Meeting Life Challenges
Eustress is used to describe the level of stress that is good for you and is one of a person’s best assets for achieving peak performance and managing minor crisis. However, eustress has the potential of turning into distress that causes wear and tear. Strain is the reaction to external stressors.
Cognitive theory of stress appraisal
An individual’s response to a stressful situation largely depends on the perceived events and how they are interpreted or appraised. Lazarus has distinguished between two types of appraisal, primary and secondary.
• Primary appraisal – It refers to the perception of a new or changing environment as positive, neutral or negative in its consequences.
• Secondary appraisal – It is the assessment of one’s coping abilities and resources and whether they will be sufficient to meet the harm, threat or challenge of the event.
These appraisals are very subjective and will depend on many factors such as:
• Past experiences – If one has handled similar situations very successfully in the past, they would be less threatening for her/him.
• Controllability – Does one have mastery or control over a situation?
Due to the various factors at play, the experience and outcome of a stressor may vary from individual to individual. These stressors can be external (environmental factors
such as noise, air, pollution), social (break up with a friend, loneliness) or psychological (conflict, frustration within the individual).These stressors result in a variety of stress reactions, which may be physiological, behavioural, emotional and cognitive.
At the physiological level, arousal plays a key role in stress related behaviours. The hypothalamus initiates action along two pathways.
• Autonomic Nervous System – The adrenal gland releases large amounts of catecholamines (adrenaline and non-adrenaline) into the blood stream, which leads to physiological changes seen in fight-or-flight response.
• Pituary Gland – Secretes cortisol which provides energy.
Behavioural responses are virtually limitless, depending on the nature of the stressful event. Confrontative action against the stressor (fight) or withdrawal from the threatening event (flight) are two general categories of behavioural responses.Stresses experienced vary in terms of intensity (low intensity vs. high intensity), duration (short-term vs. long-term), complexity (less complex vs. more complex) and
predictability (unexpected vs. predictable).Individuals with weak physical health and weak constitution would be more vulnerable to stress than those who enjoy good health and a strong constitution.
Types of stress:
• Physical and Environmental Stress – Physical stresses are demands that change the state of our body.Environmental stresses are aspects of our surroundings that are often
unavoidable such as air pollution, crowding, noise, heat of the summer, etc.Another group of environmental stresses are catastrophic events or disasters such as fire, earthquake, floods, etc.
• Psychological Stress – These are stresses that we generate ourselves in our minds. These are personal and unique to the person experiencing them and are internal sources of stress.
Frustration results from the blocking of needs and motives by something or someone that hinders us from achieving a desired goal.
Conflicts may occur between two or more incompatible needs or motives.Internal Pressures stem from beliefs based upon expectations from inside us to ourselves, and such expectations can only lead to disappointment.
Social Pressures may be brought about from people who make excessive demands on us.
• Social Stress – These are induced externally and result from our interaction with other people. These social stresses vary widely from person to person. Sources of stress:
• Life events – Changes affect our life from the moment we are born. We learn to cope with small everyday changes but major life events can be stressful, because they disturb our routine and cause upheaval.
• Hassles – These are personal stresses we endure as individuals, due to the happenings in our daily life such as noisy surroundings, commuting, shortages, traffic snarls, etc.
• Traumatic events – These include being involved in a variety of extreme events.
The effects of these events may occur after some lapse of time and sometimes persist as symptoms of anxiety, flashbacks, dreams and intrusive thoughts, etc. Severe trauma can also strain relationships.
Effects of stress:
• Emotional effects – Those who suffer from stress are more likely to experience mood swings and show erratic behavior that may alienate them from family and friends. Some examples are feelings of anxiety and depression, increased physical tension and mood swings, etc.
• Physiological effects – When the human body is placed under physical or psychological stress, it increases the production of certain hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones produce marked changes in heart rate,
blood pressure levels, etc. Although this physical reaction will help us function more effectively when we are under pressure for short periods of time, it can be extremely damaging to the body in the long-term effects.
• Cognitive effects – One may suffer from mental overload, and this suffering from high levels of stress can rapidly cause individuals to lose their ability to make sound decisions. Cognitive effects of stress are poor concentration and reduced short-term memory capacity.
• Behavioural effects – typical behavioural effects of stress are seen as disrupted sleep patterns, increased absenteeism and reduced work performance.Physical exhaustion due to stress is seen in the signs of chronic fatigue, weakness and low energy. Mental exhaustion appears in the form of irritability, anxiety, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. This state of physical, emotional and psychological exhaustion is known as burnout.
Stress can also produce changes in the immune system and increase the chances of someone becoming ill. Stress has been implicated in the development of cardiovascular disorders, high blood pressure as well as psychosomatic disorders including ulcers,asthma, allergies and headaches.
Please click on below link to download CBSE Class 12 Psychology Meeting Life Challenges Worksheet Set C
