The Cause and Effects of Stress |
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We all experience stress; we cannot avoid it. Because of this daily contact with stress, we all have a vague idea of what it is and what it can do to our physical and mental health. But if you were asked to define stress, what would you say? Mental strain caused by the demands of life and work? That would be a typical answer, but it does not reveal why a stressed executive develops an ulcer, nor does it explain why stress causes depression in one man and an ulcer or heart attack in another, nor does it suggest that stress can be a result of either boredom and inactivity or overwork. Obviously a comprehensive definition of stress will set the scene for a better understanding of the problem. This is it: Stress is the reaction in an individual's body or mind when that person perceives a potential threat to his emotional or physical well-being. An event or situation is only stressful if you perceive it (that is, interpret it in your mind) as threatening. For example, if you were confronted in a dark street late at night by a man obviously intent on robbing you, your reaction would depend on how well you believed you could cope. If you were confident of your ability to defend yourself, you would remain much calmer than someone who expected to lose a fight. That is an obvious example of a situation which involves the possibility of physical harm. However, as our definition of stress makes clear, the same principle applies to any experience which might affect your emotional well-being (i.e. your happiness, sense of security, self-esteem and so forth). Thus, for example, being criticized by someone is particularly stressful if you depend on that person's approval to maintain your own self-esteem. Similarly, the break-up of a relationship is far more stressful when your emotional security depends on the relationship than when you are emotionally self-reliant. Thus there is no situation which, in itself, is stressful; even very dangerous situations only evoke a reaction if a person sees them as potentially harmful. You can see that this is true if you consider a young child playing on the edge of a busy road. Although he is in grave danger, he may well be quite unaware of the fact, probably feels quite happy, and only when he has been taught that roads and cars are dangerous will he perceive the threat to himself and react in some way. This view of stress emphasizes that a stress response is made up of different parts: the event, situation or environment in which a person finds himself, his appraisal of whether it is threatening or potentially harmful; and, lastly, his physical or emotional reaction to it. This reaction may be either a conscious action - such as leaving the stress situation - or a subconscious reaction. (The conscious part of your mind is the part with which you think and observe the world; it is made up of everything in your mind of which you are aware while awake. The subconscious, by contrast, is outside conscious awareness, but nevertheless works 24 hours a day to control memory, thinking and sensory processes, and basic body systems such as breathing and digestion.) Since a person's appraisal of a situation also involves subconscious as well as conscious processes, he or she may experience the symptoms of stress without knowing why. We shall discuss this in detail later in the chapter, but a simple example at this point will illustrate the idea. Consider a man who is stressed by his job but does not consciously realise that this is the cause of, say, his irritability. The problem may have begun with a conscious thought (I hate this job!) which was then suppressed because it was unacceptable (But I can't leave it because my family needs the security of my employment). However, suppression of a thought from the conscious mind does not make it go away: it remains in the subconscious and produces a stress reaction of one sort or another. Table 1 The effects and cost of stress1 Subjective effects Anxiety, aggression, apathy, boredom, depression, fatigue, frustration, guilt and shame, irritability and bad temper, moodiness, low self-esteem, threat and tension, nervousness, and loneliness. 2 Behavioral effects Accident proneness, drug taking, emotional outbursts, excessive eating or loss of appetite, excessive drinking and smoking, excitability, impulsive behavior, impaired speech, nervous laughter, restlessness, and trembling. 3 Cognitive effects Inability to make decisions and concentrate, frequent forgetfulness, hypersensitivity to criticism, and mental blocks. 4 Physiological effects Increased blood and urine catecholamines and corticosteroids, increased blood glucose levels, increased heart rate and blood pressure, dryness of mouth, sweating, dilation of pupils, difficulty breathing, hot and cold spells, 'a lump in the throat', numbness and tingling in part of the limbs. 5 Health effects Asthma, amenorrhea, chest and back pains, coronary heart disease, diarrhea, faintness and dizziness, dyspepsia, frequent urination, headaches and migraine, neuroses, nightmares, insomnia, psychoses, psychosomatic disorder, diabetes mellitus, skin rash, ulcers, loss of sexual interest, and weakness. 6 Organizational effects Absenteeism, poor industrial relations and poor productivity, high accident and poor labor turnover rates, poor organizational climate, antagonism at work, and job dissatisfaction. This website does not explicitly deal with the effects of stress on sexual relationships, although this is an extremely popular aspect of the subject. Stress can cause low sex drive, erectile failure, premature ejaculation and anorgasmia. Here are some suggestions for websites which will provide you with useful information on all these subjects. For more information on the treatment of erectile dysfunction, try this link. And for information on all aspects of sex and relationships, try this website, which also has a great deal of information on stress and sexuality.
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Stress is the number one killer in the world today - don't let it kill you!