Stress has affected people in a harmful way throughout time. It is identified when the individual passes through a certain tragedy or uncomfortable moment in their life, the body can automatically identify if the situation the person is going through is either threatening or non-threatening to them, and stress can either affect them long term or for a short amount of time. Stress factors also depend on the person’s gender, age, personality, etc. the individuals will react in different ways, some may react very anxious, heart rate goes faster, their blood pressure rises, breathing is much heavier, the muscles tighten up. This helps the person to react faster to a situation, for example, when you are about to have a car accident, your body automatically reacts to access the break in order to prevent any accident.
The human body is designed to react to stress, in order to protect itself against threats or any aggressive situations or person, that project a threat to oneself. Stressors, for example, could be and are work-related situations, worrying too much about providing for their family, when taking care of family members such as children or elderly relatives, that require extra help and extra care. In which the body automatically considers a stressor as a threat.
Stressors are always present in our life due to living in a very fast-paced society, where everyone demands to do everything correctly and in a certain amount of short time. The body can automatically feel under attack, and the fight-or-flight reaction may occur. According to (Shaw 2003), any exposure to intense situations during an individual’s developmental years have long-lasting effects and may result in an increased risk of anxiety and other mood disorders, aggressive behaviors hypo-immune dysfunction. According to (Shaw 2003).
Stressful life events come prior to anxiety disorders. Studies have shown that anxiety occurs most of the time before depression, which more likely individuals with anxiety will develop different kinds of mental disorders, for example; major depression after stressful, traumatic life events. (Angst &Vollrath 1991, Breslau et al. 1995). Negative impacts of Stress in an individual life will likely cause health negative impacts after traumatic events in their life. These individuals are at high risk to develop; Anxiety, Depression, Digestive problems, Heart disease, sleep problems, weight gain, post-traumatic stress disorders. Many people think that drinking, smoking, using any kind of substance, or even sleeping more than usual, using the internet, or watching television may help them, and relax them for the moment, but in reality, their depression or any other disorder may worsen.
The most common stressors for children and adolescents are exposed to violence, and any kind of abuse, or even divorce. (Cicchetti 2005). Survivors of childhood sexual abuse have higher levels of general distress and physiological and disturbances, including personality disorders. (Polusny & Follet 1995). Which may suffer in more antisocial behavior, depression, and anxiety, compared to those who did not suffer from any of those kinds of tragedies in their childhoods. People that live in more stressful situations have more increases in individuals having alcohol, smoking, and substance abuse, sleep, and eating disorders.
Although stress can affect a person's health, there are also ways the individual going through any stressful situations can manage their stress and increase their health benefits and likely reduce their stress. Some examples of ways to control stress or anxiety are getting regular physical activity, practicing relaxation techniques, which may include meditating, etc. Spending time with family members, finding a hobby that they enjoy doing, reading, or listening to music, may help reduce the stress.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while stress can cause a lot of harm to you both mentally and physically, there are ways to manage your stress. By learning to manage your stress, will lessen your risk of developing depression or an anxiety disorder.