Stressors Case Study

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1.1 Stress and Stressors The term stress was derived from physics by Hans Selye an endocrinologist who has been regarded as the father of stress research. He proposed that ‘stress is a non-specific strain on the body caused by irregularities in normal body functions’. Stress is anything that disturbs the “homeostasis” of the body (Schneiderman, 2005). It can also be defined as the inability of an animal to cope up with its surrounding environment (Dobson, 2000). It is characterised by physiological changes that occur in response to novel or threatening stimuli. These changes comprise a cascade of neuroendocrine events mediated by stress systems such as the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA) (Gregus et al, 2005). It can have a major …show more content…

Earlier, the stressors were classified as physical stress and psychological stress. Scientist and researchers have now proposed that the stressors can be divided into 2 more types, namely absolute and relative stressors. An absolute stressor is the one which is interpreted by everyone as a stressful event (like events of natural disaster or terrorism). The relative stressor is that, only those who are exposed to those type of stressors would interpret it to be stressful (like time pressure during work, pressure of taking up an exam). (Centre for Studies on Human Stress, …show more content…

Stress is not only an individual’s problem, but the problem of the community. Factors such as where we live, the state of the environment, genetics, income and education level, and relationships with friends and family all will have considerable impacts on health. A study by university of California showed stress due to work, family, finances, traumatic events (bereavement in the family), and neighbourhood issues lead to atrial fibrillation in more than 26,200 women in San Francisco. In India, apart from all these factors the changing culture and eventually the lifestyle of the community affects the individual. Thus, change in life style and the social factors are vital contributors to stress (Curtis et al,

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