Stress Relief
In psychology,
stress is a feeling of strain and pressure. Symptoms may include a sense
of being overwhelmed, feelings of anxiety, overall irritability, insecurity,
nervousness, social withdrawal, loss of appetite, depression, panic
attacks, exhaustion, high or low blood pressure, skin eruptions or rashes,
insomnia, lack of sexual desire (sexual dysfunction), migraine, gastrointestinal
difficulties (constipation or diarrhea), and for women, menstrual symptoms. It
may also cause more serious conditions such as heart problems. Also,
experimental research which has been performed on animals, also displayed
results relating to stress and negative effects on the body. It has been shown
that stress contributes to the initiation and development of specific tumors
within the body.
Small
amounts of stress may be desired, beneficial, and even healthy. Positive stress
helps improve athletic performance. It also plays factor in motivation,
adaptation, and reaction to the environment. Excessive amounts of stress
however, may lead to many problems in the body that could be harmful. Three
diseases that are influenced by stress are clinical
depression, cardiovascular disease, and human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV).
Stress can
be external and related to the environment, but may also be created by internal
perceptions that cause an individual to have anxiety or other negative emotions
surrounding a situation, such as pressure, discomfort, etc., which they then
deem stressful, for example in PTSD.
External
factors that by themselves are not threatening or stressful are deemed such for
someone experiencing PTSD. Triggers can be stressful, such as when a person
reports stress when hearing a song on the radio or seeing a type of object that
may remind the person of prior threatening events. Humans experience stress, or
perceive things as threatening, when they do not believe that their resources
for coping with obstacles (stimuli, people, situations, etc.) are enough for
what the circumstances demand. When we think the demands being placed on us
exceed our ability to cope, we then perceive stress.
Coping
mechanisms
Individuals
deal with perceived threats, that may be stressful, in various ways. There are
different classifications for coping, or defense mechanisms, however they all
are variations on the same general idea: There are good/productive and
negative/counterproductive ways to handle stress. Because stress is perceived,
the following mechanisms do not necessarily deal with the actual situation that
is causing an individual stress. However, they may be considered coping
mechanisms if they allow the individual to cope better with the negative
feelings/anxiety that they are experiencing due to the perceived stressful
situation, as opposed to actually fixing the concrete obstacle causing the
stress. The following mechanisms are adapted from the DSM-IV Adaptive
Functioning Scale, APA, 1994.
Highly
adaptive/active/problem-focused mechanisms
These skills
are what one could call as “facing the problem head on”, or at least dealing
with the negative emotions experienced by stress in a constructive manner.
(generally adaptive)
•
Affiliation – involves dealing with stress by turning to a social network for
support, but an individual does not share with others in order to diffuse or
avoid the responsibility.
• Humor –
the individual steps outside of a situation in order to gain greater
perspective, and also to highlight any comic aspect to be found in their
stressful circumstances.
•
Sublimation – allows an “indirect resolution of conflict with neither adverse
consequences nor consequences marked by loss of pleasure. Essentially, this
mechanism allows channeling of troubling emotions or impulses into an outlet
that is socially acceptable.
• Positive
reappraisal – redirects thoughts(cognitive energy) to good things that are
either occurring or have not occurred. This can lead to personal growth,
self-reflection, and awareness of the power/benefits of one's
efforts.
Other
adaptive coping mechanisms include anticipation, altruism, and
self-observation.
Mental
inhibition/disavowal mechanisms
These
mechanisms cause the individual to have a diminished (or in some cases
non-existent) awareness about their anxiety, threatening ideas, fears, etc.,
that come from being conscious of the perceived threat.
•Displacement - This is when an individual redirects their
emotional feelings about one situation to another, less threatening
one.
•Repression
– Repression occurs when an individual attempts to remove all their thoughts,
feelings, and anything related to the upsetting/stressful (perceived) threat out
of their awareness in order to be disconnected from the entire situation. When
done long enough in a successful way, this is more than just
denial.
• Reaction
formation – An individual substitutes their feelings or thoughts or behavior
with the exact opposite. An attempt to remove any “unacceptable thoughts” from
one's consciousness by replacing them with the exact
opposite.
