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Implications of Stress on the Health of an Individual

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Implications of Stress on the Health of an Individual

Stressors are known to have a primary influence on an individual’s mood, behavior, and well-being. Therefore, in so doing, it causes devastating implications on an individual’s health. Additionally, an acute stress response when it comes to healthy individuals and young adults may be adaptive and as a result, it does not necessarily impose itself as a health burden (Folkman, 2013). Nevertheless, if the stress is unrelenting most especially in unhealthy and older individuals, the long-term implications of factors causing stress can cause harmful effect to the health of an individual. A number of psychosocial interventions have proven to play a crucial role in eliminating stress related disorders and in the process, it may be instrumental in influencing the path that chronic diseases might take.

According to Folkman, 2013, it is acknowledged that life maintenance depends heavily on the individual’s ability in keeping their internal milieu relentless in the face of their ever-changing global environment. Folkman, (2013) goes ahead to acknowledge this aspect as homeostasis, but, Thoits, (2013) employed the term Stress to symbolize the implications of anything that acts as a threat to homeostasis. In this case, the perceived or the actual factor or element that is acknowledged as a threat to homeostasis is what is called the stressor and the reaction to the stressor is what is known as the stress response. Additionally, as much as stress responses have undergone changes over time as adaptive processes, Folkman, (2013) argued that prolonged, and severe stress responses may result into devastating health problems such as mental illness and tissue damage.

Depending on the appraisals attached to the threat caused by the stressor, other animals and human beings are forced to invoke responses that will enable them to cope with that condition (Thoits, 2013). In this case, the Central nervous system of human beings tends to produce responses that are integrated rather than isolated, single response changes. In other words, when immediate reaction appears feasible, it is acknowledged that human beings and all the other mammals tends to show increased hormonal and autonomic activities that increase the possibilities for the exertion of muscles (Thoits, 2013). On the contrary, in aversive situations in which a coping responsive that is active is not available, it is argued that mammals may end up engaging in vigilance responses that revolve around the SNS-sympathetic nervous system triggering coupled with an active inhibition of shunting and movement of blood way from the nervous system’s periphery.

The ability of a number of situations to elicit different responses patterns when it comes to biologic response is acknowledged as situational stereotypy (Folkman, 2013). In this case, as much as a number of situations tend to produce different situational responses, there are also extensive gaps that exist between individual stresses Reponses regarding the same situation. It is for this reason that some individuals tend to modify their stress responses based on their active coping patterns whereas others tend to emulate the aversive vigilance strategy. In this case, Thoits, (2013) suggests that stress can be managed effectively through a number of ways and some of these ways include the following. First, exercise and frequent working out is proven to be one of the most effective ways of releasing stress and relieving an individual body (Thoits, 2013). Some scholars suggest that deep breathing together with proper eating habits can help an individual to cope with and relieve from stress causing activities (Folkman, 2013). Apparently, taking a sabbatical leave or a break is also one of the most proven ways of ensuring that an individual is free from stress causing activities.

When the levels of stress make it difficult for an individual to live a life that is normal, for a certain period of time, it becomes extremely dangerous. In other words, the longer the stress levels last, it is acknowledged, the worse it gets for an individual’s health and body. In this case, individuals may feel fatigue, irritable, unable to focus and concentrate for no apparent reason and in this case, it can make the existing problems even worse (Folkman, 2013). Additionally, it is also clear that chronic stress may as well cause diseases and other mental illness because of the modifications in the body or smoking or any other bad habits that individuals use as stress responses. In simple terms, it can be argued that stress revolves around how the brain responds to anybody demand. As a result, it is therefore important for individuals to ensure that they give attention to every detail as far as stress events are concerned so that they may be able to comprehend where, how and when to seek help.

References

Folkman, S. (2013). Stress: Appraisal and Coping. In M. D. Gellman & J. R. Turner (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine (pp. 1913-1915). New York: Springer.

Thoits, P. A. (2013). Self, Identity, Stress, and Mental Health. In C. S. Aneshensel, J. C. Phelan & A. Bierman (Eds), Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health (pp. 357-377). Netherlands: Springer.