Haas 1

Grace Haas

Professor Casey Flores

English 1201

30 October 2021

From Stress to Success

In America, the average level of stress on a scale of 1-10 is 4.9 (Medical News 1).

Stress affects nearly everyone. It prevents sleep at night and provides a distraction during the

day. Silent and quiet but holding so much power stress has the potential to affect every single

area of life. There is not a single person I know who has not experienced stress at some point in

their life. Some people experience it more than others due to genetics or life choices. Stress has

been personally affecting my life lately. With school, work, cheer and a million other crazy things

life has thrown at me I find myself stressed out all the time. This personally leads me to mental

breakdowns and no motivation, however not everyone experiences the same effects. Short term

stress is manageable and can even be somewhat helpful, however long term stress is definitely

something to look out for. Sometimes stress can spiral out of control when not dealt with. If not

managed properly stress can have a permanent grip on the human mind so that it does not

function properly, the human body causing a wide variety of health problems, and the human

ability to socially interact with others and form lasting connections.

To understand the effects of stress we must understand where it comes from and how it

is produced. Stress is a survival mechanism that was much more helpful thousands of years

ago than it is today. Stress is produced by the body to escape dangerous situations. When the

human body is in a stressful situation the heart pumps furiously to increase blood pressure,

glucose is sent to the muscles as a fuel injection (BBC 3). This is known as the fight or flight

response. Stress is only meant to last long enough to get out of danger.
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The diagram above shows the effects of fight or flight on the mind and body.

Designed to be a survival technique, stress was solely made for the purpose of catching

prey and escaping predators or other dangerous situations. However the benefits of stress are

temporary and only last a few minutes. The stress we often experience today can last up to

months or even years. This has the potential to have catastrophic effects on physical, mental,

and social well-being. If not managed properly these effects can be permanent.

Oftentimes the first signs of stress beginning to affect your life in a negative way show

up as changes in the physical body. Physical signs of stress often include a rise in blood

pressure and in the pulse, shortness of breath, or a noticed slow in the digestive system. When

you are under a lot of stress your physical immune system is not able to produce the antibodies

it needs at its usual rate and therefore you are more prone to sickness (Medical News Today

10). Tenseness in muscles is often another physical effect of stress. When one is under a lot of

stress they may experience knots in their muscles all throughout the body, but especially in the

back.
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When one is under long term stress the physical effects can become even life

threatening. Stress increases the risk of susceptibility for coronary heart disease (Medical News

Today 25). Stress can start out as a small, very small manageable thing, but if not dealt with

properly can ultimately lead to much greater life threatening issues. In general, stress takes

energy out of a person. Anyone can agree that when they experience stress they just want to

sleep all the time. They may also experience sickness more often, or they get body aches.

Stress can bring physical pain to the human body and it is important to be attentive to these

signs to keep them from becoming more serious issues. Stress is not something that should be

brushed off when the physical signs appear. When physical signs that your body is under too

much stress appear, listen to your body and take the necessary steps to keep yourself healthy.

After the physical effects of stress begin to develop it is often then when one will start to

notice the mental effects of stress. A big part of the mental toll stress takes on your body comes

in the form of sleep. When under great stress it often seems impossible to get any sleep as it

feels as though the brain is going a million miles an hour while the body just wants to rest. On a

more serious level of stress those who have been diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress

Disorder) will often experience nightmares while trying to sleep.

When the body goes through a traumatic experience it produces stress hormones that

are released throughout the body to help with survival in dangerous situations (Maletis 2).

However these stress hormones can come back when there is no danger around due to triggers

the victim may experience. Say a victim of PTSD had an experience where they nearly

drowned. When the victim was drowning the body was producing stress hormones to set off the

fight or flight response in the victim and get them out of danger. This was helpful in that moment

because it may have ultimately saved the victim's life. Now however the victim may experience

those same stress hormones produced when they hear the sound of rushing water. This makes

it hard for many of those diagnosed with PTSD to go about their daily lives because of all the

triggers they may experience in the world around them.

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Often the last area of one's life to be affected when experiencing extreme stress is the

social area. If stress is affecting the social area of your life it is a sign to make some major

lifestyle changes for the sake of mental health. When a person feels stressed out they may just

want to stay home and have no motivation to go out and do things with their friends and family.