Other
inhibition coping mechanisms include undoing, dissociation, denial,
projection, and rationalization. Although some people claim that inhibition
coping mechanisms may eventually increase the stress level because the problem
is not solved, but detaching from the stressor can sometimes help people to
temporarily release the stress and become more prepared to deal with problems
later on.
Active mechanisms
These
methods deal with stress by an individual literally taking action, or
withdrawing.
• Acting out
– Often viewed as counter-normative, or problematic behavior. Instead of
reflecting or problem-solving, an individual takes maladaptive
action.
•Passive
aggression – When an individual indirectly deals with his or her anxiety
and negative thoughts/feelings stemming from their stress by acting in a hostile
or resentful manner towards others. Help-Rejecting Complaining can also be
included in this category.
Depending on
the situation, all of these coping mechanisms may be adaptive, or
maladaptive.
Stress
responses
In terms of
measuring the body's response to stress, psychologists tend to use Han Selye's
general adaptation general adaptation syndrome. This model is also often
referred to as the classic stress response, and it revolves around the concept
of homeostasis. According to the concept of homeostasis, in response to
stressors the body seeks to return to its equilibrium state, or the normal level
of stress resistance. During the alarm phase, the body begins to build up
resistance to the stressor beyond normal resistance
levels.
During this
phase the body mobilizes the sympathic nervous system to meet the immediate
threat. The individual's body reacts by releasing adrenal hormones that produces
a boost in energy, tense muscles, reduced sensitivity to pain, the shutting down
of digestion, and a rise in blood pressure. In the resistance phase the
individual's body attempts to resist or cope with a persistent stressor that
cannot be avoided. The physiological responses of the alarm phase continue and
make the body much more vulnerable to other stressors.
The body
continues building up resistance throughout the stage of resistance, until
either the body's resources are depleted, leading to the exhaustion phase, or
the stressful stimulus is removed. This three phase response is designed to help
humans in life or death situations, but all types of stressors can trigger this
response. A stress response results in elevated physiological arousal, often
associated with the release of stress hormones such as cortisol. The
physiological arousal in response to stressors is designed to help the body
adapt quickly in order to survive and rid itself of the stressful
stimuli.
This
physiological stress response involves high levels of sympathetic nervous system
activation, often referred to as the "fight or flight" response. The response
involves pupil dilation, release of endorphins, increased heart and respiration
rates, cessation of digestive processes, secretion of adrenaline, arteriole
dilation, and constriction of veins. This high level of arousal is often
unnecessary to adequately cope with micro-stressors and daily hassles; yet, this
is the response pattern seen in humans, which often leads to health issues
commonly associated with high levels of stress.
Psychological stress
and disease
Negative
affective states, such as feelings of anxiety and depression, could influence
the pathogenesis of physical disease, which in turn, have direct effects on
biological process that could result in increased risk of disease in the end.
For example, when humans are under chronic stress, permanent changes in their
physiological, emotional, and behavioral responses are most likely to occur.
Such changes could lead to disease. Chronic stress results from stressful events
that persist over a relatively long period of time, such as caring for a spouse
with dementia, or results from brief focal events that continue to be
experienced as overwhelming long after they are over, such as experiencing a
sexual assault.
Experiments
show that when healthy human individuals are exposed to acute laboratory
stressors, they show an adaptive enhancement of some markers of natural immunity
but a general suppression of functions of specific immunity. By comparison, when
healthy human individuals are exposed to real-life chronic stress, this stress
is associated with a biphasic immune response where partial suppression of
cellular and humoral function coincides with low-grade, nonspecific
inflammation.
Even though
psychological stress is often connected with illness or disease, most healthy
individuals can still remain disease-free after confronting chronic stressful
events. This suggests that there are individual differences in vulnerability to
the potential pathogenic effects of stress; individual differences in
vulnerability arise due to both genetic and psychological
factors.
