POSITIVE STRESS

STRESS.....
•motivate individuals to accomplish their goal
•As a drive to improve their skills by comparing their works with competitors
•make any necessary changes in their lives-based on fight-or-flight response
* fight-or-flight response helps individuals to detect danger and to provide a defence against infection or take appropriate steps to overcome danger
•many new discoveries and creative solutions

NEGATIVE EFFECTS
Physiological disorder
•Migraine •Asthma •chest pain •backache
•heart disease •frequent urination •high blood pressure •diabetes
•ulcers •loss of sexual interest •Stomach upsets •Menstrual disorders •Infertility cancer

PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS
emotion:
- Anger - Anxiety - Depression -Nervousness
- Fear - Grief - Jealous - loneliness
- boredom - shame - hopelessness - Guilt

cognitive effects:
-Inability to make decision -Persistent thoughts of death
-Inability to concentrate -Mental blocks
- Frequent forgetfulness - Inability to rationalize
- Hypersensitivity to criticism -Pessimism
- Low self-esteem

Behavioral:
•Accident proneness •Drug taking •Emotional outburst
•Excessive eating •loss of appetite •Impulsive behavior
•Impaired speech •Restlessness •Aggressive
•Bad temper •Sleep disturbance •Excessive drinking
•Excessive smoking

Psychological Cause

Stress can cause by psychological or physical demands. For instance, conflict and frustration are examples of psychological demands. Physical demands might include infection, disease, or injury.

hological Cause

Along with physical stresses, such as illness, noise, or temperature extremes, there are three major psychological causes of stress: pressure, conflict, and frustration.

Pressure

When we strive to meet the social and psychological demands we impose on ourselves and that others impose on us, we experience pressure. There are two type of pressure; there are Internal Pressure and External Pressure. Internal pressure results when we attempt to maintain self-esteem by forcing ourselves to achieve higher standards: We study higher in school, try to be more popular with our friends, attempt to solve difficult challenges, and try to look attractive. Internal pressure is important for self-improvement. With internal pressure, we try harder to achieve.

External pressure results from the demands other people make on us. We try to please the people who are important in our lives. We may try to lose weight to please or attract a loved one, get high grades to make our parent’s pound, work hard to impress the boss, or compete to be successful so we will be admired by our friends. External pressure helps us adjust to a social environment.

Conflict

Conflict occurs when we experience incompatible demands or desires. In many cases, when the conflict is not resolved, the result is stress. Psychologists generally follow the lead of social psychologist Kurt Lewin (1935), who suggested that conflict can be characterized by two opposing tendencies: approach and avoidance.

In approach-approach conflict, we are attracted to two equally desirable goals that are incompatible. Choosing one goal means giving up the other one. For instance, we can see only one movie at a time. When we experience appoarch-appoarch conflict, we often have difficulty in making a decision. This lead to stress that would not have existed if we had not had to make the decision.

In avoidance-avoidance conflict, we are faced with two equally undesirable demands that we must choose between. With either choice we are not going to happy. For example, we might be terrified of water, but we don’t want people to laugh at us for not swimming. Because either outcome will be negative, we are bound to experience stress. Our objective is to choose the alternative that is less likely to be stressful. There is a strong tendency for us to try to escape avoidance-avoidance conflicts.

In approach-avoidance conflict, we are faced with a single goal that has positive and negative aspects. We might really want to have a car, but realize we cannot afford one. We might really want to run for an office in student government, but we are afraid of the responsibility. In this type of conflict we may consider the costs and benefits carefully before making a decision, being aware that the consequences are not all positive. Or we may remain undecided and let the opportunity slip away.

But sometimes we are not just experience conflict over two goals only. We experience conflict over two or more goals, both of which have positive and negative aspects. This situation is called multiple approach-avoidance conflict. For example, perhaps our family is considering a vacation, and the ideal destination (approach) is extremely expensive (avoidance), and a second choice would not be as much fun (avoidance) but would be more affordable (approach). Typically, we must make choices among several alternatives, all possessing positive and negative features. As you can well imagine, almost anything we do will result in some stress.

Frustration

Conflicts situations also often produce frustration. Frustration occurs when we are prevented from reaching a goal. When we experience frustration, we must either give up the goal or find another way to attain it. In either case, stress is produced. We experience a variety of frustrations in our everyday lives. Examples, We live in a society where time is important, and we get upset when we are delayed. People are frustrated when they must wait in line at a store, when a phone number is busy, or when someone is late.

When people lost something important, it frustrates them because it means they are deprived of goals. If they lose money or possessions, they may not be able to purchase things that they desire. If they lose someone they love, they are deprived of the future of a relationship. Failure also frustrates people. Sometimes they fail to win, to get a high grade on a test, or to impress other people. Sometimes they feel as though they have failed, even when they do better than expected, because they have such high expectations for themselves. Then their failures may produce guilt.

