What is Stress? And How to cope with it

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What is Stress? And How to cope with it

Stress is a type of alarm reaction, involving heightened mental and bodily states - it is both a psychological and a physiological response to the environment. Your brain produces a stress reaction when you are in a situation that is physically or mentally demanding.

Stress is normal. Some stress is good for you - it keeps you alert and protects you in times of danger or when you need to act or think quickly. Physical training to keep fit places stress on your body, but that stress has a beneficial effect.

Feeling stressed about exams is normal - it may help you to focus your energy into revising well. Prolonged and unwanted stress, however, may lead to mental and physical health problems. When psychologists talk about 'stress' they may refer to the causes of stress reactions ('stressors') or to the effects of stress reactions on our physical and mental functioning. Psychologists are interested in causes of stress, ways in which stress affects us and stress management.

Stress and illness

Research has shown strong links between prolonged stress and many disorders, mentally and physically. The immune system is easily affected by stress you should be aware that stress might lead to behaviour, such as smoking or overeating, which increases the risk of serious illness - so the link with the original source of stress is indirect. The incidence of cancer has been correlated with high stress levels.
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Jacobs and Charles (1980) found that cancer patients - for example, child cancer patients, often suffered high levels of stress before the diagnosis of their illness. Tache et al (1979) found the incidence of cancer to be higher in those with a poor 'social support network' such as the widowed, divorced or separated.

It is difficult to rule out that undetected, developing cancer might cause stress, rather than stress due to external factors leading to cancer. The 'risk factors' linked with cardiovascular disease include diet, smoking, obesity, lack of exercise (or over-exercise) and stress. Indeed, stress may ...

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