Stress and
health
There is
likely a connection between stress and illness. Theories of the stress–illness
link suggest that both acute and chronic stress can cause illness, and there are
several studies that have found such a link. According to these theories, both
kinds of stress can lead to changes in behavior and in physiology. Behavioral
changes can be smoking, alcohol consumption, eating and exercise, and
physiological changes can be changes in sympathetic activation or
hypothalamic pituitary adrenocorticoid activation. However, there is much
variability in the link between stress and illness.
Stress makes the
individual more susceptible to physical illnesses like the cold or flu.
Stressful events, such as job changes, often result in insomnia, impaired
sleeping, and health complaints.
Chronic
stress and a lack of coping resources available or used by an individual can
often lead to the development of psychological issues such as
depression and anxiety (see below for further information).This is
particularly true regarding daily stressors. These types of stressors tend to
have a more negative impact on health because they occur daily and thus require
the body's physiological response to occur daily. This depletes the body's
energy more quickly and usually occurs over long periods of time, especially
when these microstressors cannot be avoided (i.e.- traffic on the way to work).
Studies have also proven that perceived chronic stress and the hostility
associated with Type A personalities are often associated with much higher
risks of cardiovascular disease. This occurs because of the compromised immune
system as well as the high levels of arousal in the sympathetic nervous system
that occur as part of the body's physiological response to stressful
events.
However, it
is possible for individuals to exhibit hardiness—a term referring to the ability
to be both chronically stressed and healthy. Many psychologists are currently
interested in studying the factors that allow hardy individuals to cope with
stress and evade most health and illness problems associated with high levels of
stress.
Stress management
Stress
management refers to a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at
controlling a person's levels of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for
the purpose of improving everyday functioning.
Stress
prevention & resilience building
Although
many techniques have traditionally been developed to deal with the consequences
of stress considerable research has also been conducted on the prevention of
stress, a subject closely related to psychological resilience building. A number
of self-help approaches to stress-prevention and resilience-building have been
developed, drawing mainly on the theory and practice of cognitive-behavioural
therapy.
Biofeedback
may also play a role in stress management. A randomized study by Sutarto et al.
assessed the effect of resonant breathing biofeedback (recognize and control
involuntary heart rate variability) among manufacturing operators; depression,
anxiety and stress significantly decreased.
Types of stressors
A stressor
is any event, experience, or environmental stimulus that causes stress in an
individual. These events or experiences are perceived as threats or challenges
to the individual and can be either physical or psychological. Researchers have
found that stressors can make individuals more prone to both physical and
psychological problems, including heart disease and
anxiety.
Stressors
are more likely to affect an individual's health when they are "chronic, highly
disruptive, or perceived as uncontrollable". In psychology, researchers
generally classify the different types of stressors into four categories: 1)
crises/catastrophes, 2) major life events, 3) daily hassles/microstressors, and
4) ambient stressors.
Crises/catastrophes
This type of
stressor is unforeseen and unpredictable and, as such, is completely out of the
control of the individual. Examples of crises and catastrophes include:
devastating natural disasters, such as major floods or earthquakes, wars, etc.
Though rare in occurrence, this type of stressor typically causes a great deal
of stress in a person's life. A study conducted by Stanford University found
that after natural disasters, those affected experienced a significant increase
in stress level.
Major life
events
Common
examples of major life events include: marriage, going to college, death of a
loved one, birth of a child, etc. These events can be either positive or
negative. Research has found major life events are somewhat rare to be major
causes of stress, due to its rare occurrences.
The length
of time since occurrence and whether or not it is a positive or negative event
are factors in whether or not it causes stress and how much stress it causes.
Researchers have found that events that have occurred within the past month
generally are not linked to stress or illness, while chronic events that
occurred more than several months ago are linked to stress and illness.
Additionally, positive life events are typically not linked to stress—and if so,
generally only trivial stress—while negative life events can be linked to stress
and the health problems that accompany it.
