Stress and Coping – Psychology UGC NET – Notes

Concept of Stress

The term stress has been derived from ‘stringere’, a Latin word meaning ‘to draw tight’ (Cox, 1978). It has today become a very commonly used term in every context whether school, workplace, day-to-day life and so on. We often come across people who say that they are stressed or experiencing stress in their lives, and we ourselves experience stress often.

The origins of stress can mainly be traced to the physical sciences (Schafer, 1998). During the 17th century it was used to denote afflictions and hardships, and during the 18th century it came to be described in terms of pressure, strain or force (Cartwright and Cooper, 1997). The initial conceptualisation of stress focused on stress as an external stimulus, though later it came to be described as a response of an individual to disturbances. The study carried out by Cannon highlighted the fight or flight reaction, showing the effect of stress on both animals and humans, along with physiological changes caused by stress.

Hans Selye (1974) described stress as a response of the body to demands, and stated that this response was non-specific. Baum et al. (1981) defined stress as a process in which stressors threaten wellbeing. Schafer (1998) defined stress as the arousal of mind and body in response to demands. These definitions emphasise the individual’s response, including both mind and body.

Lazarus and Folkman (1984) defined stress as a relationship between person and environment that is appraised as taxing or exceeding one’s resources and endangering wellbeing. Their transactional model of stress and coping highlights that stress depends on how a situation is interpreted or appraised, and shows that stress and coping are interrelated processes. Truxillo et al. (2016) further defined stress as the body’s reaction requiring physical, mental or emotional adjustment.

From an eastern perspective, stress refers to a lack of inner peace (Seaward, 2014), and thus stress management focuses on achieving inner harmony.

The concept of stressor is also important. A stressor is any event, situation or stimulus that creates a stress response. Gerrig and Zimbardo (2005) defined a stressor as a stimulus demanding adaptive response. Individuals may experience multiple stressors such as work demands, examinations or personal issues. Stressors can be external or internal and are categorised into physical, psychological, environmental, social and life events. Examples include financial problems, role demands, illness, loss of loved ones, and technological changes, all of which can contribute to stress in everyday life.

Nature of Stress

Stress as such is like salt and pepper and a life without stress would be without motivation, as stress often motivates us to work in a certain direction. Thus, without any stress in life, an individual will not be motivated to perform or carry out varied activities. However, just as more salt than required can spoil the taste of food, excess stress beyond the optimal level can have a negative effect on the individual and interfere with day-to-day functioning.

When the stress experienced exceeds the optimal level, the individual may find it difficult to cope, leading to detrimental effects on wellbeing (psychological and physiological) as well as performance and productivity. Therefore, stress is not entirely negative and does have several advantages. It is important that stress is managed effectively and kept within the optimal level.

Types of Stress

Stress can be categorised into different types as follows:

1. Eustress: Stress can be good stress that is explained as ‘good stress’. Eustress can be defined as a positive response to a desired stressor, such as a wedding or a new job.

2. Neustress: When stress is neither helpful nor harmful, it is described as neutral stress or neustress.

3. Distress: This is the category most commonly associated with stress. Distress occurs when the level of arousal is too high or too low. It can further be divided into acute stress (short-term but intense) and chronic stress (long-lasting, less intense but persistent).

4. Hyperstress: Excessive stress is termed as hyperstress.

5. Hypostress: Insufficient stress is termed as hypostress.

Symptoms of Stress

Stress can have an impact on various aspects of life that include behaviour, cognition, emotions and physical health. Though stress affects individuals differently, there are certain common symptoms of stress. These are discussed as follows:

Physical symptoms: These include low energy, stomach upset, headaches and migraines, pain and aches, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, lack of sleep, dryness in mouth, muscle tension, frequent infections and so on.

Emotional symptoms: These include frustration, irritation or agitation, feelings of worthlessness, loneliness and even depression.

Psychological (cognitive) symptoms: These include constant worrying, racing thoughts, lack of organisation in thinking, forgetting, poor concentration, poor judgement and pessimism.

Behavioural symptoms: These include decline in performance, indulgence in substance use, being prone to accidents, nervous mannerisms, poor time management, changes in appetite, procrastination, and impaired speech or fast actions like talking or walking quickly.

Thus, stress symptoms can be grouped into these four major categories, though individual differences exist in how people experience and display them.

Symptoms of Stress