Main causes of stress
13. apríla 2020
What is stress?
15. apríla 2020Stress, as old as mankind itself, is present in all societies, irrespective of their developmental stage. It is a psychological or biological reaction, which has its origin in the fight or flight response.
1.)
Let´s start
Our ancient ancestors relied heavily on this mechanism, because they faced constant danger and had to react to threatening stimuli immediately. In order to survive, they either fought or fled. A certain part of our nervous system (the autonomous nervous system) prepares us for an instant physical reaction by releasing stress hormones into the blood, making the heart rate and respiration faster, and releasing energy essential for action. After the danger is gone, the body returns to its normal state. There are only slight changes in body constitution between a modern-day man and a caveman. However, reaction to stress or physical danger has remained the same, because we still have the same nervous and endocrine system. The only thing that has changed in time is the type of danger. People nowadays mostly face psychological problems connected to interpersonal conflicts, lack of time, existential concerns, or small everyday problems, which require immediate physical reaction. Nevertheless, these issues trigger the same fight or flight response.
2.)
Why is it so?
The aim of stress reaction is to protect us from threats by:1)Signalling danger.
2)Mobilizing our body’s resources to face the danger.
3)Keeping us in a state of alert until the threatening circumstances are gone.
3.)
How is stress represented in the fight or flight response?
Imagine that you are in a situation that is vital for your survival. What is going to happen to your body under this sudden pressure?
A rise in heart rate pumps blood into the places where it is required; into the legs, so that you run faster (flight), or into the arms so you can punch harder (fight). The capacity of your lungs increases. At the same time, the blood does not flow into the places where it‘s not essential – eg. to the fingers or skin. Stress-induced constricted blood flow can cause tingling, numbness or paleness – like you can see when someone gets scared.
Faster breathing causes the oxygen running through the blood flow to transfer from the lungs to the large muscles, hence the amount of energy increases. This might come with unpleasant side-effects like chest pain, the sensation of feeling unable to breathe, or choking. A decrease in oxygen level causes dizziness, confusion and blurred vision.
Since the tension increases, you are able to punch harder. On the other hand, increased muscle tension leads to cramps or shivering.
Sweating cools down your muscles and body in order to prevent hyperthermia (overheating). It also helps in a fight since your body becomes clammy, making it difficult for your opponent to grasp hold of you.
Dilation of the pupils allows more light into the eyes which results in better vision. This is benefical when someone sneaks up on you from the side. Dilation of the pupils can also cause photophobia (light sensitivity), blurred vision or spots in your vision.
In the face of danger, digestion slows down in order to save energy. A common side effect is nausea or dryness in the mouth.
When a person is fully focused on a possible threat, he may find it hard to maintain attention or concentrate on other tasks.
Orientation reflex, which is an important mechanism triggered by change in one’s environment, may be one source of anxiety.
All these changes increase your chances of survival. Remember, they come automatically, and are triggered by danger in your environment. You were threatened, so you did not notice how your body reacted. And most importantly, you were able to interpret your behavior because you knew what motivated it.
4.)
When is stress a competitive advantage?
As mentioned in the last point, stress causes a large number of changes in the human body, some of which may appear positive.
A certain amount of stress or arousal is neccessary for our health and performance. Stress stimulates us, and from a physiological point of view, an absolute absence of stress would be equal to death. It is important to realize that lack of stimulation can be very harmful for health and day-to-day functioning.
Our health and efficiency increase with stress but only up to a certain point. When stress levels are too high and exceed that point, performance decreases and health conditions tend to worsen. The optimal level of stress (eustress) is the maximum point in which stress still improves our health condition and performance. Eustress is positive stress. "Distress“, on the other hand, is negative stress, which causes impairment of health conditions and performance.
Stress is inevitable, but a high level of daily stress may cause an increase in our stress level, and hence lead to distress. Our position on the stress curve is dynamic and changes according to factors like time of day, cause of stress or the efficiency of our coping mechanisms. It is typical for people to have a different threshold for stress tolerance, but anyone can get to the point where arousal is too high and therefore hinders our performance and health. /Mina, 1993/
5.)
Let‘s look at the difference between positive and negative stress
6.)
Our common goal isn’t to completely eliminate stress, which would be impossible, but to keep it positive.
Let's take a look at the stress of today.
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