individuals’ perceptual and cognitive situations. He stated that cognitive appraisal occurs when a person considers two major factors that have chiefly contributed in his response. These include the perception of the situation and the response of the individual to the situation.

It consists of two stages:

The primary appraisal stage is the first stage in which the individuals try to judge the stressor they are facing. This gives rise to three alternative evaluations:  1. This is not important. 2.This is good. 3.This is threatening to my well-being. The first two evaluations do not let them perceive the situation as stressful, but the last one does.

This stage classifies the stressful situation either as harmful or challenging or threatening. Harmful situation indicates the level of damage that has already been done by an event. In a threatening situation an individual experiences stress considering future damage that will likely to be brought about by the situation. In a challenging situation a positive stress is developed within the individual, he is more confident to take adaptive response to overcome the stressful situation.  For example, a person attending Prom. The person might see it as harmful due to all the fights and gossips that have taken place regarding it. He/she might see it as threatening due to the gossips and judging that would take place at the venue or He/she might see it as challenging as he/she wants to look good and meet friends.

Secondary Appraisal Stage is the second stage but it is not a consequence of the primary stage. Instead it occurs simultaneously or before the primary appraisal stage. This stage involves the person’s perception of how he can deal with this situation. The person may choose any of the two ways of coping. He can either deal with it effectively by thinking of effective coping strategies or evaluate the situation negatively and resort to ineffective ways of coping. The choice of coping depends on health and energy resources, locus of control, problem solving skills, social skills, etc.  This method also focuses on the outcome of stress like emotional experiences (anger, guilt), motor manifestations (feeling of lump in the throat, impaired balance), physiological reaction (increased blood pressure, heart beat).

8.Explain the situational causes of stress.

The factors which generate stress are called stressors or causes of stress. The external causes of stress are called the situational stress. They are the following:

1. Stressful life events:

An individual who is experiencing or has just experienced major changes in life is susceptible to physical and psychological problems like stress. These events include academic failure, divorce, death of family, etc. Sometimes people are unable to cope with this change in the manageable time frame which might lead them to become mentally and physically ill.

b. Minor hassles of everyday life:

The minor events that trouble us in our daily life are known as the hassles of daily life. They are minor in intensity but major in frequency. These are like health worries, quarrel with friends or family, poor marks in exams, etc. These may be minor but their persistent nature may over time reduce our ability to adapt. Thus, resulting in psychological and physical disorders.

c. Work related stress:

Workaholic culture is an indisputable part of present-day complex societies. Work itself is a stress producing factor. Few causes of work-related stress:

• High workload or under-load: high workload stress occurs when the amount of work and expected output of the person does not match the person perception and ability of how much work he can handle. Under load work stress occurs when less work is handed as it leads to boredom and feeling of being neglected.
• Difficult or unpleasant work environment: physical working conditions such as extreme noise poor or over illumination extra can also cause stress.
• Role ambiguity: it arises when a person’s role in the organisation is not clearly defined resulting in role confusion which thereby increases level of stress.
• Relation with other employees: relationship with co-workers or boss should be nice otherwise it proves detrimental to health and performance at work.
• Career related issues: issues such as attainting professional degree, lack of promotion or early retirement may develop stress.
• Performance appraisal: the new work culture assigns importance to the regular appraisal of performance. Workers feel stressed when they see that the evaluating system has no standardized rule. Their work efficiency along with their self-esteem also decreases classically.

d. Physical environment:

Deforestation, Industrial waste, loud noise and other results of human activity have had a detrimental effect on the natural balance of the environment resulting in air, water, soil and many other forms of pollution. These pollutants in turn affect the physical well-being of the humans. The physical problems like asthma or constant anxiety for availability of resources can lead to an individual being stressed.

9.Explain the dispositional causes of stress.

• Need:

the various needs of individuals like to reach the target creates an unrealistic demand on self which may lead to stress. For example, wanting an expensive watch when you just started to work.

• Personality trait and types:

The following personality trait and types make a person more susceptible to stress:                   

1. locus of control: recent studies have shown a definite relationship between a person’s locus of control and stress levels. It is seen that people with internal locus of control are more susceptible to stress as compared to people with external locus of control. locus of control refers to the individual’s perception of the amount of control they have in their life.               
2. Personality types: type A personality people are high achievers, ambitious and competitive. Their higher aspiration levels make them more stressed since they want to complete a lot of work with no time limit. Type B personality individuals are optimistic.  They are opposite to type a people. They can manage stressful situations. Due to their positive attitude towards life, they rarely feel stressful.

