Stress defined within medical terms is a physical, mental, or emotional factor that

causes bodily or mental tension. Stresses can be external (from the environment,
psychological, or social situations) or internal (illness, or from a medical procedure).
Stress can initiate the "fight or flight" response, a complex reaction of neurologic and
endocrinologic systems according to MedicineNet.com
(http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=20104). Essentially
stress could be primarily caused by circumstances one would reason has the
prospect that could lead to anxiety and the body then reacts to this thought process.
Therefore one could determine that stress could either have a psychological and/or
physiological response to the situation, whether it is actual or imaginable that
troubles ones individual equilibrium (equipoise). As afore mentioned these events or
demands also known as stressors could be influenced by external or internal
conditions, however, these conditions could have a eustress (positive) or distress
(negative) reaction. Positive stress in necessary for one to feel driven to achieve
success in life and in existences challenges, this occurs when the level of stress is
just great enough to encourage one into action. Negative stress occurs when the
level of stress is either too high or too low and the body responds negatively,
deviating from healthy psychological, physiological and behavioural reaction.
Various conceptualisations of stress response theories have been formed throughout
the eras; fundamentally most of these contributions were formed as a result of
psychobiology, sociology, psychiatry, and anthropology. The earliest theory was
based on a connection between physiology and emotional stress conducted by a
psychobiologist, Walter Cannon (1929). His experiments showed that any incentives
connected by means of emotional stimulation headed to changes in an individuals
physiological processes. The medulla of the adrenal glands release adrenaline and
norepinephrine that causes definite physiological actions in the sympathetic nervous
system as well as acetylcholine released from the preganglionic sympathetic nerves.
These hormones enables instantaneous physical responses by increasing the
individuals breathing and heartrate by narrowing blood vessels and contracting
muscles, Cannon described this as fight or flight. An abundance of hormones are
released and enables us to do things faster and harder than one would normally
enabling us to survive. By increasing our heartrate our blood pressure increases

this distributing more oxygen and blood sugar to control and enhance muscles. In
turn intensifying sweating an attempt to cool these muscles to assist them in staying
They increase heart rate and blood pressure - delivering more oxygen and blood
sugar to power important muscles. They increase sweating in an effort to cool these
muscles, and help them stay effective. The heart works harder to supply the body
with more nutrients and oxygen and should one acquire any wounds the immune
system has been activated. The individuals responsiveness and sight is heightened,
with our brain lessening pain as the body releases analgesic hormones. Whether the
individual decides to fight or flight, the body will disburse the energy thus preventing
the build-up of stress within the body as a result of this response.
The below image indicates some health breakdowns due to stress.

(http://www.brightimages.com/life_extension/stress_control.htm)
Stress has a massive influence in everyday life and also have an influence on the
economy. Most official statistics are at least 1 year old and statistics from other
sources vary widely. Here are just a few:
HSE 2014 (http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/stress/ )
In the last Labour Force Survey (LFS) by the HSE they derived the following:

Out of a total of 1 241 000 cases for all work-related illnesses The total
number of cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2013/14 was 487
000 (39%).

The number of depression, anxiety or work-related stress in 2013/14 was 244

000.

An average of 23 days per case of stress, depression or anxiety with a total of

11.3 million in 2013/14 were the total days lost due to stress, depression or
anxiety.

Human health, social work, education, public administration and defence have
been the industries that reported the highest rates of total cases of work-related
stress, depression or anxiety.

The occupations that reported the highest rates of total cases of work-related
stress, depression or anxiety (three-year average) were health professionals (in
particular nurses), teaching and educational professionals, and health and social
care associate professionals (in particular welfare and housing associate
professionals).
IOSH (Institution of Occupational Safety and Health) 2014
(http://www.iosh.co.uk/News/Media-centre/Facts-and-figures.aspx )
Work-related stress is now the most common type of work-related illness (244,000
new cases) and gives rise to the most working days lost (11.3 million). There were
184,000 new cases of musculoskeletal disorders and this accounts for 8.3 million
working days lost.

