Meaning

Feeling like there are too many pressures and demands on you? Losing sleep worrying about tests and schoolwork? Eating on the run because your schedule is just too busy? You're not alone. Everyone experiences stress at times adults, teens, and even kids. But there are ways to minimize stress and manage the stress that's unavoidable.

What Is Stress?
Stress is a feeling that's created when we react to particular events. It's the body's way of rising to a challenge and preparing to meet a tough situation with focus, strength, stamina, and heightened alertness.

What happens during stress?

When you respond to factors that cause stress or stressors as they are called, your body undergoes many changes. Your nervous system and certain hormones get activated.

Definition:
There has been no definition of stress that everyone accepts. Therefore, it's difficult to measure stress if there is no agreement on what the definition of stress should be. People have very different ideas with respect to their definition of stress. Probably the most common is, "physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension". Another popular definition of stress is, "a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize."

Main Causes of Stress Due To External Conditions

Here, we will study the main causes of stress which arise due to external circumstances. We have seen elsewhere that stress can be caused by your external circumstances or your perceptions and attitudes.

Stress is the reason for two thirds of the total visits to the Physician. It is also the leading cause of the coronary artery diseases, cancer, accidents and respiratory diseases besides some others. Stress aggravates following illnesses: Hypertension, insomnia, diabetes, herpes, multiple sclerosis, etc. Besides, stress that continues for long periods of time can lead to: poor concentration, irritability, anger, and poor judgment. Stress leads to marriage breakups, family fights, road rage, suicides and violence. What are the biggest causes of present day stress, and how do these lead to such 1. Financial Problems This is the number one source of stress these days. You and your family are not be able to do what you want to due to lack of money. Debts are piling up. Credit Card payments, pending mortgage installments, rising costs of education, mounting expenditure on health concerns. Financial matters top the list of stressors. 2. Workplace Stress Stress at workplace is another of the main causes of stress. You may be worried about your next promotion. You might be facing the negative or bullying behavior of your boss. You might not be reaching your well-deserved career goals; you might be worried due to office politics. You might be stressed about some major change that is taking place in the organization, or, you might be under stress because of the prospect of losing your job. 3. Personal Relationships Studies of children, attitude of relatives, arguments with spouse or children, change of place due to requirements of your job, illness of a family member, moving in of parents or moving out of elder children are all main causes of stress. 4. Health Heart diseases, hypertension, problems with eye sight and sugar afflict many people becoming a major cause of life stress for them. Maintaining good health, reducing weight, increasing weight, being able to lead a healthy life-style: all of these and a few more are the main causes of stress due to health concerns. 5. Irritants - Besides the ones that I have mentioned above there are those annoyances and irritations that you encounter in your daily lives which go on to become biggest sources of stress for you. Problems in commuting to workplace, balance of work and family life, PTMs at childrens schools, workload, visit to doctor, not enough sleep, no time to relax, no time to discuss some nagging problems who is not aware of these stresses and strains of our lives? You fight with them every day.

The main causes of stress are many and varied. In general, we may say that anything that can trigger off a feeling of stress in people are known as stressors.Stressors are considered to be the biggest or leading causes of stress. They can be practically anything from;

Common events like these:

Divorce Separation Marriage Getting engaged Death of a loved one New workplace Redundancy New baby College students school assignment Moving house Children leaving home

OR Environmental changes like these:

too much heat too cold too noisy too much work problems you can't solve

To people involved like:

hard bosses noisy children people who annoy you, and people who remind you of something unpleasant

Factors that cause stress are called "Stressors." The following are the sources or causes of an organisational and non-organisational stress.

1. Causes of an Organisational Stress

The main sources or causes of an organisational stress are :1. Career Concern : If an employee feels that he is very much behind in corporate ladder, then he may experience stress and if he feels that there are no opportunities for self-growth he may experience stress. Hence unfulfilled career expectations are a major source of stress. 2. Role Ambiguity : It occurs when the person does not known what he is supposed to do on the job. His tasks and responsibilities are not clear. The employee is not sure what he is expected to do. This creates confusion in the minds of the worker and results in stress. 3. Rotating Shifts : Stress may occur to those individuals who work in different shifts. Employees may be expected to work in day shift for some days and then in the night shift. This may create problems in adjusting to the shift timings, and it can affect not only personal life but also family life of the employee. 4. Role Conflict : It takes place when different people have different expectations from a person performing a particular role. It can also occur if the job is not as per the expectation or when a job demands a certain type of behaviour that is against the person's moral values. 5. Occupational Demands : Some jobs are more stressful than others. Jobs that involve risk and danger are more stressful. Research findings indicate that jobs that are more stressful usually requires constant monitoring of equipments and devices, unpleasant physical conditions, making decisions, etc. 6. Lack of Participation in Decision Making : Many experienced employees feel that management should consult them on matters affecting their jobs. In reality, the superiors hardly consult the concerned employees before taking a decision. This develops a feeling of being neglected, which may lead to stress. 7. Work Overload : Excessive work load leads to stress as it puts a person under tremendous pressure. Work overload may take two different forms :1. Qualitative work overload implies performing a job that is complicated or beyond the employee's capacity. 2. Quantitative work overload arises when number of activities to be performed in the prescribed time are many.

