There are few obstacles on this earth that everyone can relate to, and will encounter at one point or another in life, and stress is one of these obstacles. Sure, the source of the stress will vary from person to person, but in the end, everyone will have countless amounts of stress in their lifetime. Stress is an issue that effects a person, both mentally and physically, and takes an enormous toll on the human body. This paper will discuss how the immune system functions, how stress is directly correlated with illness by talking about stress from a biological stand point, and most important, how to manage stress.
In order to understand the effects stress has on one’s body and mind, there has to be an understanding of the immune system first. …show more content…
Before that is all discussed, I will discuss what stress is. Stress comes from the assessment of the individual, of the event that has occurred. It is the process of judging and reacting to the threats and challenge in everyday life. When an individual is stress, the heart beats faster, muscle contract, blood pressure increases, respiration rate becomes faster, and senses are sharpened (Segal, 2015). All of these changes increase the physical strength, reaction time, and enhance focus. This is the “fight or flight” response and it is what protects the body. This does mean stress is not always a negative thing. The body needs some stress in order to function correctly. When stress becomes a negative aspect of life is when an individual is too stress over an extended period of time. Now that there is a better understanding of what stress itself is, I will discuss how it effects the functions of the immune system and the body in a negative way. When an individual is continuously stress the ability to fight off invades is greatly reduced and this makes us more susceptible to illness (McLeod, 2015). When stressed, there is a hormone the body releases, which is called corticosteroid. This hormone suppresses the effectiveness of the immune system by decreasing the number of lymphocytes in the body. Stress can also effect the heart. Stress, like stated earlier, increases hear rate and blood pressure. With these two …show more content…
There are numerous tactics to hand stress and not all of these will help everyone, because each individual is different. The first strategy will be to steer clear of stress that is not necessary (Robinson, 2015). If the situation is not important to you or your life, try and ignore it. You can do this by simply saying “no” to people, avoiding the individuals who stress you out, and taking control of your environment around you as much as possible. Another strategy is to become more of a social person. Go out and engage with others, even if it makes you a little uncomfortable. A tactic that may be harder to use is to alto the situation and find the positives. Even if the negatives outweigh the positives there is most always something positive in any given situation, so focus your energy on that aspect. You also need to accept there will be many obstacles or situations in life you simply cannot change. The most important strategy is to become active. In doing so you will get your thoughts off of whatever it is you are stressing over. This does not only include exercising, you can just put on some music and dance or clean the house; the goal is to get you up and not sitting around. Becoming healthier will help you cope with stress in the sense that you will become more confident and lower blood pressure. There are endless different strategies out there, you just have to find the
In order to understand the effects stress has on one’s body and mind, there has to be an understanding of the immune system first. …show more content…
Before that is all discussed, I will discuss what stress is. Stress comes from the assessment of the individual, of the event that has occurred. It is the process of judging and reacting to the threats and challenge in everyday life. When an individual is stress, the heart beats faster, muscle contract, blood pressure increases, respiration rate becomes faster, and senses are sharpened (Segal, 2015). All of these changes increase the physical strength, reaction time, and enhance focus. This is the “fight or flight” response and it is what protects the body. This does mean stress is not always a negative thing. The body needs some stress in order to function correctly. When stress becomes a negative aspect of life is when an individual is too stress over an extended period of time. Now that there is a better understanding of what stress itself is, I will discuss how it effects the functions of the immune system and the body in a negative way. When an individual is continuously stress the ability to fight off invades is greatly reduced and this makes us more susceptible to illness (McLeod, 2015). When stressed, there is a hormone the body releases, which is called corticosteroid. This hormone suppresses the effectiveness of the immune system by decreasing the number of lymphocytes in the body. Stress can also effect the heart. Stress, like stated earlier, increases hear rate and blood pressure. With these two …show more content…
There are numerous tactics to hand stress and not all of these will help everyone, because each individual is different. The first strategy will be to steer clear of stress that is not necessary (Robinson, 2015). If the situation is not important to you or your life, try and ignore it. You can do this by simply saying “no” to people, avoiding the individuals who stress you out, and taking control of your environment around you as much as possible. Another strategy is to become more of a social person. Go out and engage with others, even if it makes you a little uncomfortable. A tactic that may be harder to use is to alto the situation and find the positives. Even if the negatives outweigh the positives there is most always something positive in any given situation, so focus your energy on that aspect. You also need to accept there will be many obstacles or situations in life you simply cannot change. The most important strategy is to become active. In doing so you will get your thoughts off of whatever it is you are stressing over. This does not only include exercising, you can just put on some music and dance or clean the house; the goal is to get you up and not sitting around. Becoming healthier will help you cope with stress in the sense that you will become more confident and lower blood pressure. There are endless different strategies out there, you just have to find the