Week five stress and wellbeing
No one can live without experiencing some degree of stress all the
time. You may think that only serious disease or intensive physical
or mental injury can cause stress. This is false.
Crossing a busy intersection, exposure to a draft, or even sheer joy
are enough to activate the body’s stress mechanisms to some
extent. Stress is not even necessarily bad for you; it is also the spice
of life, for any emotion,any activity can cause stress. But of course
your system must be prepared to take it. The same stress which
makes one person sick can be an invigorating experience for
another”
-------- Hans Selye (1976)
This quote by Hans Selye, one of the founders of stress theory,
attests to the commonality of the human experience of stress. Most
of us, regardless of our individual characteristics and situations,
experience stress to some degree on a daily basis. This quote
outlines an additional three interesting points:
1. Stress is an inherently perceptual process and this, along with
other individual differences, means that the experience of
stress is unique to every single person. Two people exposed to
the exact same demand will not have the same experience of
stress in relation to that demand. In fact, even the same
person exposed to the same demand at a different time is
likely to have two different experiences of stress in relation to
the demand.
2. Stress is not necessarily an entirely negative experience. When
a person encounters a stressor, coping effectively with the
stressor can build positive emotions and outcomes, as we will
discuss below. This requires a very delicate balance, however,
as prolonged exposure to stressors, even those with the
potential to produce beneficial outcomes, is problematic for
health and performance.
3. There is a difference between stress arising from traumatic,
acute (i.e., short duration, high intensity) events and stress
arising from chronic exposure to daily hassles or demands;
however, both have the potential to cause harm.
Stress was defined by Kalliath et al., (2014, p. 224) as "an
interactive process between the individual and their environment
(stressors) in order to avoid strain and achieve
balance/wellbeing/good functioning." Although there are several
theoretical models of work-related stress, one important theory
explains stress is Job Demands-Reources Model, which will be
disucssed in the lecture.
No one can live without experiencing some degree of stress all the
time. You may think that only serious disease or intensive physical
or mental injury can cause stress. This is false.
Crossing a busy intersection, exposure to a draft, or even sheer joy
are enough to activate the body’s stress mechanisms to some
extent. Stress is not even necessarily bad for you; it is also the spice
of life, for any emotion,any activity can cause stress. But of course
your system must be prepared to take it. The same stress which
makes one person sick can be an invigorating experience for
another”
-------- Hans Selye (1976)
This quote by Hans Selye, one of the founders of stress theory,
attests to the commonality of the human experience of stress. Most
of us, regardless of our individual characteristics and situations,
experience stress to some degree on a daily basis. This quote
outlines an additional three interesting points:
1. Stress is an inherently perceptual process and this, along with
other individual differences, means that the experience of
stress is unique to every single person. Two people exposed to
the exact same demand will not have the same experience of
stress in relation to that demand. In fact, even the same
person exposed to the same demand at a different time is
likely to have two different experiences of stress in relation to
the demand.
2. Stress is not necessarily an entirely negative experience. When
a person encounters a stressor, coping effectively with the
stressor can build positive emotions and outcomes, as we will
discuss below. This requires a very delicate balance, however,
as prolonged exposure to stressors, even those with the
potential to produce beneficial outcomes, is problematic for
health and performance.
3. There is a difference between stress arising from traumatic,
acute (i.e., short duration, high intensity) events and stress
arising from chronic exposure to daily hassles or demands;
however, both have the potential to cause harm.
Stress was defined by Kalliath et al., (2014, p. 224) as "an
interactive process between the individual and their environment
(stressors) in order to avoid strain and achieve
balance/wellbeing/good functioning." Although there are several
theoretical models of work-related stress, one important theory
explains stress is Job Demands-Reources Model, which will be
disucssed in the lecture.
