Never felt depressed in the face of a problem? It may be that we experience stress. Stress is one form of psychological disorder that often plague humans, especially in this modern era. Increasingly complex problems of life and the increasing human population has increased the chances of a person is exposed to stress. Let's discuss the intricacies of stress as a psychological disorder and its relationship to our physical health.
The concept of healthy and sick
Health is one of the concepts that have been frequently used but difficult to explain what it means. Several different factors sometimes cause difficulty defining health, illness, and disease. In 1947, the WHO tried to describe widespread health. Health (health) is defined as a state (status) intact healthy physical, mental (spiritual), social, and not just a state that is free of disease, disability, and weakness.
On the other hand, the disease is malfunctioning or adaptation of biological processes and psychophysiological on someone. Reaction of pain is personal, interpersonal and cultural to the disease. Pain is also a subjective response of the patient, and the response to the circumstances surrounding unhealthy, not only include experience not only healthy, but the meaning of the experience for him.
Psychological disorders and physical conditions
A person's physical and psychological conditions are often interrelated. Physical pain can arise from psychological disorders. Conversely, from psychological disorders can appear physically ill. In studying the relationship between them, problem analysis covers search / excavation and explanation of the relationship between personality and physical illness followed by contemporary research approach.
What exactly is the difference between psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression with physical disorders such as infectious diseases and cancer? Directly, psychological disorders can be explained by knowing itself psychological causes like stress, traumatic experiences, and the problem of childhood. Meanwhile, a physical disorder caused by physical causes. From there it is known that psychological disorders should be cured by means of psychology such as psychotherapy and behavioral therapy, physical disorders sedangan cured medically.
Psychological disorders range from serious mental illness until the case is relatively mild depression that is usually caused by inequalities biochemical, often regarded as a descendant. It is mainly supported by DNA research. On the other hand, there are certain personality types are prone to heart disease and stress, which is a major factor in the cause of many physical illnesses. Holistic medicine and the like therapy for physical illnesses often have a huge psychological component as stress management programs, relaxation, to the respiratory training.
History of stress research
The first contribution in research on stress given by Cannon in 1932 regarding the response of fight-or-flight, which states that an organism sensed a threat, then quickly the body will be stimulated and motivated through systematic nervous and endocrine systems. Through this physiological response, the organism is driven to attack the threat or flee.
The most important contribution in stress research conducted by Hans Seyle in 1936 on the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). Seyle stated that when the organism is confronted with a stressor, he would push himself to perform actions that are governed by the adrenal gland that raises the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. Without regard to the cause of the threat, the individual will respond to the same physiological reaction pattern, the rest to repeat or extend the stress so that it will smooth out and break the system. Model by this Seyle be the basis for discussing the issue of stress.
Stress can be conceptualized from a variety of point or view, namely stress as a stimulus, stress response, and stress as an interaction between the individual and the environment.
1. Stress as 'stimulus'
This approach focuses on the environment and describe stress as a stimulus (or stress as an 'independent variable'). Approach that reveals the relationship between health and disease in certain conditions in the external environment, tracked first by Hippocrates in the early 15th century BC, which states of health and disease characteristics are conditioned by the external environment. According to this model, an individual meets constantly with sources of potential stressors in the environment, but only one that looked minor or harmless events can change the delicate balance that exists between coping limits (how to solve the problem ) with the overall resistance coping behavior.
The weakness of this model is that there are individual differences, individual tolerance levels, and expectations. There are no objective criteria that can measure a stressful situation unless the size of individual experience, while environment may be putting pressure work environment.
2. Stress as a 'response'
This approach focuses on a person's reaction to stressors and describe stress as a response (or stress as specific variables). According to Sutherland and Cooper, as a response to stress can not always be seen, the only result that could be seen. This approach focuses on the medical perspective.
3. Stress as interaction between the individual and the environment
This approach illustrates the stress as a process that includes stressors and strains by adding the dimension of the relationship between the individual and the environment. Interactions between humans and the environment affect each referred to as a transactional relationship. In the process of this relationship as well as the adjustment process.
Stress is not just a stimulus or a response, but also a process in which a person is an intermediary (agent) enabled which can affect the stressors through behavioral strategies, cognitive and emotional. Individuals will give different stress reactions to the same stressor. So there is a difference in interpreting the growing awareness of stress is a complex and dynamic process that ssuai the biopsychosocial approach to human life.
According to Sutherland and Cooper, the basic concept of stress is as follows:
- Cognitive assessment: Stress is a subjective experience which may be based Atar same perception of the situation is not merely appear in the environment.
- Experience: a situation that depends on the level of intimacy, openness, learning, real ability, and the concept of reinforcement.
- Demands: pressure, desire, or stimuli that immediate nature, which affects the ways in which demands can be accepted.
- Interpersonal influence: there is not a person, situational factors and background affects subjective experience, and behavioral coping responses.