• Attitude (Optimus vs Pessimism):

People with a positive attitude(optimistic) experience less stress than people with negative attitude(pessimistic). For example, a flood has occurred. The person who is happy that rescue teams have reached the place and many are safe is less stressed than the person who is just sad for those people who have died.

10.Explain the effects of stress on health.

The link between stress and personal health is very strong as it activates the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in our body which activates the parasympathetic PNS and the sympathetic SNS. The SNS prepares the body for flight or fight and the PNS prepares it to relax. During stress, the SNS surpasses the PNS. It affects our immune system, causes hypertension, cardiac problems and psychosomatic disorders.

• Immune system

Stress has a major negative effect on immune system of an individual. Immune system is a mechanism by which the body is able to recognise and destroy harmful agents like bacteria, viruses, etc. Foreign elements that enter our bodies are called antigens. When they enter the body white blood cell called lymphocytes began to multiply. Some of them (T-cells) attack the antigens and often destroy them by and engulfing them.  Other (B-cells) produce antibodies which are chemical substances that neutralize antigens. Prolonged exposure to stress seems to severely affect this system.

Ader and Cohen, 1984 found that level of lymphocytes in animals exposed to unavoidable shocks reduce significantly than animals exposed to shocks that could be avoided. Kiecolt-Glaser, 1988 found that people who are divorced or separated often experience reduce functioning of the immune system compared to individuals are happily married. Taylor, 1999 found that optimism, regular exercise and feelings of control over stressful events may prevent the adverse effect on immune system under stress.

• Hypertension

People experiencing high levels of stress are at a greater risk for having hypertension. the body under stress secretes a surge of hormones which constrict the blood vessels thereby raising blood pressure. high blood pressure slowly damages the various organs such as kidneys, heart, brain and eyes.

• Cardiac problems

Type a personality is linked to experiencing high levels of stress culminating to heart problems. Their levels of excitement, anger or tension are also very high which creates a lot of internal pressure on them. Consequently, they experience a lot of stress which may ultimately lead to cardiac problems.

• Psychosomatic disorders  

stress is related to different psychosomatic disorders.

1. Ulcers- they are holes or brakes found in the protected lining of the stomach or the oesophagus. Stress with poor lifestyle habits promotes acidic secretion from the stomach. Build-up of the stomach acids erode the protective lining or stomach, duodenum or oesophagus creating ulcers.
2. asthma- is a chronic lung disease. Studies have shown that stress is a significant risk factor for the onset of asthma in adults and it also worsens the symptoms of asthma.
3. diabetes- during stress cortisol is secreted in the bloodstream which breaks down fats and proteins and increases blood sugar level in the blood stream. It also thwarts the effect of insulin by inducing insulin resistance. As a result, blood sugar level remains high in the bloodstream making the person diabetic.

11.Explain the effect of stress on performance.

After which the person reaches a point called the fatigue point in which the performance starts to decline. This ultimately leads to burnout which is characterized by exhaustion, irritation, lack of motivation and enthusiasm.

There are five stages of burnout. The first stage is called honeymoon in which there is a high level of satisfaction, commitment and excitement to meet the stressor. Then comes fuel shortage in which there is a feeling of loss, fatigue and sleep disturbances and the person is aware of the dissatisfaction. Then comes chronic symptom in which there is chronic exhaustion, physical illness and depression. The fourth stage is crisis in which one feels oppressed due to prolonged stress. There is a low self-confidence and physical issues like headaches, ulcers, etc. Finally, the fifth stage is called hitting the wall in which there is a total exhaustion of one’s ability and energy. The symptoms of burnout become very prominent in this stage.

12.Effective strategies of managing stress.

People can adapt to many different coping mechanisms that are effective in the short and the long run. Such as:

1. Relaxation techniques

The body has a natural relaxation response. Activating this is very simple by using techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, body scan meditation, mindfulness and creative visualisation. Relaxation techniques restore the homeostasis that is disturbed by the stressors.

• Deep breathing meditation: It is performed by taking in a deep breath so that it fills in your lungs and emptying it completely.
• Progressive muscle relaxation: this is performed by consecutively and systematically tensing and then relaxing different muscle groups. The person feels relaxed both mentally and physically.
• Body scan meditation: This is performed by being aware of all the sensations that are occurring in the body of the person.
• Mindfulness: This is performed by focussing and becoming aware of all your internal and external experiences of the present moment.
• Creative visualisation: This is performed by creating and imaginative scene that helps the person feel relaxed and calm. However, this must be guided by a therapist.

b. Yoga

Yoga is a form of exercise that involves various postures with focused deep breathing. It helps in reducing the stress and anxiety as well as makes the person flexible, strong and increases stamina and balance.

