Stress Causes and Solutions Jake Sophia Michael Nala

Key Concepts Stress Management Counseling Time Management Educational Psychology Social Psychology Anxiety Depression

Stress: A Definition A simple reaction to a stimulus that causes a change or threat within ourselves or environment These stimuli are called ‘stressors’ or sources of stress. It is always part of our lives, 24/7. It comes in different severities - flight or fight, or unconscious repression. Flight or fight is caused by a stimuli that needs to be immediately addressed or a risk of injury or threat can occur Adrenaline

Biological Perspective Stress, in its biological definition, is simply any factor (either external or internal) that causes change or threat to the organism. Biology has a large impact on stress levels and effects. For example, the levels of ‘stress’ hormones like cortisol alone can cause the individual to feel stressed. The main biological cause of stress is either an excess or imbalance of hormones and/or neurotransmitters. Whether it be cortisol or norepinephrine, unmonitored and unregulated levels can certainly lead to complications down the road.

Evolutionary Perspective Stress in evolutionary terms could be one of the most important adaptations for any species, including us humans. The definition of a ‘stressor’, or source of stress, is something that changes or threatens us or our environment. Once you accept that definition, it isn’t hard to see how humans still have that trait today. Natural selection chose those humans who used stress to respond to their stressful situation in the appropriate way; whether it be flight or fight. In conclusion - stress greatly aids in reproduction and survival as a whole.

Psychodynamic Perspective The regular cause of stress from a psychodynamic perspective would probably be the build up of small stressors, combining into a ‘sea of stress’. These unconscious stressors can build up in the unconscious and eventually breach into the conscious mind. This breach can cause the small stressors to flood into the mind of the individual and make them feel helpless, and that all of a sudden they are alone in the world. This ‘stress attack’ of sorts is built over the unconscious decisions to allow small stressors to build up rather than dealing with them at the time they are encountered.

Behavioral Perspective Stress is a natural occurrence in the body and has helped the human race survive. However, not everyone expresses stress the sameway. For example, stress can manifest as several different behaviors such as: isolation, lack of appetite, increased appetite, episodes of aggression, lack of motivation. There are different moods associated with behavioral stress are mainly depression and anxiety. Depression manifests mainly as isolation and lack of motivation, while anxiety typically manifests as restlessness and lack of appetite.

Cognitive Perspective The cognitive effects of stress are mental, they mainly affect the way people think about things and have major effects on self esteem and mood. People who are dealing with stress typically feel a lack of motivation due to the amount of work they know they have to do. This typically leads to people not doing work at all and doing badly at work/school which leads to depression and feelings of worthlessness about one’s self. Unfortunately, this can lead to a vicious cycle that can be very hard to break.

Humanistic Perspective The humanistic perspective is affected by the amount of attention/love they feel they get from the people around them, usually it is parents and friends. If an individual feels that they are not getting enough attention/love from their friends or parents, they will typically start to act out in order to get the attention they desire whether it is negative or positive. Acting out is typically done by temper tantrums (younger children), excessive lying, purposely not doing well in school or acting rebellious (sneaking out, doing drugs, etc.) By acting out and receiving attention the individual will typically interpret it as love.

Social-Cultural Perspective In American/Western society, stress is viewed as a mental disorder of sorts. Drugs and medication are prescribed to deal with the anxiety of the day-to-day, and therapy is held to focus on finding the stressors in our lives. In third-world countries and eastern countries such as Japan, stress is usually just dismissed completely in favor of more practical skills. In some parts of Africa, stress is considered to be simply part of the day as you hunt and gather for food for your survival. In places like Japan, stress for schoolchildren is the absolute ‘norm’. They are expected to deal with having nearly 5 times the workload of western kids.

Solution In order to help with stress and its effects, we (as a society) should begin to teach children better time management at a younger age so that they have a better idea of how to manage larger work loads as they get older. Children should have at least one mandatory meeting with their counselor per semester to talk about grades and how they are handling stress, the same should happen in the workplace. Creating new laws and policies that would administer this care in both educational and working systems.