Stress

Stress is something that has become prevalent in our society, more so now than ever before. Demands from everyday life have certainly increased, creating more stress in our lives and potentially affecting our health and wellbeing. The purpose of this essay is to discuss stress and the effects it can have on our behavioural responses. Firstly, it will give an overview of stress, as well as discuss physical and mental concerns bought about by excessive stress and factors that contribute towards it. It is important to point out that certain types of stress can also have positive effects on one’s health and well-being, although this essay will focus on the adverse effects. This essay continues on to discuss the unhealthy and ineffective behaviours that individuals adapt in order to cope with their stress. Lastly, it will point out some simple but effective ways of coping and common stress management strategies.
There is much controversy and debate over the meaning of stress; in fact much academic literature related to stress has whole chapters on the different definitions. These explanations seem to differ from discipline to discipline and have certainly evolved over the centuries. A straightforward definition as described by Weiten (2012) “any circumstance that threatens or are perceived to threaten one’s well-being and thereby tax ones coping abilities” (pg. 71). Another relevant definition suggested by Benson (2008) describes stress as “an automatic physical response to any stimulus that requires you to adjust to change” (pg. 2). These definitions describe that our bodies react on many different levels when we feel threatened or perceive a situation to be potentially stressful.
Stress is known to cause physiological, emotional and behavioural responses in the body. The “fight or flight” response is one of the bodies physiological reactions to stress, our bodies are programed to release specific stress hormones in the event of danger. Heart rate increases, rises in