CIPD/Simply Health 2014 - What is stress and is it a problem in the UK workplace?

(http://www.cipd.co.uk/hr-resources/employment-law-faqs/stress-definitionproblem.aspx)

Forty million people in the European Union report that they have suffered from

stress.
Stress in the workplace in the UK and days lost to stress has established itself
as one of the key causes of absence in the workplace

With all the above figures indication stress statistics within the UK, the illustration
below indicates some international statistics.

(http://www.meettheboss.tv/blog/work-related-stress-statistics)
As shown in the above numbers, workplace stress could be listed as an umbrella for
organisational related stressors, which could be broken down into smaller units;
organisational practises (i.e. conflicting job demands, lack of friendly policies and
multiple supervisors), career development (i.e. over promotion, lack of job security
and under promotion), workplace change (i.e. fear of layoff, frequent personnel
turnover, poor chances of advancement) and interpersonal relationships (i.e. poor
performance from subordinates, office politics, badly commutative supervisors). In
addition to organisational stressors there are other stressors like job specific
stressors (i.e. long hours, time pressures, working conditions) as well as individual
related stressors that include individual characteristics (i.e. coping skills, personality
traits, perceived lack of confidence) and individual life circumstances (i.e. work/life
conflict, family problems, social problems, financial difficulties).
All the aforementioned stressors have an effect on people and the people around
them, whether it be cognitive, perceptual, psychological, behavioural and
physiological. Amongst the cognitive, perceptual and psychological effects of stress

people often have reduced creativity, lack of concentration, diminished productivity,

negative self-esteem, depressed, nervous, anxious and make judgment errors. Other
stress effects that include physiological effect present symptoms in the forms of
hypertension, ulcers, chronic backaches, insomnia, muscle tension, skin disorders
and coronary heart disease. Behavioural stress effects include smoking, impulsive
behaviour, aggression, overeating, drug and alcohol abuse, inflexible and fault
finding.
There are numerous methods and strategies that we could use to cope or handle
stress so that the dysfunctional consequences of stress can be reduced. Some
management strategies would be to avoid unnecessary stress, adapt to the stressor,
alter the situation and accept the things you cant change, make time for fun and
relaxation and adopt a healthy lifestyle.
Lazarus and Folkman (1984) suggested there are two types of coping responses
emotion focused and problem focused:

Problem focused strategies aim to remove or reduce the cause of the

stressor. Problem-focused strategies include:
o Taking Control eliminating the stressor
o Information Seeking the most rational action getting all the
information to understand the stressor to be able to avoid future similar
stressors
o Assessing the best possible ways to deal with the stressor by listing

positives and negatives.

Emotional focused strategies comprises of the attempt to decrease any
negative emotional responses to any stressors, this includes fear, anxiety,
depression, excitement and frustration. Emotional focused responses may
include
o Takin your mind off the problem and focussing on something else
o Religious people would often ask for guidance and strength through
prayer
o Some people however will hope that the problem would just go away or
ignore the problem as if it doesnt exist
o Allot of people will distract themselves, watch TV, go out with friends

Problem-focused coping is often a better choice as one can get to the core of the
problem or stressor and manage it. Unfortunately, one cannot use this when it
comes to emotional circumstance, like bereavement. It is best to use emotionfocused coping skills when it comes to problems or stressors that is beyond ones
control to be able to remove the source of the stress.
It is not a productive method for all individuals. For example, not all people are able
to take control of a situation. People with low self-esteem typically use emotion
focused coping strategies. Here are some positive and negative emotion-focused
coping responses.
Positive coping responses
Listening to music
Playing with a pet
Laughing or crying
Going out with a friend (shopping,

Negative coping responses

Criticizing yourself (negative self-talk)
Driving fast in a car
Chewing your fingernails
Becoming aggressive or violent (hitting

movie, dining)

someone, throwing or kicking

Seeking counselling if you continue to

something)
Eating too much or too little or drinking

struggle with stress.