Daily
hassles/microstressors
This
category is the most commonly occurring type of stressor in an individual's
everyday life. This includes daily annoyances and minor hassles. Examples
include: making decisions, meeting deadlines at work or school, traffic jams,
encounters with irritating personalities, etc. Often, this type of stressor
includes conflicts with other people. Daily stressors, however, are different
for each individual, as not everyone perceives a certain event as stressful. For
example, most people find public speaking to be stressful, nevertheless, a
seasoned politician most likely will not. Travel-related stress results from
three main categories, according to a global stress survey conducted by Carlson
Wagonlit Travel lost time, surprises (an unforeseen event such as lost or
delayed baggage) and routine breakers (inability to maintain daily
habits).
There are
three major psychological types of conflicts that can cause stress. First, the
approach-approach conflict occurs when a person is choosing between two equally
attractive options, i.e. whether to go see a movie or to go see a concert. The
second type is the avoidance-avoidance conflict, where a person has to choose
between two equally unattractive options, for example, to take out a second loan
with unappealing terms to pay off the mortgage or to face foreclosure on one's
house.
The third
type is an approach-avoidance conflict. This occurs when a person is forced to
choose whether or not to partake in something that has both attractive and
unattractive traits—such as whether or not to attend an expensive college
(meaning taking out loans now, but also meaning a quality education and
employment after graduation).
Ambient stressors
As their
name implies, these are global (as opposed to individual) low-grade stressors
that are a part of the background environment. They are defined as stressors
that are "chronic, negatively valued, non-urgent, physically perceptible, and
intractable to the efforts of individuals to change them". Typical examples of
ambient stressors are pollution, noise, crowding, and traffic. Unlike the other
three types of stressor, ambient stressors can (but do not necessarily have to)
negatively impact stress without conscious awareness. They are thus low on what
Stokols called "perceptual salience".
Stress scales
Stress
scales are lists of life events that can contribute to illness in an individual.
The most common scale is the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, also known as the
Social Readjustment Rating Scale, or SRRS. Developed by psychiatrists Thomas
Holmes and Richard Rahe in 1967, the scale lists 43 events that can cause
stress.
To calculate
one's score, add up the number of "life change units" if an event occurred in
the past year. A score of more than 300 means that individual is at risk for
illness, a score between 150 and 299 means risk of illness is moderate, and a
score under 150 means that individual only has a slight risk of
illness
stress is a feeling of strain and pressure. Symptoms may include a sense
of being overwhelmed, feelings of anxiety, overall irritability, insecurity,
nervousness, social withdrawal, loss of appetite, depression, panic
attacks, exhaustion, high or low blood pressure, skin eruptions or rashes,
insomnia, lack of sexual desire (sexual dysfunction), migraine, gastrointestinal
difficulties (constipation or diarrhea), and for women, menstrual symptoms. It
may also cause more serious conditions such as heart problems. Also,
experimental research which has been performed on animals, also displayed
results relating to stress and negative effects on the body. It has been shown
that stress contributes to the initiation and development of specific tumors
within the body.
Small
amounts of stress may be desired, beneficial, and even healthy. Positive stress
helps improve athletic performance. It also plays factor in motivation,
adaptation, and reaction to the environment. Excessive amounts of stress
however, may lead to many problems in the body that could be harmful. Three
diseases that are influenced by stress are clinical
depression, cardiovascular disease, and human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV).
Stress can
be external and related to the environment, but may also be created by internal
perceptions that cause an individual to have anxiety or other negative emotions
surrounding a situation, such as pressure, discomfort, etc., which they then
deem stressful, for example in PTSD.
External
factors that by themselves are not threatening or stressful are deemed such for
someone experiencing PTSD. Triggers can be stressful, such as when a person
reports stress when hearing a song on the radio or seeing a type of object that
may remind the person of prior threatening events. Humans experience stress, or
perceive things as threatening, when they do not believe that their resources
for coping with obstacles (stimuli, people, situations, etc.) are enough for
what the circumstances demand. When we think the demands being placed on us
exceed our ability to cope, we then perceive stress.
Coping
mechanisms
Individuals
deal with perceived threats, that may be stressful, in various ways. There are
different classifications for coping, or defense mechanisms, however they all
are variations on the same general idea: There are good/productive and
negative/counterproductive ways to handle stress. Because stress is perceived,
the following mechanisms do not necessarily deal with the actual situation that
is causing an individual stress. However, they may be considered coping
mechanisms if they allow the individual to cope better with the negative
feelings/anxiety that they are experiencing due to the perceived stressful
situation, as opposed to actually fixing the concrete obstacle causing the
stress. The following mechanisms are adapted from the DSM-IV Adaptive
Functioning Scale, APA, 1994.
