Forteza, Mark Neil Carane

UP-FA1-BSPSYCH1-02
03-2021-01044

“Stress and Health”

Stress is one of the unseen threats and enemies of our health. It makes us anxious,
nervous, and irritable over little things, and makes us suffer from melancholic feelings. The
existence of stress cannot be controlled, but eliminating and preventing it is a choice. Children,
students, adults, and even psychologists are prone to it, no one is exempted. In spite of that, what
do stress really means, and why it puts our health on danger?
Stress is an automatic response developed in our ancient ancestors as a way to protect
them from predators and other threats. Faced with danger, the body kicks into gear, flooding the
body with hormones that elevate your heart rate, increase your blood pressure, boost your energy
and prepare you to deal with the problem. However, these days you’re not likely to face the
threat of being eaten. Nevertheless, you probably do confront multiple challenges every day,
such as meeting deadlines, paying bills and juggling childcare that make your body react the
same way (Unanimous, 2013).
With the aforementioned above, many things can cause stress. You might feel stress
because of one big event or situation in your life. Or it might be a build-up of lots of smaller
things. You may experience stress if you feel under lots of pressure, face big changes in your
life, worried about something, experience discrimination, hate or abuse, and more (Mind, 2022).
For an instance, a young boy was being made fun of his classmates because of being poor. This
discrimination will cause him stress or worse than that.
According to the Mental Health Statistics: Stress, for people who reported high levels of
stress, 12% said that feeling like they need to respond to messages instantly was a stressor.
Forty-nine percent of 18-24 years old who have experienced high levels of stress, felt that
comparing themselves to others was a source of stress, which was higher than in any of the older
age groups. Thirty-six percent of women who felt high levels of stress related this to their
comfort with their appearance and body image, compared to 23% of men. Housing worries are a
key source of stress for younger people (32% of 18-24 years old cited it as a source of stress in
the past year). Younger people have higher stress related to the pressure to succeed. Sixty
percent of 18-24 years old and 41% of 25-34 years old cited this, compared to 17% of 45-54s
and 6% of over 55s.
Furthermore, stress can affect our behavior and psychological well-being. According to
the Mental Health Statistics: Stress, Behavioral Effects: 46% reported that they ate too much or
ate unhealthily due to stress. Twenty-nine percent reported that they started drinking or increased
their drinking, and 16% reported that they started smoking or increased their smoking.
Psychological Effects: 51% of adults who felt stressed reported feeling depressed, and 61%
reported feeling anxious. Of the people who said they felt stress at some point in their lives, 16%
had self-harmed and 32% said they had suicidal thoughts and feelings, and 37% of adults who
reported feeling stressed reported feeling lonely as a result.
Even short-lived, minor stress can have an impact. You might get a stomach-ache before
you have to give a presentation, for example. More major acute stress, whether caused by a fight
with your spouse or an event like an earthquake or terrorist attack, can have an even bigger
impact. Multiple studies have shown that these sudden emotional stresses – especially anger –
can trigger heart attacks, arrhythmias and even sudden death. When stress starts interfering with
your ability to live a normal life for an extended period, it becomes more dangerous. The longer
the stress lasts, the worse it is for both your mind and body.
 Reducing your stress levels cannot only make you feel better right now but may also
protect your health long-term. In one study, researchers examine the association between
“positive affect” – feelings like happiness, joy, contentment and enthusiasm – and the
development of coronary heart disease over a decade. According to Mayo Clinic Health System
(2018), we can prevent and manage stress by using guided meditation, practice deep breathing,
maintain physical exercise and good nutrition, manage social media time, and connect with
others.
To conclude, we can develop or break ourselves by stress. It can be a hindrance or the
one who pushes us towards our goals and dreams in life. It always depends on how we deal with
it. It is a part of life; we can encounter it throughout the process of growing, success, and
development. We can normalize it but we can’t invalidate its threat to our health. Relax, enjoy,
and don’t forget to smile!

REFERENCES:

- http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress.aspx
- https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/stress/what-is-
stress/
- https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/mental-health-statistics/stress-statistics
- https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/5-tips-to-
manage-stress