Writing, painting, or doing other creative

a lot of coffee
Smoking or chewing tobacco

activities
Praying or going to church
Exercising or getting outdoors to enjoy

Drinking alcohol excessively

Yelling at your spouse, children, or

nature
Discussing situations with a spouse or

friends
Taking a recreational drug, or misusing

close friend
Gardening or making home repairs
Practicing deep breathing, meditation,

prescription medicine
Avoiding friends and family

or muscle relaxation

With all the above mentioned there are various ways of managing stress and each
individuals will do this differently. In the diagram below, there are there scenarios with
possible advice on how to manage stress.

Your child has a meltdown

A certified social worker, Brenda Stern, gives this

in public

advice: Keeping calm is the key: often distracting

the child is better a tickle, song, amazement even

toys, or a snack - but losing your temper or patience
could make it worse.
Your mother in-law pushes

Think objectively: make sure you are not

your buttons and makes

contributing to the situation. Ask yourself what

your heart race when you

could you do to lessen the confrontation? Bring a

are alone, you feel she

diversion: Help out in the kitchen or somewhere

criticizes you constantly

else where there are others to counter the

when you are alone with her

feeling. Don't fixate: talking or discussing it all the

time would only make it worst.

Complaining to or with your

Either talk or don't: Before one goes off on a full

partner

blown rage and getting into an unpleasant situation,

start by telling him/her the good parts of your day,
enquiring about his/her day. Schedule some alone
time: We often forget how crazy our lives are and
forget that one needs time for each other. Make
time for just the two of you. Stop moaning: No
amount of moaning will change behaviour, so stop
moaning. Laugh: laughter releases good
endorphins and allows us to feel good, so watch a
comedy, tell a joke, remember a had to be there
moment, all these things will lighten up a situation
that will allow you to talk about any stress without
complaining or aggravation.

As said in the beginning of the essay, stress could be primarily caused by

circumstances one would reason has prospect to lead to anxiety and the body then
reacts to this thought process. These circumstances are daily occurrences that has
an effect on everyone. One could make sure that one maintains healthy stress
levels and responses by educating oneself and identifying ones stressors.
Practitioners can assist by prescribing or advising stress induced nutrients depletions

including Vitamin C, pantothenic acid, calcium and magnesium. Further herbal and
holistic approaches might also be beneficial to support stress responses.
If I had to summarise stress in one word, it would be UCAS and I know most of my
fellow students will agree with me.

References
Richard S. Lazarus PhD, Susan Folkman PhD (1984). Stress, Appraisal, and
Coping. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Stress at Work - A report prepared for The Work Foundations Principal Partners
available at
http://www.theworkfoundation.com/downloadpublication/report/69_69_stress_at_wor
k.pdf accessed on 20 February 2015
McLeod, S. A. (2010). Stress Management - Problem Focused Coping with Stress.
Available from http://www.simplypsychology.org/problem-focused-coping.html
accessed on 20 February 2015
Common Coping Responses for Stress - Topic Overview available at
http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/tc/common-coping-responsesfor-stress-topic-overview accessed on 20 February 2015
Dealing with stress available at http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/stress-tips.html
accessed on 20 February 2015
7 Common stress scenarios - available at https://www.care.com/a/7-common-stressscenarios-solved-1105041206 accessed on 20 February 2015
Facts about stress available at http://www.isma.org.uk/about-stress/facts-aboutstress/ 20 February 2015

131 million working days lost to sickness in 2011 - but its falling - Available at http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/mro/news-release/131-million-working-days-lost-tosickness-in-2011---but-it-s-falling/sanr0512.html accessed on 21 February 2015
Stress-related and psychological disorders in Great Britain 2014 available at
http://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/causdis/stress/ accessed on 21 February 2015

Stress control available at

http://www.brightimages.com/life_extension/stress_control.htm accessed on 20
February 2015
Work related stress statistics available at http://www.meettheboss.tv/blog/workrelated-stress-statistics accessed on 20 February 2015