(Part - 1) - Meeting Life Challenges Class 12 Psychology

Introduction

• Stress is how our body reacts to something that disrupts our balance and makes it hard to cope.
• The term "stress" comes from Latin words 'strictus', which means tight, and 'stringere', which means to tighten. These words reflect the tightness in muscles and breathing that many feel when stressed.
• Stressors are the events that trigger our stress responses.

• There are two types of stress:
  • Eustress, which is beneficial to the individual and helps them stay motivated. Eustress is instrumental in achieving optimal performance in an essential task.
  • Distress, on the other hand, is detrimental to the individual since this level of stress undeniably hinders their ability to cope, and it can emotionally, mentally, and physically exhaust them.

Nature, Types and Sources of Stress

• Waiting to cross a busy road on a Monday morning can lead to brief moments of stress. Staying alert and aware helps individuals navigate safely.
• When faced with difficulties, people often try harder and use all available support to overcome challenges. Stress can arise from these situations but can be beneficial if handled well.
• Stress is similar to electricity; it energises us and can enhance performance. However, too much stress can harm our abilities, just like too much electricity can damage devices. Conversely, too little stress can cause a lack of energy and drive.
• It’s important to understand that not all stress is bad. Eustress can turn into 'distress', which is the negative form of stress that wears down the body. Stress can be seen as the body’s reaction to events that upset balance and exceed our ability to cope.
• The term stress comes from the Latin words 'strictus', meaning tight, and 'stringere', which means to tighten. These origins reflect the tightness and constriction many feel when stressed.
• There are three main types of stress: physical and environmental, psychological, and social. Stress can come from life events, daily annoyances, and traumatic experiences.
• Coping is how individuals respond to stress in specific situations. There are three types: task-oriented, emotion-oriented, and avoidance-oriented coping. Problem-focused coping aims to change the situation, while emotion-focused coping seeks to manage feelings related to the stress.
• Stress can be defined as the body's responses to events that disrupt balance and overwhelm a person's ability to cope.

Nature of stress

• The term "stress" originated from the Latin word "strictus" which means tight or narrow, and the verb "stringere" which means to tighten. These roots reflect the feeling of tightness and muscle constriction often associated with stress. 
• The reaction to an external stressor is called "strain". Stress can both cause and be a result of various factors. 
• Hans Selye, known as the pioneer of modern stress research, described stress as the body's generic reaction to various demands placed upon it.
• Some scholars challenge Selye's theory, arguing that individuals can respond to stress in diverse ways, contrary to a uniform and generalized reaction.
• Lazarus differentiated between two types of evaluations: primary and secondary. Primary evaluation involves perceiving a new or changing situation as positive, neutral, or negative in its outcomes. Negative incidents are evaluated for potential harm, threat, or challenge they present. Harm assessment focuses on past damage caused by an event.
• Threat evaluation centers on forecasting potential future harm resulting from an incident. Conversely, challenge evaluations are linked with a confident belief in the capacity to tackle stress effectively, potentially benefiting from the experience.
• When an event is perceived as stressful, individuals usually engage in secondary assessment, which involves evaluating their coping mechanisms and available resources to address the harm, threat, or challenge posed by the situation.
• These resources encompass mental, physical, personal, and social aspects. A positive attitude, good health, skills, and social support can reduce stress levels.
• This two-step assessment process not only influences cognitive and behavioural responses but also impacts emotional and physiological reactions to external circumstances.

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Signs and symptoms of stress

• Individual differences in coping patterns of stress response lead to variations in the intensity of warning signals or signs of stress. 
• The warning signs and symptoms of stress are subjective and may depend on the individual's perception of their intensity, duration, predictability, or complexity. 
• These warning signs may manifest as physical, emotional, cognitive, or behavioral symptoms of stress.

Types of Stress

The different forms of stress are explained as follows:

Physical and Environmental Stress: This type of stress occurs when we feel physically worn out and strained due to overexertion, inadequate sleep, and an unbalanced diet. Environmental stress includes noise and air pollution as well as unclean surroundings that can make us feel stressed.

Psychological Stress:  

• Stresses from Our Minds: These stresses are self-generated and unique to each individual, originating internally. They include worrying about issues, experiencing anxiety, or feeling depressed. While these are symptoms of stress, they also contribute to further stress. Key sources of psychological stress encompass frustration, conflicts, internal pressures, and social influences.
• Frustration:

  Frustration arises when our needs and desires are obstructed by external factors, leading to an inability to achieve desired objectives. Causes of frustration vary from social biases to personal setbacks like poor academic performance.

• Conflicts:

  Conflicts emerge when there are competing needs or desires, such as deciding between pursuing interests like dance or psychology. They can also manifest in dilemmas like choosing between further education and employment.

• Internal Pressures:

  Internal pressures stem from self-imposed beliefs and expectations, often unrealistic, such as the compulsion for flawless performance in all endeavors. These high standards can lead to disappointment and stress.

• Social Pressures:

  Social pressures result from individuals making excessive demands on us, creating stress when we interact with them. Interpersonal conflicts, like clashes of personality, can compound these pressures, intensifying the stress we experience.

Social Stress: It arises from our interpersonal relationships and interactions with others. For instance, breaking up with a friend or the death of a close family member can cause social stress. Like psychological stress, social stress is also subjective in nature.

