Essay On Stress And Stressors

1.1 Stress and Stressors

The term stress was derived from physics by Hans Selye, an endocrinologist who has been regarded as the father of research in stress. He proposed that ‘stress is a non-specific strain on the body caused by irregularities in normal body functions’. Stress is anything that disturbs the “homeostasis” of the body (Schneiderman, 2005). It can also be defined as the inability of an animal to cope up with its surrounding environment (Dobson, 2000). It is characterised by physiological changes that occur in response to novel or threatening stimuli. These changes comprise a cascade of neuroendocrine events mediated by stress systems such as the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA) (Gregus et al, 2005). It can have a major influence on the individual as it influences the mood, the sense of well-being, behavior and health. Stress is known to affect the cardiovascular system, nervous system, endocrine and reproductive system. Studies have shown that children and adolescents are more prone to be affected by stress (Schneiderman, 2005). Exposure to violence, sexual abuse are the commonest causes of stress in children and adolescents.

Earlier, the stressors were classified as physical stressors and psychological stressors. Scientists and researchers have now proposed that the stressors can be divided into two more types, namely absolute and relative stressors. An absolute stressor is the one which is interpreted by everyone as a stressful event (like events of natural disaster or terrorism). The relative stressor is the one where, only those who are exposed to those type of stressors would interpret it to be stressful (like time pressure during work, pressure of taking up an exam). (Centre for Studies on Human Stress,