13.Ineffective strategies of managing stress.

Unhealthy coping mechanisms used by people to cope with stress are called the ineffective strategies. These provide only a short-term relief. They are the following:

1. Defense mechanisms

People tend to save their ego from guilt or anxiety during stress and adopt ego-defense mechanisms. They resort to such choices when they are either overly emotional or impulsive. Such defense mechanisms are the following:

• Rationalization: when people try to justify their actions as acceptable and logical rather than accepting the actual reason of it. For example, I didn’t study because I was sick.
• Reaction formation: when people develop conscious attitudes and behaviors that are opposite to their actual feelings as it makes them and others uncomfortable. For example, she is not a fan on Taylor Swift but still went to her concert with her friends.
• Projection: when people blame others for their feelings because they feel that their feelings might be disapproved of. For example, I hate him because he hates me.
• Regression: when people facing severe stress adopt infantile behavior to find quick relief. For example, sucking your thumb.
• Repression: When people suppress their undesirable thoughts into their unconscious. For example, someone liking someone who they are socially not allowed to like.
• Displacement: When a person diverts his/her aggression to a safer target from someone he/she feels is dangerous or cannot show aggression towards. For example, Preeti is mad at her teacher because she embarrassed her in front of your friends. So, she ends up diverting her anger towards her little sister.
• Sublimation: This is a mature defense mechanism in which a person transforms socially disapproved impulses into socially approved impulses. For example, someone lost a pet. He/she visits a dog café every day to be around dogs.

b. Substance abuse

Certain people end up consuming large quantities of harmful substances such as drugs, alcohol and/or cigarettes. These cause severe health problems.

c. Unhealthy lifestyle

People might have an unhealthy lifestyle such as skipping meals, working for long hours, not sleeping, etc. This only adds to the distress.

d. Behavioral pattern

Certain behaviors such as avoiding a particular stressor leads to more stress as the stressor still remains and once confronted gives more stress.

e. Attitudinal style

Some people become overly emotional when stressed and express their feeling by crying, being angry, etc.

14.Explain effective lifestyle.

An effective lifestyle is the cluster of interests, opinions and behaviors of individuals, groups or cultures. To maintain this one may practice the following:

1. Exercise – it not only helps the physical body but also the mental health as it controls the secretion of hormones and other chemicals in the body.
2. Diet – a balanced diet keeps the body and mind healthy. The various nutrients received through the meals gives the body energy, strengthens the body and boosts immunity resulting in one feeling better.
3. Assertiveness – when a person is able to communicate their thoughts, feelings and opinions clearly and confidently. This helps the person to avoid doing those tasks that he/she finds stressful.
4. Rational thinking – Distortion in the thought process results in negative thoughts and biases thereby leading to stress. Therefore, challenging one’s own distorted thoughts and anxiety provoking thoughts promotes rational thinking which helps to cope with stress.
5. Relationships – Healthy relations help to cope with stress. One can maintain healthy relations by communicating clearly, listening to others and keeping an open mind.
6. Habits – when one constantly avoids difficult situations or procrastinates, he/she forms a habit which does give temporary relief but does not get rid of the stressor. Therefore, they need to be replaced by helpful habits and behaviors that sort out and get rid of the stressor.
7. Family and social support – Healthy family and social support helps an individual to overcome traumatic and stressful situations. To receive such support, one must maintain good relationship with family and friends.
8. Self-care – exercising, eating healthy, improving relations, etc. shows that one is caring for self which helps to cope with stress.
9. Resisting stress:
   • Hardiness – commitment, emotional control, taking challenges makes a person strong which helps to resist stress.
   • Mainting balance between ability, aspiration and achievement – a person with a balanced estimation of self and reality can set targets accordingly which helps to avoid stress.
   • Increasing stress tolerance capacity – the habit or ability to wait for good times with patience helps to avoid and resist stress.
   • Reducing the no. of anxiety and tension inducing situations – by pre-planning daily activities and future events one can reduce stress to a great extent.
   • Working towards optimism – by looking at an event in an optimistic and rational manner one can deal with the situation effectively as he/she takes the stress as a challenge.
   • A sense of humor – Being able to laugh at small things and accept mistakes one can learn from them and be happy and not stressed.