Highly
adaptive/active/problem-focused mechanisms
These skills
are what one could call as “facing the problem head on”, or at least dealing
with the negative emotions experienced by stress in a constructive manner.
(generally adaptive)
•
Affiliation – involves dealing with stress by turning to a social network for
support, but an individual does not share with others in order to diffuse or
avoid the responsibility.
• Humor –
the individual steps outside of a situation in order to gain greater
perspective, and also to highlight any comic aspect to be found in their
stressful circumstances.
•
Sublimation – allows an “indirect resolution of conflict with neither adverse
consequences nor consequences marked by loss of pleasure. Essentially, this
mechanism allows channeling of troubling emotions or impulses into an outlet
that is socially acceptable.
• Positive
reappraisal – redirects thoughts(cognitive energy) to good things that are
either occurring or have not occurred. This can lead to personal growth,
self-reflection, and awareness of the power/benefits of one's
efforts.
Other
adaptive coping mechanisms include anticipation, altruism, and
self-observation.
Mental
inhibition/disavowal mechanisms
These
mechanisms cause the individual to have a diminished (or in some cases
non-existent) awareness about their anxiety, threatening ideas, fears, etc.,
that come from being conscious of the perceived threat.
•Displacement - This is when an individual redirects their
emotional feelings about one situation to another, less threatening
one.
•Repression
– Repression occurs when an individual attempts to remove all their thoughts,
feelings, and anything related to the upsetting/stressful (perceived) threat out
of their awareness in order to be disconnected from the entire situation. When
done long enough in a successful way, this is more than just
denial.
• Reaction
formation – An individual substitutes their feelings or thoughts or behavior
with the exact opposite. An attempt to remove any “unacceptable thoughts” from
one's consciousness by replacing them with the exact
opposite.
Other
inhibition coping mechanisms include undoing, dissociation, denial,
projection, and rationalization. Although some people claim that inhibition
coping mechanisms may eventually increase the stress level because the problem
is not solved, but detaching from the stressor can sometimes help people to
temporarily release the stress and become more prepared to deal with problems
later on.
Active mechanisms
These
methods deal with stress by an individual literally taking action, or
withdrawing.
• Acting out
– Often viewed as counter-normative, or problematic behavior. Instead of
reflecting or problem-solving, an individual takes maladaptive
action.
•Passive
aggression – When an individual indirectly deals with his or her anxiety
and negative thoughts/feelings stemming from their stress by acting in a hostile
or resentful manner towards others. Help-Rejecting Complaining can also be
included in this category.
Depending on
the situation, all of these coping mechanisms may be adaptive, or
maladaptive.
Stress
responses
In terms of
measuring the body's response to stress, psychologists tend to use Han Selye's
general adaptation general adaptation syndrome. This model is also often
referred to as the classic stress response, and it revolves around the concept
of homeostasis. According to the concept of homeostasis, in response to
stressors the body seeks to return to its equilibrium state, or the normal level
of stress resistance. During the alarm phase, the body begins to build up
resistance to the stressor beyond normal resistance
levels.
During this
phase the body mobilizes the sympathic nervous system to meet the immediate
threat. The individual's body reacts by releasing adrenal hormones that produces
a boost in energy, tense muscles, reduced sensitivity to pain, the shutting down
of digestion, and a rise in blood pressure. In the resistance phase the
individual's body attempts to resist or cope with a persistent stressor that
cannot be avoided. The physiological responses of the alarm phase continue and
make the body much more vulnerable to other stressors.
The body
continues building up resistance throughout the stage of resistance, until
either the body's resources are depleted, leading to the exhaustion phase, or
the stressful stimulus is removed. This three phase response is designed to help
humans in life or death situations, but all types of stressors can trigger this
response. A stress response results in elevated physiological arousal, often
associated with the release of stress hormones such as cortisol. The
physiological arousal in response to stressors is designed to help the body
adapt quickly in order to survive and rid itself of the stressful
stimuli.
