Stressors are factors that cause stress. The impact of stress on human health

People say that all diseases are from nerves. And this statement is partly true. The impact of stress on human health is one of the most serious and pressing issues today. The rapid rhythm of life, psychological tension and desire to make it all happen. People often get sick, referring to overwork or stress. What is it and what are the causes of stress?

What do we know about stress?

Stress has long been an integral part of life,perhaps, of every person. Psychologists under this word mean a special state, physical and neuropsychic tension. In modern conditions it is almost impossible to avoid. In this case, different people have different reactions to the same load. For example, one group reacts actively, that is, their working capacity continues to grow to the maximum possible limit (psychologists call this type "lion stress"). Another group of people exhibits a passive reaction, i.e. their working performance falls right away (this is "rabbit stress").

In addition, stress can be acute. That is, it occurs once and is characterized by a severe physical and mental shock. An example of this form may be accidents. A person once falls into extreme conditions, then comes rehabilitation. However, there is a long form, when the stress gradually accumulates, suppressing the person. This can be long-term conflicts in the family or a typical workload.

Stress and health are interrelated components. To find the key to recovering from ailments, it is necessary to understand the causes that cause stress.

Causes

The causes of stresses are external stimuli,or stressors. These are uncomfortable situations in which a person gets to work, at home, at school, etc. They have different nature, degree of impact, consequences.

Stressors include any changes in liferights. But not all situations can be regarded as negative, pressing, constraining. The severity of stress is deeply individual. And its root lies in the uncertainty and loss of control over the situation. In many respects, the impact of stressors depends on a person's awareness of personal responsibility and the establishment of personal involvement in the setting up of cases.

Classification

Experts share the factors that cause stress,into two main groups: physiological and psychological. This classification is based on the nature of stressors. The degree of manifestation of stressors is a kind of limitation. They can be realistic and possible (or potential).

Types of stressors of the second category depend onpsychological attitudes and individual abilities of a person. Simply put, can he adequately assess the degree of load and correctly distribute it without compromising one's health.

However, stressors are not always externalirritants. Sometimes stress occurs because of a discrepancy between the desired and the actual. That is, the stress factor is focused on the very collision of the inner and outer world of man. From this position, stressors are divided into subjective and objective. The incompatibility of genetic programs with modern conditions corresponds to the first, the incorrect realization of conditioned reflexes, incorrect communication and personality settings, etc. The objective stressors include living and working conditions, emergency situations, interaction with people.

As can be seen, the boundaries between all categories can be called conditional. The greatest interest to consideration is represented by stressors of the first category.

Physiological

The physiological factors that cause stress include:

Inadmissible physical load
Pain impact
Extreme temperatures, noise and light exposure
Admission of excessive amounts of certain medications (eg, caffeine or amphetamines), etc.

In the group of physiological stressors can be attributedand hunger, thirst, isolation. Depending on the degree and duration of exposure, these stressors can cause both significant and minor health damage.

A typical reaction to physiological stress can be rapid heart rate, muscle tension, tremor (tremor) in the limbs, increased blood pressure.

Psychological

According to experts, the most damaging to the human body are psychological stressors. They are conditionally divided into information and emotional:

Information load (competition).
The threat to self-esteem or the nearest environment.
The need for an urgent decision.
Excessive responsibility for someone or for something.
Conflict situations (different motives).
Hazard signal, etc.

It is known that emotional stressors areeffects are the deepest. They form in the person insults and fears, which over time without an adequate assessment of the situation, like a weed, will only grow. Thus, stress and health will become a single whole, a destructive mechanism.

Professional

Professional factors that cause stress,are a mixed group. They combine psychological and physiological stressors. These are external stimuli and loads that each person experiences at work. Consider the example of a rescue officer. It most clearly accumulates in itself the maximum level of stressors. Namely, extreme situations with high responsibility, mental tension of readiness, negative environmental factors, information uncertainty, shortage of time for decision-making and danger to life.

It is noteworthy that stressors have property"Infect" the masses with oneself. On the same example of a rescue officer, you can see that not only the performer of the task is under stress, but also the collective and the employee's family. This is due to the psychological factors of interaction, trust, solidarity in society. Thus, in the distribution of internal load and reserves, a person gets rid of accumulated stress.

Consequences of stress

The impact of stress on human health, independentlyfrom its degree of impact, is a negative phenomenon and has a fairly wide range of psychological, physical and social consequences. All of them can be divided into:

Primary - are manifested at the psychological and intellectual level in connection with the emergence of extreme situations (loss of attention, fatigue, psychoneurotic conditions).
Secondary - arise as a result of unsuccessful attemptsovercome the maladaptive state. Among such effects, emotional "burnout", abuse of nicotine, alcohol or sedatives, depletion of work, aggressive or depressive conditions are observed.
Tertiary - combine the psychological, social,intellectual and physical aspects. They can be expressed in deformation of the person, increasing conflicts with surrounding people due to internal unsettledness, in breaking family and work relationships, loss of work, study, pessimism and social apathy. The extreme degree of tertiary consequences are suicides.