Analysis of the Physiological and Psychological reactions to stress
Stress is a factor in everyone’s life. Depending on how you manage it the resulting side effects from stress can vary widely from person to person. The following paper will analyze the physiologic and psychological reactions associated with stress.
Let us first take a look at annoyance as a psychological reaction to stress. “Stress often produces feelings of anger ranging in intensity from mild annoyance to uncontrollable rage. Frustration is particularly likely to generate anger”. (Lazarus, 1993)
As noted above we can see that one emotional reaction from stress can often evolve into another, usually more severe emotion. This is not always the case though. If one were to become self aware of the emotional reaction to the contributing stresses, their ability to prevent the escalation in severity of emotional responses could be initiated.
In addition to the aforementioned psychological responses to stress there are also physiological responses that can be attributed to stress. There are numerous physiological changes that occur in our bodies during stressful situations. Some of these are mild and may go unnoticed by us, other are extreme and could even lead to the need for medical attention.
Of the multitude of physical symptoms we can exhibit in relation to stress one of the more severe is the suppression of the immune system. “Stress aggravates psoriasis, eczema and immune system disorders, so stress management should reduce the symptoms associated with those disorders. Research into the relationship between rheumatoid arthritis and stress backs up this hypothesis.” The Effects of Stress on the Immune System (n.d.)
In conclusion we can see that there are more than just the obvious side effects related to stress such as headaches or moodiness. There are also lesser known issues such as the impact on your immune system and the problems that can arise from the bodies weakened defenses. We have also seen that the psychological conditions that are associated with stress can also become a problem that can develop into physical conditions.
References:
Lazarus, R.S. (1993). Handbook of Stress: Theoretical and clinical aspects (2nd ed.).
The Effects of Stress on the Immune System (n.d.). Retrieved February 17 2007, from http://www.stress-and-health.com/html/immune-system.php3
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