Stress is a Common Ailment

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Experiencing stress doesn't necessarily mean you have problems; not trying to cope does. To be alive is to experience stress. However, when stress is intense or relentlessly persistent, it can become detrimental to our physical and psychological well-being.

Stress arises when people think they can't cope effectively with all the demands society places upon them. Lots of things cause stress in people—noise, air and chemical pollution, overcrowding, poverty, unemployment, boredom, change of job or residence, anxiety, depression, guilt, marital problems, or economic dislocations, or a pile-up of many demands.

These events, or stressors, cause a stress response. When someone perceives an event as a stressor, a series of about 1,500 physical reactions begin in his or her body. These reactions vary greatly in different people and in the same person in different situations.

Sometimes, these stress responses create stress-related disorders—everything from headaches, stomach upsets, asthma, and ulcers to coronary heart disease, impotence, and diabetes.

Some people are more likely than others to experience these disorders, depending on their lifestyle, habits, and past medical history. Each individual has one or several weak organ systems which become targets for development of disease when stress is present. Recent studies show that people who are aggressive, extremely competitive, impatient, and irritable have an increased chance of developing heart disease.

Although at risk, these people can learn to cope with stress and stay healthy. Most common coping techniques include variety and diversion, perspective (through faith and humor), good nutrition, plenty of rest and sleep, avoidance of alcohol, drugs, and tobacco.

However, stress experts say people can cope better if they believe that change implies challenge rather than threat and that they have coping resources within themselves. Social relationships are very important to successful stress management. They provide us with physical, economic and emotional, support. We all need to be listened to and to talk out our worries and problems.

Ronald Pitzer
Family Sociologist

Originally published in January 1988

College of Human Ecology in cooperation with the University of Minnesota Extension Service

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