Phychology and life
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Ask the average person to name one of the greatest health risks that he or she faces and you'll hear about the interactions and happenings of work, spouses, school, social life and everything else in between, however, many will simply cite the main contributor: stress(1). Yet stress, any strain or interference that disturbs the functioning of an organism (2), which many people deal with daily can lead to health issues such as chronic stress (5) or cause learning disabilities in academics (1). Fortunately, not all forms of stress are in bad taste for one's health. For example, if I were 3 points away from making an "A" in my Intro to Psychology class, I would be under just the right amount of positive stress (or eustress) to do whatever in my power to get that A. In a sense, stress can motivate a person to say study hard, or over time distress can cause continuous frustration that may have a negative impact on one's physiological state. Now let's take a look at how stress relates to both Health and the Academics.
Stress on Health
Prolonged negative stress such as in a demanding environment where threat, coercion and fear substitute for non-existent management skills, can lead to havoc in the body's immune system(4). Rapid physiological changes, called adaptive responses, happen in the body to deal with threatening situations, to deal with stress. This response to stressors is known as the General Adaptation Syndrome and was described by Hans Selye (5). In the first stage of stress, alarm reaction, the body starts its "fight or flight" phase...