Stress In Psychology

The term “stress”, was invented by Hans Selye ( the “Father” of the field of stress research ) in 1936. The definition of stress varies from person to person and time to time. “Stress can be defined as our response to events that disrupt, or threaten to disrupt, our physical or psychological functioning” (Lazarus and Folkman, 1948; Taylor, 1999). Stress is either physical or mental and generally caused by external stimuli called “stressor”. It can also be defined as events or situations in our environment that causes stress (Robert A. Baron). Interesting feature of stress is that the different or variety of reaction or response of people to a same or particular event. For instance, some students might find test or quizzes stressful while …show more content…
But not every stress is bad. “Eustress” in psychology is used to describe the positive features of stress. Some examples of Eustress would be starting a new job, marriage, having a child, buying a home, receiving promotion at work etc. This type of stress motivates and focuses energy towards our goal. “Distress” is used to describe the negative feature of stress such as death of a family member, unemployment, injury or illness, legal problems, filling a divorce etc. Distress causes anxiety or concern and can also lead to mental and physical …show more content…
The benefits and effects of stress also depends upon the degree or amount of stress. That small amount of stress during exam helps you stay motivated and focused to do well in the exam but if in higher amount can make you anxious, nervous, difficulty concentrating and eventually lead to poor performance in the exam. Stress is only harmful it is excessive. It is tough to determine whether you are experiencing good or bad stress. Symptoms of someone facing too much stress are (Inability to concentrate or complete tasks, headaches, irritability, insomnia, changes in appetite, body aches, more angry or anxious than usual, get sick more often with colds, other illness like autoimmune diseases flare up). Stress is inevitable. Everyone experience stress in their life, there is no way we can run from it. It can be easier if we try to understand the process of stress, its causes, symptoms, consequences and management. Lastly the management of stress. Some of the techniques for managing stress are: exercise, meditation, progressive relaxation and guided imagery. Regular exercise is one of the best ways to manage stress. Regular exercise helps to feel fresh and healthy mentally and physically and stretching helps to relieve muscle tension. Similarly meditation is one of the most effective ways to relax (Eppley, Abrans, and, Shear, 1989) which involves training of the mind to promote relaxation. With guided