2. Work Underload : In this case, very little work or too simple work is expected on the part of the employee. Doing less work or jobs of routine and simple nature would lead to monotony and boredom, which can lead to stress. 3. Working Conditions : Employees may be subject to poor working conditions. It would include poor lighting and ventilations, unhygienic sanitation facilities, excessive noise and dust, presence of toxic gases and fumes, inadequate safety measures, etc. All these unpleasant conditions create physiological and psychological imbalance in humans thereby causing stress. 4. Lack of Group Cohesiveness : Every group is characterised by its cohesiveness although they differ widely in degree of cohesiveness. Individuals experience stress when there is no unity among the members of work group. There is mistrust, jealously, frequent quarrels, etc., in groups and this lead to stress to employees. 5. Interpersonal and Intergroup Conflict : Interpersonal and intergroup conflict takes place due to differences in perceptions, attitudes, values and beliefs between two or more individuals and groups. Such conflicts can be a source of stress to group members. 6. Organisational Changes : When changes occur, people have to adapt to those changes and this may cause stress. Stress is higher when changes are major or unusual like transfer or adaption of new technology. 7. Lack of Social Support : When individuals believe that they have the friendship and support of others at work, their ability to cope with the effects of stress increases. If this kind of social support is not available then an employee experiences more stress.

2. Causes of Non-Organisational Stress

Certain factors outside the scope of an organisation also cause stress. These main sources or causes of non-organisational stress are :1. Civic Amenities : Poor civic amenities in the area in which one lives can be a cause of stress. Inadequate or lack of civic facilities like improper water supply, excessive noise or air pollution, lack of proper transport facility can be quite stressful. 2. Life Changes : Life changes can bring stress to a person. Life changes can be slow or sudden. Slow life changes include getting older and sudden life changes include death or accident of a loved one. Sudden life changes are highly stressful and very difficult to cope. 3. Frustration : Frustration is another cause of stress. Frustration arises when goal directed behaviour is blocked. Management should attempt to remove barriers and help the employees to reach their goals.

4. Caste and Religion Conflicts : Employees living in areas which are subject to caste and religious conflicts do suffer from stress. In case of religion, the minorities and lower-caste people (seen especially in India) are subject to more stress. 5. Personality : People are broadly classified as 'Type A' and 'Type B'. 1. 2. 3. 4. Feels guilty while relaxing. Gets irritated by minor mistakes of self and others. Feels impatient and dislikes waiting. Does several things at one time.

While the 'Type B' people are exactly opposite and hence are less affected by stress due to above mentioned factors. 2. Technological Changes : When there are any changes in technological field, employees are under the constant stress of fear of losing jobs, or need to adjust to new technologies. This can be a source of stress. 3. Career Changes : When a person suddenly switches over a new job, he is under stress to shoulder new responsibilities properly. Under promotion, over promotion, demotion and transfers can also cause stress

Causes of stress A new job or responsibility. Loss of a job or retirement. Death of someone you love. Divorce or marriage. Financial problems. Certain health conditions or disease. Pregnancy or fear of labor or childbirth-related stress, Changing residence or moving to an unfamiliar place. Violence or injury. Family conflicts. Busy schedules, lack of rest or too much travel

Tips For Coping With Stress

1) At work, delegate tasks to others. Trust others to get it done. 2) Prioritize tasks. Do what must be done now. 3) Take a break. (Stay away from caffeine & nicotine) 4) Go for a walk or talk to someone. 5) Record your thoughts, or write them down. 6) Exercise. 7) Enjoy yourself with fun activities. 8) Do something totally different, unexpected. 9) Take deep Breathes!!! 10) Get a good laugh.

Health Effects of Job Stress Short Term Effects

According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), early warning signs of job stress include:

Headache Sleep disturbances Difficulty in concentrating Short temper Job dissatisfaction Low morale

These symptoms interfere with an employees sense of well-being and can result in poor health behaviors. However, they are not likely to jeopardize long-term health if stressful conditions are not sustained over a long period of time.

Long Term Effects

Chronic, sustained exposure to stressful working conditions can result in a variety of long term health problems, including:

Cardiovascular disease Musculoskeletal disorders Psychological disorders Workplace injury

Conclusion:
Managing stress can help you have less pain and feel healthier. It can also help you cope with the extra demands made on you by your Scleroderma. By following these suggestions, you may be able to get stress to work for you instead of against you. Stress in the workplace is not good for the organization as it leads to decrease in quality and productivity. It is also not good for the individual either as it is leads to job dissatisfaction and low morale.