Sources of Stress

The sources of stress are explained as follows:

• Life Events: Changes in life, both small and significant, can happen and some are pre-planned, making them easier to handle, such as changing schools. However, there are significant changes that are unpredictable in nature and difficult to deal with, such as the death of a close family member.
• Traumatic Events: These events leave a profound impact on the victims and affect them psychologically and emotionally. Traumatic events are not recurring in nature, such as rape or a terrorist attack.
• Hassles: Day-to-day stressful situations, such as noisy surroundings or stressful jobs, add to our stress level. Social support is essential in such cases as it aids an individual in coping with hassles.

Effects of Stress on Psychological Functioning and Health

The impact of stress on psychological functioning is described in the following ways:

• Emotional effects: Individuals under emotional stress often experience mood swings and unpredictable behaviour, which can drive a wedge between them and their friends or family. This may create a cycle of reduced self-esteem, leading to more severe emotional issues. Common negative feelings linked to psychological stress include depression, hostility, anger, and aggression.
• Physiological effects: Physical or psychological stress triggers the body to release hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones cause significant changes in heart rate, blood pressure, metabolism, and physical activity. While this reaction can help us cope with short-term pressure, it may harm the body over time. Physiological responses include the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine, slowing digestion, widening air passages in the lungs, and raising heart rate.
• Cognitive effects: Ongoing stress can lead to mental overload, making it hard for individuals to make sound decisions. Cognitive impacts of stress include poor focus and diminished short-term memory. Long-term stress can also increase the likelihood of psychological disorders such as panic attacks and obsessive behaviour.
• Behavioural effects: Stress can change our behaviours, resulting in poor dietary choices, increased consumption of stimulants like caffeine, and excessive use of substances such as alcohol, cigarettes, and tranquilisers. It may also disrupt sleep patterns and lead to decreased work performance.

Stress and Health

The following are explanations of the effects of stress on health:

• High levels of stress can leave us feeling physically worn out, tired, and anxious.
• Burnout refers to a state of being completely exhausted—physically, emotionally, and mentally—because of ongoing stress, which can greatly hinder our daily activities.
• Stress is linked to heart issues, high blood pressure, and psychosomatic conditions like ulcers, asthma, allergies, and headaches.
• It is believed that stress contributes to 50% to 70% of all physical ailments, with studies showing that 60% of medical visits are mainly due to stress-related problems.

Psychological Effects of Stress

• Psychological stress often comes with negative feelings and behaviours, such as depression, hostility, anger, and aggression.
• The likelihood of psychological disorders, including panic attacks and obsessive behaviour, tends to rise with long-term stress.

Cognitive Effects of Stress

• Stress can lead to difficulties with focus and a decline in short-term memory.

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General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

The main features of the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) model are explained as follows:

• Selye conducted experiments on both humans and animals under stressful conditions to study the bodily responses in each.
• These experiments included subjecting animals to high temperatures and administering insulin injections in the laboratory.
• Selye observed that both animals and humans showed similar patterns of bodily response, which he called the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS).

GAS has three stages:
(i) Alarm Reaction Stage: The presence of a stressor triggers the release of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, preparing the body for a fight or flight response.
(ii) Resistance Stage: With prolonged stress, the parasympathetic nervous system conserves body resources and enables us to cope with the stressor.
(iii) Exhaustion Stage: Excessive exposure to prolonged stress leads to exhaustion, depleting the body's resources to deal with the stressful situation.

During the exhaustion stage of the General Adaptation Syndrome model, the physiological systems that were activated during the alarm and resistance stages become less effective, which may increase the likelihood of developing high blood pressure.

Criticism of Selye's Model

• Selye's model has faced criticism for underestimating the role of psychological factors in stress.
• Psychological evaluations significantly affect how individuals experience stress, influenced by perceptions, personalities, and biology.

Coping with Stress

• A healthy lifestyle is crucial for managing stress effectively.
• Skills such as assertiveness, time management, rational thinking, and self-care can help address challenges.
• Maintaining positive health includes a balanced diet, regular exercise, optimism, and social support.
• It is important to avoid unhealthy coping mechanisms like smoking, alcohol, and drugs.

Stress and Immune System

• Stress and Immune System: Stress can lead to illness by disrupting the immune system's functioning, which protects the body from internal and external threats.
• Psychoneuroimmunology: This field explores the connections among the mind, brain, and immune system, specifically focusing on how stress impacts immune responses.
• Immune System Overview: White blood cells in the immune system detect and eliminate foreign substances like viruses, triggering antibody production in the process.
• Types of White Blood Cells: The immune system contains various white blood cells such as T cells, B cells, and natural killer cells, each serving different roles in immune defence.
• Impact of Stress on the Immune System: Stress can reduce natural killer cell activity, crucial in combating infections and cancer, leading to weakened immunity.
• Effects of Social Support: Individuals receiving social support exhibit better immune function, highlighting the influence of social connections on health.
• Interplay of Emotions and Health: Negative emotions linked to stress, like depression and anger, can affect immune function and overall well-being.
• Psychological Disorders and Stress: Prolonged stress contributes to psychological issues such as panic attacks, obsessions, and mood swings, impacting mental and physical health.
• Emotions and Health Outcomes: Feelings of hopelessness and negative moods are associated with worsened health conditions, increased injury risks, and elevated mortality rates across various causes.

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Lifestyle

• The concept of lifestyle refers to the collective decisions and actions that an individual makes in their daily life, which can significantly impact their overall health and well-being.
• There is a clear link between high levels of stress and an unhealthy lifestyle characterized by poor dietary choices, disrupted sleep patterns, and lack of exercise or physical activity.
• In contrast, a healthy and proper lifestyle includes several key elements such as positive thinking, consumption of a nutritious diet, regular exercise, and social support.

Coping with Stress