Nature of stress
Stress is the pattern of responses a person shows to an event that disturbs balance and seems more than they can handle. The event is a stressor.
- Eustress: healthy, positive stress that pushes us to do better.
- Distress: harmful stress that wears us down.
Cognitive theory of stress (Lazarus)
- Primary appraisal: judging the event: harmful, threatening or a challenge?
- Secondary appraisal: judging our resources: can I cope?
So the same exam may be a threat to one student and a challenge to another. Past experience and a sense of control change appraisal.
Signs of stress
Worry, poor sleep, headaches, poor concentration, anger and changes in eating are common signs.
Types and sources of stress
Types
- Physical and environmental stress: physical: overwork, poor diet, lack of sleep; environmental: noise, crowding, pollution, heat, natural disasters.
- Psychological stress: from within: frustration (a goal is blocked), conflicts (two needs pull different ways), internal pressures ("I must be perfect") and social pressures (others' expectations).
- Social stress: from relations with others: a death in the family, quarrels, loneliness.
Sources
- Life events: big changes, happy or sad: moving house, marriage, loss of a job.
- Hassles: small daily irritations: traffic, lost keys, long queues. Many hassles add up.
- Traumatic events: extreme events like accidents, fires or earthquakes; effects may last long.
Effects of stress on psychological functioning and health
- Emotional: mood swings, anxiety, sadness, low self-esteem.
- Physiological: the body releases adrenaline and cortisol; heart rate, blood pressure and breathing rise; digestion slows.
- Cognitive: poor concentration, weak memory, more mistakes.
- Behavioural: poor sleep, changed eating, missing school, more use of harmful substances.
Long stress can lead to burnout: physical, emotional and mental exhaustion. It is linked with headaches, high blood pressure, heart disease, ulcers and weak immunity.
General adaptation syndrome (Selye)
Hans Selye studied how the body reacts to long stress. He called it the general adaptation syndrome (GAS), with three stages:
- Alarm reaction: the body notices the stressor; the adrenal glands release hormones; fight-or-flight is switched on. Resistance first dips, then rises.
- Resistance: if stress continues, the body keeps working hard to cope. Resistance stays high, but it uses up resources.
- Exhaustion: long, repeated stress drains the body. Resistance drops and illness becomes more likely.
Criticism: it gives little place to how a person appraises the stressor.
Stress and the immune system
The immune system guards the body against germs. White blood cells (leucocytes) find and destroy invaders. Psychoneuroimmunology studies links between the mind, the brain and the immune system.
- Long stress raises cortisol, which weakens immune cells.
- Stressed people have fewer helper T cells and weaker natural killer cells, which fight infections and even tumours.
- Students near exams catch colds more often; wounds heal more slowly under stress.
- Negative emotions like sadness and hopelessness also lower immunity.
Lifestyle
Stress can push people into an unhealthy lifestyle: junk food, little sleep, no exercise, smoking or alcohol. This harms health further.
A healthy lifestyle means a balanced diet, regular exercise, enough sleep, positive thinking, good relations and avoiding harmful substances. It raises resistance to stress and helps long life.
Try it at home
For one week, write down each stressor you face each day. Mark it L (life event), H (hassle) or T (traumatic). Note how you felt in body and mind. At the end, count which kind was most common. Most students find hassles are the biggest group.
Key formulas and definitions
- Stress: response to events that seem to exceed coping ability
- Eustress (helpful) vs distress (harmful)
- Lazarus: primary appraisal (threat?) + secondary appraisal (can I cope?)
- Types: physical-environmental, psychological, social
- Sources: life events, hassles, traumatic events
- Effects: emotional, physiological, cognitive, behavioural
- GAS: alarm → resistance → exhaustion
- Long stress → cortisol ↑ → immunity ↓
Worked examples
1. Anu feels her heart racing before her first stage dance, but it helps her perform better. What kind of stress?
Eustress: positive stress that pushes her to do her best.
2. Rohit must choose between a cricket camp and a science camp on the same dates. Which type of stress?
Psychological stress from conflict: two wanted goals pull him in different ways.
3. A student gets many colds in the month of board exams. Explain.
Long exam stress raises cortisol and lowers immune cells like helper T cells and natural killer cells, so the body fights germs less well.
4. A worker faces long overtime for months. First he works harder, then he falls ill. Link to GAS.
Alarm at the start, resistance while he keeps coping, then exhaustion as resources run out, leading to illness.
Common mistakes
- Thinking all stress is bad. Eustress can improve performance.
- Mixing up hassles and life events. Hassles are small and daily; life events are big changes.
- Getting GAS stages in the wrong order. It is alarm, then resistance, then exhaustion.
- Believing stress affects only the mind. It changes hormones, heart rate and immunity too.