This
physiological stress response involves high levels of sympathetic nervous system
activation, often referred to as the "fight or flight" response. The response
involves pupil dilation, release of endorphins, increased heart and respiration
rates, cessation of digestive processes, secretion of adrenaline, arteriole
dilation, and constriction of veins. This high level of arousal is often
unnecessary to adequately cope with micro-stressors and daily hassles; yet, this
is the response pattern seen in humans, which often leads to health issues
commonly associated with high levels of stress.
Psychological stress
and disease
Negative
affective states, such as feelings of anxiety and depression, could influence
the pathogenesis of physical disease, which in turn, have direct effects on
biological process that could result in increased risk of disease in the end.
For example, when humans are under chronic stress, permanent changes in their
physiological, emotional, and behavioral responses are most likely to occur.
Such changes could lead to disease. Chronic stress results from stressful events
that persist over a relatively long period of time, such as caring for a spouse
with dementia, or results from brief focal events that continue to be
experienced as overwhelming long after they are over, such as experiencing a
sexual assault.
Experiments
show that when healthy human individuals are exposed to acute laboratory
stressors, they show an adaptive enhancement of some markers of natural immunity
but a general suppression of functions of specific immunity. By comparison, when
healthy human individuals are exposed to real-life chronic stress, this stress
is associated with a biphasic immune response where partial suppression of
cellular and humoral function coincides with low-grade, nonspecific
inflammation.
Even though
psychological stress is often connected with illness or disease, most healthy
individuals can still remain disease-free after confronting chronic stressful
events. This suggests that there are individual differences in vulnerability to
the potential pathogenic effects of stress; individual differences in
vulnerability arise due to both genetic and psychological
factors.
Stress and
health
There is
likely a connection between stress and illness. Theories of the stress–illness
link suggest that both acute and chronic stress can cause illness, and there are
several studies that have found such a link. According to these theories, both
kinds of stress can lead to changes in behavior and in physiology. Behavioral
changes can be smoking, alcohol consumption, eating and exercise, and
physiological changes can be changes in sympathetic activation or
hypothalamic pituitary adrenocorticoid activation. However, there is much
variability in the link between stress and illness.
Stress makes the
individual more susceptible to physical illnesses like the cold or flu.
Stressful events, such as job changes, often result in insomnia, impaired
sleeping, and health complaints.
Chronic
stress and a lack of coping resources available or used by an individual can
often lead to the development of psychological issues such as
depression and anxiety (see below for further information).This is
particularly true regarding daily stressors. These types of stressors tend to
have a more negative impact on health because they occur daily and thus require
the body's physiological response to occur daily. This depletes the body's
energy more quickly and usually occurs over long periods of time, especially
when these microstressors cannot be avoided (i.e.- traffic on the way to work).
Studies have also proven that perceived chronic stress and the hostility
associated with Type A personalities are often associated with much higher
risks of cardiovascular disease. This occurs because of the compromised immune
system as well as the high levels of arousal in the sympathetic nervous system
that occur as part of the body's physiological response to stressful
events.
However, it
is possible for individuals to exhibit hardiness—a term referring to the ability
to be both chronically stressed and healthy. Many psychologists are currently
interested in studying the factors that allow hardy individuals to cope with
stress and evade most health and illness problems associated with high levels of
stress.
Stress management
Stress
management refers to a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at
controlling a person's levels of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for
the purpose of improving everyday functioning.
Stress
prevention & resilience building
Although
many techniques have traditionally been developed to deal with the consequences
of stress considerable research has also been conducted on the prevention of
stress, a subject closely related to psychological resilience building. A number
of self-help approaches to stress-prevention and resilience-building have been
developed, drawing mainly on the theory and practice of cognitive-behavioural
therapy.
Biofeedback
may also play a role in stress management. A randomized study by Sutarto et al.
assessed the effect of resonant breathing biofeedback (recognize and control
involuntary heart rate variability) among manufacturing operators; depression,
anxiety and stress significantly decreased.
