Thursday, 23 March 2017

What is stress?

Stress is knows as a psychological pressure or strain which can influence our bodily response. It serves as a natural reaction to everyday situations, and it can be beneficial when directed towards an introduction of a nocuous agent and an external harmful stimuli. A cascade of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol are released when an individual is experiencing a stressful event, and the body reacts automatically towards this stressful perception, known as the fight-or-flight response, which aims to keep the individual safe and away from harm.
As pointed out by Hans Selye in 1926, no matter the threat, there are three main stages of the general adaptation syndrome known as the; alarm reaction stage, resistance stage and finally the exhaustion stage which occurs in case of continuous stress.  
Long term stress response can have opposite effect on individuals. Modern life and prolonged repeated arousal of stress responses can lead to anxiety. This could heighten the risk of cardiac diseases and depression.
There has been a focus on ways to relieve stress through meditation and yoga. Cognitive behaviour therapy has also been indicated as a useful skill to defuse stress. As we know the stress response begins in the brain, and this phenomenon is affected by the way of an individual’s perception. Therefore, an alteration and challenge of that perception can enable individuals to react more positively, enhancing and improving their performance.

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