This may not always be a bad thing. For example, say one was stressed out because of a big

project they had due at school and they did not go out to a party with their friends so that they

could stay home and work on the project. This would be a good effect of stress because it

ultimately brought out productivity. However, oftentimes this is not the case for many people.

Lots of people choose isolation when it comes to feeling stressed. Many people choose to

remain in isolation and attempt to deal with the stress on their own. At the moment this may

seem like the best option as to not bother other people, however this decision is ultimately

causing more harm in the end. It is easy to lose friends if you do not manage your time properly

and wait until the last minute to do things. Stress can become an endless cycle if not managed

properly. A great way to break this cycle is to surround yourself with people who have similar

goals as you. If you are around healthy, happy, and hard working people you are more likely to

become one yourself. It is also important to make sure that the people you are surrounding

yourself with are pushing you to be the best version of yourself, while also being supportive and

understanding.

Whether it is for the better or for the worse, one area of your life always affects another.

Your physical, mental, and social behaviours are all linked together and have consequences

with one another. In terms of stress this means that if one area of your life is being affected by

stress another area of your life may soon follow. If you see signs of physical stress and you do

not make any lifestyle changes then expect to see negative consequences mentally and

socially. It is so important to pay attention to your body to see what it needs. Talk to friends and

have a good emotional support group. Do things for your mental health like read books and get

out into nature. If one area of your life is healthy and you are trying to make a change the other
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areas will most likely follow. For example, if you take a walk to clear your mind you are not only

doing something good for your mental health you are doing your physical health a favor with a

little bit of exercise.

If stress is not put to a stop it can have physical, social, and mental effects that will be

very hard to manage. There are different types of stress, some more harsh than others. The first

type of stress is less harmful and is known as acute stress. This form of stress comes and goes

with a deadline. For example, if one has a big proposal due at work this may induce stress in

their lives. However, this only lasts a few weeks or maybe months and then the stress goes

away. This form of stress has minimal effects and is very manageable.

The second form of stress is much more detrimental. It is known as chronic stress.

Chronic stress does not come and go with a deadline. It is ongoing and often has much more

serious consequences than acute stress. An example of acute stress would be an unhappy

marriage where the stress is continual. This type of stress often has effects on systems such as,

cardiovascular, respiratory, sleep, immune and reproductive (Medical News Today 30). This is

the type of stress that one needs to look at for. It’s effects are much more serious and can often

lead to a poor quality of life. Another example of chronic stress is ongoing poverty. The most

common stress inducer is financial problems. Ongoing financial problems lead to chronic stress

and have negative effects on physical, mental, and social well-being.

To keep your body in its best possible condition and out of stress it is important to take

care of yourself. Cancer survivor and motivational speaker, Greg Anderson said, “Wellness is

the complete integration of body, mind , and spirit-the realization that everything we do, think,

feel and believe has an effect on our state of well-being.” There are five main areas of well-

being that should be taken care of (Sinclair 1). There are five different types of well-being. The

first type of well-being is emotional. Healthy emotional well-being is when one has an

understanding of their feelings. Those who are healthy emotionally have developed effective

coping mechanisms for stress. The second type of well-being is intellectual. This includes being
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open to new ideas and having an ability to learn. Those who are close minded and refuse to be

open to new possibilities or refuse to do things in a new way often experience more stress.

When one is used to doing things a certain way and it is not done that way there are two

options. A person with unhealthy intellectual well-being may get frustrated or stressed.

Someone who is well developed intellectually will adapt to the situation and find a solution.

Being healthy intellectually and emotionally helps to avoid stress (Robinson 4).

Along with emotional and social well-being there are three other areas of well-being that

are important to remain healthy. The next area of well-being is spiritual. Developing a set of

values to live by will help reduce stress as the mind is better able to cope. Living by rules or

guidelines that you agree with will help to ease the mine and give it a sense of peace that will

help to avoid stress. The fourth type of well-being is social. People with good social well-being

have encouraging relationships with their peers while also having intimate relationships with

romantic partners. Having a good emotional support system is a great way to reduce stress and

is great for one's social well-being. Getting connected into the community is a great way to

relate to others and make new friends. Having unconditional love and companionship reduces

stress greatly. The final type of well-being is physical, which can be achieved through

exercising, eating well, and getting enough rest. There are many physical actions you can take

to do good for your physical well-being. Exercising physically moving the body releases

endorphins and ultimately helps the body to keep stress levels under control. Eating clean foods

that give the body energy and make one feel their best is great for combatting stress as well.

