30 Stress Management: Meaning, Sources and Strategies

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Content Outline

 

1.     Objectives

 

2.     Introduction

 

3.     Concept of Stress

 

4.     Components of Stress

 

5.     Types of Stress

 

5.1. Eustress

 

5.2. Distress

 

5.3. Neutral stress

 

1.     Objectives

 

This module will familiarize the learner with the Stress Management. At the end of the module, the learner will be able to,

  • Define meaning of stress management
  • List the components of stress
  • Explain each types of stress

 

2.     Introduction

 

Stress is a complex Phenomenon. The term stress is coined by Selye in 1984. He is Austrian-Canadian endocrinologist of Hungarian origin. He conducted much important scientific work and defined it as “Non-specific response of the body for any demand.” He had experimented with laboratory animals. These animals had experienced different physical and emotional stimuli like blaring light, loud noise, extreme heat or cold all this resulted into same pathological changes among these animals. Selye first used the word “stress” to describe the adverse circumstances to which laboratory animals were subjected during experiments.

 

Selye was actually been experimenting to search for a new hormone when he came across all of this. In 1934, he was an assistant at McGill University’s Biochemistry Department in Montreal. The experiment he was carrying out involved the injection of rats with ovarian extract. He was trying to was to reveal changes in the organism that could not be caused by any known sex hormone.

 

The extract injections had various effects on the rats which included enlargement of the adrenal cortex, atrophy of the thymus, spleen, and lymph nodes, and deep bleeding ulcers in the lining of the stomach. These all could be increased or decreased in severity by changing the amount of extract. He understood there is something in common with his sick rats.

 

Selye concluded that the experiments on rats shows that biological responses to “nocuous agents,” such as cold, surgical injury, excessive exercise, or doses of drugs, demonstrated a stereotypical effect on rats irrespective of the nature of the injury. Selye observed it as a way of defence similar to immunity. The general adaptation syndrome represented “a generalised effort of the organism to adapt itself to new conditions.”

 

Selye advocated that animals have only a finite capacity to adapt to damage. It affects into the loss of “adaptation energy.” Selye referred this loss of energy in terms of the “wear and tear” of life. He regarded it as a direct parallel between the stage of fatigue on the one hand and processes of aging and dying on the other. He proved that the animals also suffer from the disease similar to the human beings because of the continuous stress.

 

3.     Concept of Stress

 

According to Oxford Dictionary Stress implies

 

i) Mental Pressure- Pressure or worry caused by the problems in life, which is often a factor in the development of long term illness

 

ii)  Physical pressure- pressure put on the physical being that can damage it or make it lose its shape.

 

In medical terms stress is described as, “a physical or psychological stimulus that can produce mental tension or physiological reactions that may lead to illness.” According to Richard S Lazarus, stress is a feeling experienced when a person thinks that “the demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize.”

 

Olson et al (1989) defined stress as “a state of tension that arises from an actual or perceived demand that calls for an adjustment or adaptive behaviour.”

 

Arnold and Feldman (1986) define stress as “the reactions of individuals to new or threatening factors in their work environment.”

 

The above mentioned definitions focuses on -stress is generated because of mental or physical stimuli; behavioural changes, attitudinal changes, physical reaction or psychological factors are related to stress.

 

Stress is the way body respond to any kind of demand or threat. When one sense danger, either real or perceived, the body defences it which is known as the “fight-or-flight” reaction or the “stress response”. The studies have shown that at the global level the adolescent stress levels range from 20% to 45%. The Time magazine in 1983 described stress as “The Epidemic of the Eighties”. According to American institute of Stress, stress is America’s number one health problem. On estimation, 75 to 90 % of all visits to primary care physicians are found to be related to stress. The Occupational stress is one of the important types of stress.

 

As per International Labour Organization (ILO), the occupational stress affects all countries, all professions and all categories of workers. World Labour Report of 1993 identified occupational stress as one of the most hazardous health issues of the twentieth century . The World Health Organization (WHO) termed it as “World Wide Epidemic”.

 

The Occupational   stress is defined by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, USA) as, “the harmful physical and emotional responses that occur when the requirements of the job do not match the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker”.

 

The Occupational stress is also known as “job stress”, “work related stress” or “work stress”. The World Health Organization defines it as “a pattern of reactions that occurs when workers are presented with work demands not matched to their knowledge, skills or abilities and which challenge their ability to cope”

 

Many a times people are not able to fulfil the expectations which makes them frustrated. The new situations in the work environment brings stress with it, as the demands of situation are beyond capacity of an individual.

 

We try to adjust in different situations. When one is stressed, the body releases the chemical. Stress is person’s adaptive response to the stimulus that places excessive psychological demands on that person. If the situation requires adaption to new situation, it may create stress. These situations could be fatigue, anger, fear, unexpected event etc. Therefore we can say that the stress is the state of mind which reflects some biochemical reactions in the body. These are projected by a sense of tension, depression, anxiety. For example muscles tense up, suffer from headache and pain in neck, and increase in heart rate, experience feeling of vomiting.

 

 

4.     Components of Stress

 

The stress has four components:

 

1.       The source  (Cause)

 

2.       The Pressure  (Input)

 

3.       The recipient  (Target)

 

4.       The Effect  (Output)

 

 

[Source: A Handbook on stress Management-Meena Nanda, pg. 23]

 

The concept of stress is also used in physics. It explains elasticity as the property of a material that allows it to resume its original size and shape after having been compressed or stretched by an external force. So here the magnitude of an external force, or stress, produces a proportional amount of deformation. This magnitude is determined by the environmental conditions or individuals working style. Such environmental conditions, circumstances are call as stressors. These stressors could be physical or psychological.