- State of stress: a perceived imbalance between the demands of his ability to find these demands. Menikuti process is a process of coping, as well as the consequences of the application of coping strategies.
Sources of stress
Although the approach is often used to grasp the stress comes from the interactive view, but we need to also know the potential stressors in the environment. The stressors are classified as follows:
A. The sources of stress in a person:
- Pain: stress levels appear depend on the circumstances of pain and age of the individual.
- Assessment of motivational force against, if someone is having a conflict. Conflict is a major source of stress. According to the theory Kurt lewin, motivational force against would lead to two opposite trend, namely the approach and avoidance.
B. The sources of stress in the family:
Stress can come from interactions among family members, such as disputes in financial matters, mutual indifferent, until the goal is different from each other.
C. Sources in the community and the environment:
Subject interaction outside the family completes the sources of stress, and some parents experience stress comes from job and environment that are stressful.
(A) Work and Stress
Almost everyone experiences stress in their lives in connection with their work. Factors that can make the job stressful, among others:
1. Demands the job
The demands of the job can be stressful in 2 ways, namely job too much and what kind of work itself has lebh stresful than other types of work.
2. Works demanding responsibility for human life
For example, medical personnel who have a heavy workload and must be careful not to make mistakes that can have serious consequences.
According Sarafino, job stress can be caused by a physical environment that is too pressing, the perceived lack of control, lack of interpersonal relationships, to the lack of recognition of the progress of work. Meanwhile, Sutherland and Cooper stated that the source of the stress that comes from social interaction with the work environment, covering stressors in the work itself, role conflict, problems in relationships with other people, career development, climate and organizational structure, until the conflict between the demands of work with family demands.
(B) The stress that comes from the environment
The intended environment is the physical environment, such as noise, temperature is too hot, tightness, and wind storms. Environmental stressors include macro stressors, such as migration, and loss due to modern technology such as traffic accidents, nuclear disaster.
The seriousness of stress
Approach to stress the main emphasis on live events as a source of stress. The approach is quite new is the attention to events extreme traumatic, both man-made (such as war) and natural disasters (such as tsunamis and tornadoes).
The most dreadful traumatic experiences, which are often investigated, is war. War-related stress can be caused due to the death of a child, brother, and separation from families. Experience this stress, the effect can last for months, even years. Long reaction like this is called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). People suffering from PTSD have characteristics, which experienced extreme stressors. One reaction to stressful events is unresponsive, such as reduced interest in activities, withdrawal, and emotional constriction. Another symptom is the fear of separation and loss, fear of death, disorientation, depression, and aggression.
Coping with stress (stress coping)
According Lazzarus and Folkman, coping with stress is a process in which individuals try to manage the gap between the demands (both the demands that come from individuals and berasanl demands of the environment) with the resources they use in dealing with situations pressure. In general, the stress can be overcome by conducting transactions with the environment in which the relationship of this transaction is a dynamic process.
In general, coping with stress has two kinds of functions, namely:
1. Emotion-focused coping
Used to regulate emotional responses to stress. These settings through individual behavior, such as the use of tranquilizers, how to negate the facts that are not pleasant, through cognitive strategies. If the individual is unable to change the conditions that stresful, individuals will tend to regulate their emotions.
2. Problem-focused coping
To reduce the stressors, the individual will cope with studying ways or new skills. Individuals will tend to use this strategy when he believes will be able to change the situation. Method or function of this problem is more often used by adults.
There are eight different coping strategies that are generally known in psychology, namely:
1. The confrontation,
2. seek social support,
3. planning problem solving associated with problem-focused coping,
4. The self-control,
5. make the distance,
6. positive reappraisal,
7. accept responsibility, and
8. escape or evasion.
There is no one method that could be used for all stressful situations. None of the most successful coping strategy. The most effective coping strategy is a strategy that is appropriate to the type of stress and situations. Coping success depends more on the incorporation of coping strategies according to the characteristics of each stressful events, rather than trying to find one of the most successful coping strategy.
Individual differences in adapting to various kinds of stress of which is influenced by the capabilities (eg, intelligence, creativity, emotional intelligence), the influence of the environment, education, self-development, and age. There are also several adjustments that could be to reduce the symptoms of stress. Adjustments are not aware that by using defense mechanisms (defense mechanism), while adjusting conscious of them talk about the problems faced by others, doing other work which reduces symptoms of stress, or just laugh.
Adjustments that are problem solving to stress, a kind of adjustment to the stress that is unconscious, attempt to eliminate the sources of stress, unhurried or more targeted, there is a certain strategy, and more effectively. This can be done by modifying themselves to be more tolerant of stress or modify the stressful situation.
Cover: stress and physical health
Stress is a psychological disorder. Therefore, between stress and physical health may influence each other. Stress can cause a decline in physical condition, otherwise the decline of physical conditions can cause stress. Each man would want a healthy life physically and psychologically. Thus, two aspects of this health need to be considered simultaneously so that each individual does not become ill individuals.
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