Types of stressors
A stressor
is any event, experience, or environmental stimulus that causes stress in an
individual. These events or experiences are perceived as threats or challenges
to the individual and can be either physical or psychological. Researchers have
found that stressors can make individuals more prone to both physical and
psychological problems, including heart disease and
anxiety.
Stressors
are more likely to affect an individual's health when they are "chronic, highly
disruptive, or perceived as uncontrollable". In psychology, researchers
generally classify the different types of stressors into four categories: 1)
crises/catastrophes, 2) major life events, 3) daily hassles/microstressors, and
4) ambient stressors.
Crises/catastrophes
This type of
stressor is unforeseen and unpredictable and, as such, is completely out of the
control of the individual. Examples of crises and catastrophes include:
devastating natural disasters, such as major floods or earthquakes, wars, etc.
Though rare in occurrence, this type of stressor typically causes a great deal
of stress in a person's life. A study conducted by Stanford University found
that after natural disasters, those affected experienced a significant increase
in stress level.
Major life
events
Common
examples of major life events include: marriage, going to college, death of a
loved one, birth of a child, etc. These events can be either positive or
negative. Research has found major life events are somewhat rare to be major
causes of stress, due to its rare occurrences.
The length
of time since occurrence and whether or not it is a positive or negative event
are factors in whether or not it causes stress and how much stress it causes.
Researchers have found that events that have occurred within the past month
generally are not linked to stress or illness, while chronic events that
occurred more than several months ago are linked to stress and illness.
Additionally, positive life events are typically not linked to stress—and if so,
generally only trivial stress—while negative life events can be linked to stress
and the health problems that accompany it.
Daily
hassles/microstressors
This
category is the most commonly occurring type of stressor in an individual's
everyday life. This includes daily annoyances and minor hassles. Examples
include: making decisions, meeting deadlines at work or school, traffic jams,
encounters with irritating personalities, etc. Often, this type of stressor
includes conflicts with other people. Daily stressors, however, are different
for each individual, as not everyone perceives a certain event as stressful. For
example, most people find public speaking to be stressful, nevertheless, a
seasoned politician most likely will not. Travel-related stress results from
three main categories, according to a global stress survey conducted by Carlson
Wagonlit Travel lost time, surprises (an unforeseen event such as lost or
delayed baggage) and routine breakers (inability to maintain daily
habits).
There are
three major psychological types of conflicts that can cause stress. First, the
approach-approach conflict occurs when a person is choosing between two equally
attractive options, i.e. whether to go see a movie or to go see a concert. The
second type is the avoidance-avoidance conflict, where a person has to choose
between two equally unattractive options, for example, to take out a second loan
with unappealing terms to pay off the mortgage or to face foreclosure on one's
house.
The third
type is an approach-avoidance conflict. This occurs when a person is forced to
choose whether or not to partake in something that has both attractive and
unattractive traits—such as whether or not to attend an expensive college
(meaning taking out loans now, but also meaning a quality education and
employment after graduation).
Ambient stressors
As their
name implies, these are global (as opposed to individual) low-grade stressors
that are a part of the background environment. They are defined as stressors
that are "chronic, negatively valued, non-urgent, physically perceptible, and
intractable to the efforts of individuals to change them". Typical examples of
ambient stressors are pollution, noise, crowding, and traffic. Unlike the other
three types of stressor, ambient stressors can (but do not necessarily have to)
negatively impact stress without conscious awareness. They are thus low on what
Stokols called "perceptual salience".
Stress scales
Stress
scales are lists of life events that can contribute to illness in an individual.
The most common scale is the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, also known as the
Social Readjustment Rating Scale, or SRRS. Developed by psychiatrists Thomas
Holmes and Richard Rahe in 1967, the scale lists 43 events that can cause
stress.
To calculate
one's score, add up the number of "life change units" if an event occurred in
the past year. A score of more than 300 means that individual is at risk for
illness, a score between 150 and 299 means risk of illness is moderate, and a
score under 150 means that individual only has a slight risk of
illness