Getting a full eight hours of sleep each night will help to fully charge the brain and allow it to

function to its full potential the next day.

Just as social, mental, and physical effects of stress are connected these five areas of

well being are connected. Because they are all connected, doing good for one area of your well-

being will help you to do good for another area. For example, talking to a friend is good for your
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social well-being as well as your emotional well-being. Staying healthy and managing stress

means doing your best to better all five areas of your well-being.

A great source to use for stress management would be Lawrence Robison’s Guide to

Self Help. This guide has eight amazing self health tips for managing stress. The first tip given

in the guide is to identify the source of stress in your life. This does not have to be written out

but some may find it helpful to have a stress journal to write down things that are bringing worry.

The second tip given is to practice the 4 A’s of stress management. The first A is to avoid the

things in life that cause you the most stress, if possible. The second A involves altering things in

your life to bring upon the least amount of worry possible. The next A is to learn to adapt to

stressful situations and find solutions. The final one is to accept a situation because there is no

point in stressing over it.

The fourth tip of the Guide to Self Help is to move your body. Exercise has been

scientifically proven to reduce stress (Robinson 9). Getting the body daily movement is healthy

and refreshing. Exercise acts as a great coping mechanism for stress in the body. The fifth tip

given is to make time for fun and relaxation. Stress often occurs when there is a feeling that

there is no light at the end of the tunnel. With the proper time management the task at hand can

be completed with time for fun activities as well. The sixth tip tags along with the fifth tip being to

implement time management skills into your lifestyle to have time for the things that need to get

done as well as leisure time for the things one enjoys. The seventh tip is to maintain balance

with a healthy lifestyle that makes time for loved ones and self care. Connecting with family

members and loved ones gives a sense that one is not a lot and helps to lift off a weight of

worry. Taking care of yourself physically and emotionally keeps the mind at its full potential to

cope with stress in a healthy way. The eighth and final tip is to learn to reduce stress in the

moment through a couple deep breaths and counting to ten. If all else fails and you are in

desperate need of a quick and simple way to calm down in the moment try this breathing

technique. Breathe in the nose for 10 seconds and out the mouth for another 10. Repeat this
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three times to reduce stress. Although this way may not be as effective as the other mentioned

previously, it is the best option for calming down a stressful situation if there is a short amount of

time.

Stress was created to be a useful tool to get out of dangerous situations back when

humans had to hunt and gather. As humans have evolved the need for stress has slowly

decreased and now it is found to be more of a hurt than a help. Now it is found to cause

physical pain such as aches. Severe stress even has the potential to cause a greater

susceptibility to certain diseases. Stress has horrible effects on the mind especially for those

who go through a traumatic situation and now experience symptoms of PTSD. Not wanting to

talk to anyone or leave the house can be a sign of the stress effects in a social realm. If not

managed properly stress can have a permanent grip on the human mind so that it does not

function properly, the human body causing a wide variety of health problems, and the human

ability to socially interact with others and form lasting connections. The good news is there are

many ways to reduce stress. Next time you are feeling stressed do not suffer alone. Talk to a

friend, go for a walk, or write down how you feel. You have the power to make your stress more

manageable.
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Works Cited

BBC, director. YouTube, YouTube, 14 July 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=hnpQrMqDoqE. Accessed 17 Oct. 2021.

College, Sinclair. “Well-Being.” Sinclair College, 2021,

https://www.sinclair.edu/about/offices/human-resources/livewell/well-being/.

Gore, Rick. “All about Guns Rick Gore.” Understanding the Flight or Fight Response ®,

2000, http://www.thinklikeahorse.org/flight_or_fight.html.

News Today, Medical. “Stress: Why Does It Happen and How Can We Manage It?”

Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 2020,

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/145855#definition.

Rabow Maletis, Joelle. The Psychology of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - Youtube.

2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_n9qegR7C4.

Robinson, Lawrence. “Stress Management.” HelpGuide.org, 14 July 2021,

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-management.htm#.