List some good things about stress and some bad

List some good things about stress and some bad and try to give examples. Include short write-up about Holmes and Rahe scale on the definition of stress.

The right amount of stress can be used as stimulus to bring about an improvement in performance or a more pro-active action.  In the school setting, a student may be forced to study as a result of stress brought about by failing marks/failing grades.  Similarly, in the work setting, a notice of promotion, incentive or even demotion can bring about activities or outputs from an employee.

However, at work or in school, too much stress can also lead to burnouts and decreased quality outputs. Over stress can affect a person’s health and emotional, physical, and psychological well-being.  Excessive stress can cause severe anxiety, work dissatisfaction, fatigue, heart ailment and other health-related problems.

Stress comes about when we are faced with changes in our life.  These occurrences can be positive changes in our life, or it can be considered negative changes. Whatever their result, the fact that our equilibrium has been disturbed causes stress because they force our body to react to the stressors/factors that were introduced in our routines.

According to the Holmes-Rahe Scale, different kinds of stress we encounter (whether resulting from positive or negative events) in our daily lives increase probability of illness or even death.  Values are given to correspond to these stressors.  The higher value in the scale, the higher the likelihood of illness and/or death.

Give one criticism of the Holmes and Rahe live events scale as a means of measuring stress.

In studying the scale, it can be observed that some positive stress are given points/score almost equal to negative stress. I believe that this should not be the case because we have a sense of what affects us positively or negatively, and happy events are not destructive at all. A specific example is the score for Reconciliation in Marriage is 45 while Dismissal from a Job is scored 47.  Reconciliation with loved ones usually brings a happy feeling. Happy events should not be considered as factors causing our illness.  In fact, joyous events provide us with inspiration and an eagerness to live our lives to the fullest.

1 of the factors that increase stress in commuters is the delays caused by traffic jam suggest 1 other factor in commuting that will cause stress.

Aside from the delays caused by slow moving traffic, another stressor is the feeling that your plans/objectives for the delay are being slowed down by the traffic.  This feeling of non- attainment is also causing stress.

Name two life events which are known to cause stress in humans.

There are many life events/universal events in a person’s life that brings about stress. This may be related to change in work setting or responsibilities or it may be health-related. To name two life events, one is personal/loved one’s illness and death or loss of a loved one.

Describe 2 psychological effects of stress.

Two psychological effects of stress include anxiety and nervousness which may lead to bodily health risks such as heart ailments from high blood pressure, and possibly adult diabetes.  There are also some instances of memory loss as a result of stress.

What is one advantage of the stress response?

One advantage of stress response is being able to react to stress.  This reaction can become positive actions that will benefit the individual and provide enthusiasm in a particular task.  An example would be an individual “stressed” from a marital reconciliation would probably approach his mornings happier and his more energetically.  He would also be more pleasant to friends and acquaintances, all because of the current change in his routine life (life without his wife to share insights with).

Outline an example from everyday life when an increased physiological arousal has positive effect on a person.

One example from everyday life is when a person is driving and hits a bump in the road making him more alert to what he is doing.  This alertness is a physiological arousal that makes him more attentive to driving, which results in a safer road trip.

The general adaptation syndrome has 3 phases: stage of resistance stage of exhaustion, and alarm reaction, place them in correct order.

The first stage in the GAS syndrome is the Alarm reaction where the body’s reaction to stress is immediate such as body movement or motion. Alarm reaction usually happens when the body is exposed to sudden or instantaneous stress.

The second stage in the syndrome is the stage of resistance where the body tries to resist or adapt to the stressor hoping to diminish its effects.  When the body gets tired/can no longer resist the stress, the third stage, the Stage of Exhaustion, comes into play.

According to the Yerkes Dodson Law, what happens to performance as arousal increases?

Based on the Yerkes Dodson Law, your performance will improve when arousal increases.  But a person’s stress tolerance will only be to a certain extent.  Too much stress will also cause poor performance. According to this Law, stress should be applied moderately to obtain optimum performance level.

The term locus of control refers to how much control individuals believe that they have over the events that happen to them. What effect does locus of control have on stress?

There are two types of locus of control perceived by an individual. One is internal locus of control where the individual feels that most if not all events that happen are influenced by his own activities/actions while external locus of control is where the individual feels that all events is not directly affected by him. Internal and external locus of control is two ends of a rope. The higher the internal locus of control, the lower an individual perceives his external locus of control.

Based on abstracts of Occupational Studies, research showed that higher the external locus of control perceived, the higher stress comes into play.  This implies that the more the person feels he is not in control of the events happening around him, the higher the stress, the more he becomes stressed-out, which results in higher job dissatisfaction, and ultimately job burn-out.

Describe 2 emotion-focused strategies for reducing stress.

Two emotion-focused strategies for reducing stress is by avoidance of cognitive attention from the source of stress, and by altering the perception of the individual by positive thinking. Not focusing on something stressful somehow controls/minimizes a person’s reaction to this stressor.  Likewise, positive thinking approach to “stressful” things can help in reducing stress by changing the individual’s perception of what are considered stressful.

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