STRESS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

Stress Management Techniques

Stress Management Techniques

Introduction

Stress can be defined as any threat, assumed or direct, to well being. In this essay we will focus on the physiological response to a stressor and evaluate ways of coping or managing symptoms since we cannot eliminate stress completely from our lives. Stress comes in two forms, acute (short-term) and chronic (long-term) and can be experienced either externally or internally. External stressors may include pain, extreme temperature changes, poor working conditions or unhappy, unfulfilling relationships. Internal stressors may include illnesses, infections or worry. Acute stress is the physiological reaction to an immediate threat. The term “fight or flight” response is used as the body readies itself to respond to perceived danger(Ogden 2000).

Stress management as a Psychology

In psychology, any event or situation that makes heightened demands on a person's mental or emotional resources. Stress can be caused by overwork, anxiety about exams, money, job security, unemployment, bereavement, poor relationships, marriage breakdown, sexual difficulties, poor living or working conditions, and constant exposure to loud noise. Many changes that are apparently 'for the better', such as being promoted at work, going to a new school, moving to a new house, and getting married, are also a source of stress. Stress can cause, or aggravate, physical illnesses, among them psoriasis, eczema, asthma, and stomach and mouth ulcers. Apart from removing the source of stress, acquiring some control over it and learning to relax when possible are the best responses.

Stress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, constraint, or demand related to what he or she desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important (Selye 1975). The people's ability to cope with the environmental demand rises above the normal state because the body has activated various biochemicals, physiological and behavioural mechanism. However, our resistance is directed towards one or two stress. Hence, at this stage the individual becomes more prone to other stress factors. The body moreover looses it's resistance to fight with diseases thus increasing the risk of diseases. Exhaustion People have a limited source of energy for fighting stress, and prolong exposure to the stressor without resolution can bring on the exhaustion stage. Adaptation to stressors is a costly effort. Activation of GAS places extraordinary demand on the body. If resistance to a particular crisis is high, and the crisis continues for an extended time, little energy is left for coping with other stressors. When prolonged exposure to stress uses up available adaptive energy, exhaustion can take the forms of depression, mental breakdown or simply being unable to cope any longer.

Research carried out by (Selye 1975) on rats led to his conclusion that when exposed to unpleasant situations, animals react in the same way. This response is known as the General Adaption Syndrome or GAS model which has three distinct stages, alarm, resistance and exhaustion. Once the body has perceived danger or threat it ...