 

Stress is not always necessarily harmful. Hans Selye said in 1956, “Stress is not necessarily something bad, it all depends on how you take it. The stress of exhilarating, creative successful work is beneficial, while that of failure, humiliation or infection is detrimental.” Thus stress can be negative, positive or neutral. Passing in an examination can be just stressful as failing.

 

Sometime we know in advance that doing a certain thing will be stressful, but we are willing to do that. For example, while planning an international conference, you know that it would be stressful at certain times. But you are willing to face those challenges.

 

People often work well under certain stress leading to increased productivity. Many times you do not know in advance and the stress periods may be sudden. The situation may not be under your control. Too much stress is harmful. You should know your level of stress that allows you to perform optimally in your life.

 

Stress is unique and personal. A situation may be stressful for someone but the same situation may be challenging for others. For example, arranging a world level symposium may be challenging for one person but stressful to another. Some persons have habit of worrying unnecessarily. However, excessive or prolonged stress can be harmful.

 

5.     Types of Stress

 

The stress could be categorized as acute stress and chronic stress.

 

Acute stress

 

This type of stress is usually for the short period of time. It may arise because of the work pressure, meeting deadlines pressure or minor accident, over exertion, increased physical activity, loss of the things which you are searching for and so on. The person then suffers from headache, back pain, stomach problem, rapid heartbeat, muscle aches or body pain. The people who take too many responsibilities and are overloaded or overworked, unsystematic, always in a hurry and never in time, suffer from the acute stress.

 

Chronic Stress

 

This is the most serious type of stress. Chronic stress is a prolonged stress. It exists for weeks, months, or even years. There are various reasons for it. This stress could be due to poor economic condition, broken or stressed family life and problem in marriages, chronic illness. Many a times the people who are suffering from this type of stress get used to it. They may not even realize that they are suffering from the chronic stress. The chronic stress is very hazardous to the health.

 

The Theorist Hans Selye distinguished between two main types of worry – eustress (“good stress”) and distress (“bad stress”). Selye pointed out three types of stress

 

5.1. Eustress

 

This is positive or pleasurable form of stress. Eustress is observed as a ‘beneficial stress’ or ‘adaptive stress.’ It motivates to continue work at hand. It could be psychological or physical. It is an important component of everyday life, as good amounts of stress motivate us, encourage us to experiment, and encourage productivity. It also provides a sense of accomplishment when a work is completed. The human body is unable to physically differentiate between different types of stresses. It depends on how the individual perceives a certain stressor that results in the feeling of eustress or distress. Eustress is a positive reaction to stress, which results in a desire to achieve and overcome an obstacle. Person faces this kind of stress in a positive event or exciting situation. Eg. Winning a prize in the competition.

 

 

5.2. Distress

 

This is negative and unpleasant stress. It comes with negative event. The person encounters distress in unpleasant situation, pressure situation or demanding condition.

 

Distress is when stress, trauma, anxiety and worry are not productive and instead of inspiring the person, it causes the person to close down the options in life. Stress leads to fear, affects with the ability to think clearly, work confidently, interact with others and fulfil the duties in daily life. It is not a helpful stress. This stress is directly or indirectly negative and thus a problematic.

 

Eustress is a short-term feeling. It is perceived as something that we as individuals can control. It inspires us and results in the focus of energy to the task at hand, thus improves the performance. Distress can be either short or long-term, and is perceived as something that is out of our control. Distress is a hostile feeling, which demotivates in completion of task. It can also cause to other mental health problems including depression and anxiety related disorders. The following example will clarify the concept.

 

Imagine if you win the lottery. You have crores of rupees in hand. The first thing you will do is resign from the job, buy a new house and a new car. You are absolutely excited. The relatives will begin to call you as they are in desperate need of your help. You can provide them monitory help. Those who have hardly contacted you ever before would try to be in you touch and try to convince you for providing help to them. Even the charities begin to call for donations. Now, you understand friends, family, and charities wanting your money, and you are in dilemma about who you should help. You cannot sleep or eat without thinking about your situation. You are completely stressed out by the changes in your life. This is categorised as or ‘distress.’

 

Now, consider another situation, you have won the lottery of crores of rupees. You are motivated by the idea of managing the money. Your dream of the ideal life is going to be fulfilled. Family, Friends, Charity will ask for monetary help, but you know exactly what you are going to do with this money, who you would like to help and how to help them. You follow your plans. You invest the money wisely, and employ someone professional to manage your money. You start the business you always wanted to. You also think about the challenges you might face at every stage and try to overcome it. This encourages to keep moving forward. The tensions in the life are helping you to achieve the best. This would be categorised as ‘eustress.’

 

Distress arises when we recognise a challenging situation as being destructive, or if we believe we are not capable of handling with the demands of a situation. In contrast, eustress is more adaptive perception of a stressful situation.

 

 

5.3. Neutral Stress

 

It arises with negative feelings but handled properly. It could lead to positive experiences in life. In the neutral stress the arousal is neither harmful nor helpful.

Eg. Teacher has to handle lot of responsibilities in the school which may lead to stress among them.

you can view video on Stress Management: Meaning, Sources and Strategies

References

 

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