Stress: Physiological and Psychological Aspects PDF

**Stress: Physiological and Psychological Aspects** Stress is a reaction to stimuli the brain or body interprets as a challenge or obstacle. It comes in different forms, including physiological and psychological stress. The former case involves external and external conditions that challenge normal...

**Stress: Physiological and Psychological Aspects** Stress is a reaction to stimuli the brain or body interprets as a challenge or obstacle. It comes in different forms, including physiological and psychological stress. The former case involves external and external conditions that challenge normal cell or organism functioning. Physiological stress is the effect of the failure of the human body to respond effectively to physical stimuli (Kagias, Nehammer & Pocock 2012). For example, when people are exposed to cold, they become stressed since such environments interfere with their body functionality. Psychological stress occurs when a person perceives that particular demands and needs exceed their adaptive abilities. It affects the emotional and physical well-being of the sufferer depending on the cause and the person. **Situational Factors: Life Events, Daily Hassles/Uplifts, Conflict, and Trauma** Life events like having sick relatives or financial problems can lead to stress. Such situations make a person feel that they cannot solve their current issue or may stop looking for solutions; consequently, they feel stressed. Daily hassles like having a demanding job could lead to stress. This is true when jobs have challenging tasks that exceed workers' abilities. Even though demanding work may motivate workers to realize their full potential, it leads to stress when it becomes difficult to cope. Conflicts like unhealthy relationships result in stress since they create toxic environments people cannot adjust to. Traumatic events such as physical assault result in stress and evoke psychological and physical responses that lead to anxiety, sadness, and agitation. **Vulnerability and Invulnerability** Vulnerability means a patient is susceptible to a negative outcome, such as harm. In other words, they are not protected against factors or dangers that could result in adverse health consequences. Satici (2016) explains that vulnerability is natural for people, meaning that each individual has a specific fragility level that makes them susceptible to stress. Patients may have a cognitive bias or certain beliefs that exposes them to psychological issues. Vulnerability shapes maladaptive reactions to situations that make patients more susceptible to psychological disorders. Hill, Duggan and Lapsley (2011) say that invulnerability is the sense of protection against harm. In this case, psychiatry patients do not feel personal stress could adversely affect them. Invulnerability is instrumental in helping patients protect themselves or cope with stressors and, hence, avoid psychological issues. **Type A Behavior Theory** Type A behaviour theory explains how people react to stressors. It holds that people with Type A personalities strive to work against time and are highly competitive (Mcleod 2017). In essence, they are punctual, ambitious, and organized. Individuals with Type A personalities are self-critical and focus on goals without paying attention to the efforts needed to accomplish those goals. According to Mcleod (2017), people with Type A personalities are susceptible to stress or experience higher stress levels. This is due to their impatience since they need to be fast in their tasks. Individuals with Type A personalities are also highly competitive and will criticize themselves if they fail to win, resulting in stress (Mcleod 2017). They are easily angered and may see the worst in people. Screenshot 2022 12 12 at 17.24.57 **Coping Mechanisms** Coping mechanisms refer to strategies people use to adjust to stressful and traumatic events. They help people adapt to changes and maintain physical and psychological well-being (Algorani & Gupta, 2021). Life events, whether positive or negative, can result in stress. Positive occasions may include getting married, buying a house, or having a baby, whereas adverse occurrences may consist of getting a divorce, the death of a loved one, or hospitalization. Both cases create environments that require significant adjustments in life. People need coping mechanisms to adjust effectively and avoid consequent psychological and physical effects. Coping styles may be problems, emotion, or meaning-focused. Problem-focused means that a person strives to address the issue leading to stress. The emotion-focused mechanism aims to suppress stress-related emotions (Algorani & Gupta 2021). People using the meaning-focused style try to understand the meaning of a problem to deal with it appropriately. **Locus of Control, Learned Helplessness, and Learned Resourcefulness** Locus of control is the degree to which a person feels they have control over their behaviour. It influences how people respond to life events and how well they are motivated to take action. A person can have an internal or external locus of control. In the former case, people believe that they control their behaviour and manage how they behave. For example, a person may claim that they excelled in their examinations since they studied hard. People with an external locus of control view their actions as a result of influence from external forces. Learned helplessness is a state of mind in which a person believes they cannot change certain situations. Consequently, they begin to act helpless, compelling them to ignore opportunities for change or relief. Learned resourcefulness refers to the skills or behaviours that help a person cope with stressful events.    **Resilience** Resilience refers to the mental, emotional, and behavioural capacity to deal with challenging life events. When people face difficult situations, they may develop abilities to cope with similar experiences in the future. The primary factor contributing to resilience is how people view and engage with the world. Another factor is the availability of resources, including help from people (American Psychological Association, 2012). The last factor is specific coping strategies, in which people have skills like high self-esteem to deal with challenging life experiences. **References:** \(1) Kagias, K., Nehammer, C. & Pocock, R 2012, 'Neuronal Responses to Physiological Stress', *Frontiers in Genetics*, 3. doi:10.3389/fgene.2012.00222. \(2) Satici, S.A 2016, 'Psychological Vulnerability, Resilience, And Subjective Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Hope', *Personality and Individual Differences*, vol.102, pp.68--73. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2016.06.057. \(3) Hill, P.L., Duggan, P.M. & Lapsley, D.K 2011, 'Subjective Invulnerability, Risk Behavior, and Adjustment in Early Adolescence', *The Journal of Early Adolescence*, vol.32, no.4, pp.489--501. doi:10.1177/0272431611400304. \(4) Mcleod, S 2017. *Type A and Type B Personality Theory*. \[online\] Simply Psychology. Available at: https://www.simplypsychology.org/personality-a.html. \(5) Algorani, E.B. & Gupta, V 2021, *Coping Mechanisms*. \[online\] PubMed. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559031/. \(6) American Psychological Association 2012, Building Your Resilience. *American Psychological Association*. \[online\] Available at: https://www.apa.org/topics/resilience.