How to people respond to frustration? Frederikson and Dewe (1996) argued that frustration tended to lead to avoidance of the stressful situation. When we are continually frustrated we are likely to seek some distraction. I noticed that sometimes students who are doing poorly in a class tend to skip the class more. Other research suggests that people may respond to frustration with aggression, even when frustration is justified (Dill & Anderson, 1995).

the different types of stress

There are four main types of stress that people experience.
1. Eustress
Eustress is a type of short-term stress that provides immediate strength. Eustress arises at points of increased physical activity, enthusiasm, and creativity. Eustress is a positive stress that arises when motivation and inspiration are needed. A gymnast experiences eustress before a competition.

2.Distress
Distress is a negative stress brought about by constant readjustments or alterations in a routine. Distress creates feelings of discomfort and unfamiliarity. There are two types of distress. Acute stress is an intense stress that arrives and disappears quickly. Chronic stress is a prolonged stress that exists for weeks, months, or even years. Someone who is constantly relocating or changing jobs may experience distress.

3. Hyperstress
Hyperstress occurs when an individual is pushed beyond what he or she can handle. Hyperstress results from being overloaded or overworked. When someone is hyperstressed, even little things can trigger a strong emotional response. A Wall Street trader is likely to experience hyperstress.

4. Hypostress
Hypostress is the opposite of hyperstress. Hypostress occurs when an individual is bored or unchallenged. People who experience hypostress are often restless and uninspired. A factory worker who performs repetitive tasks might experience hypostress.

(resources from National Center for Health and Wellness, Co)

Stress because of need?

If you're about to pack your bags and head off for university at some time you've probably already experienced a twang of anxiety at the thought of leaving your home, family and friends. For those returning to university, the added pressures of deadlines, exams and money (or rather a lack of it) will be causing grief. Check out the main offenders:

Money, money, money

In a recent Student Living Report conducted by MORI, over half of the students asked (51%) considered their poor cash flow to be the worst aspect of University life. Students are expected to graduate, on average, around £12,000 in the red. It is estimated that students will work between 30 and 40 hours a week, while spending an extra 20-30 hours a week on lectures and study. It really doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that juggling this much work with a part-time job can put enormous strain on young people.

So what can you do to avoid money-related stress? First off, take advantage of the student services available to you. These include the accommodation office (who should have some tricks up their sleeves to help you find a place to rent at a reasonable price) and the good old Student Union, where you can get an NUS card and take advantage of all the discounts that come with it. But don't blow it all in one go. Learn to plan ahead and budget each semester.

Ups and downs

A British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) survey of student mental health found that the emotional problems students experience is growing increasingly severe. The number of students seeking help from therapists is rising faster than ever and at least 10% of those students that do seek counselling are suicidal. It's a pretty bleak picture, but hardly a surprising one when you consider all the pressures. Luckily, lots of students (nine out of 10 in the MORI poll) believe that going to university is a worthwhile experience and eight in 10 say it has set them in good stead for the rest of their working life. Phew! So how do you make sure that you leave university with such a positive outlook?

"Young people at university are fortunate that they have access to high quality counselling services," says John Cowley, the senior student counsellor at the University of Wales, Cardiff, "and counselling is more acceptable than ever as a solution to psychological distress."

So, if all the pressures start to get to you and you're showing all the signs of depression, get down to your GP who should be able to point you in the right direction. If the problem is stress or depression, start chewing the ear off of your student counsellor. You may feel that your problems are no different to anyone else's, but remember that it's their job to listen to you - they get paid for it, so take advantage of them. If you really don't want to, or you don't get on with the student counsellor, seek a less personal counsellor through the many online and telephone helplines.

But I just want to fit in

Fitting in to your new university is one of the most nerve-wracking parts of leaving home. Leaving partners behind is upsetting and often leads to painful break-ups, and just the thought of your old mates and your mum's home cooking can bring you out in a severe case of homesickness. But for every negative there's a positive, and as soon as you become more familiar with your surroundings and the people around you, the stress of making friends and fitting in should ease. Everyone is nervous about finding new friends, so take advantage of the situation and before long you'll be calling your university life 'home'.

from:http://www.thesite.org/workandstudy/studying/studentlife/studentstress

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erm... according to Masslow's hierarchy of needs

physiological, safety, love/ belongings, esteem, and self-actualization are the basic needs....

nowadays, students are face the stress because of the needs...

hmm...

Feel stressed????????

hi friends,how are u all?hope everyone fine and happy always.So you guys must be so busy with your mid sem and also assignments right....!!!do you feel so stressed?Here some tips for you all to manage your stress well

# manage your time well for your revision,presentation,assignments,collage activities and so on

#have enough sleep

#eat on time and dont skip your meal

#share your problems with friends and family

# watch some interesting or comedy movies

#drink enough water

# and very important is dont do last minute works

ok friends hope the tips will help you.anyway all the best,and have a great day!!!!

the result of the survey

we had conducted the survey among ukm students from different faculties.

RESULT: (RANK )
ASSIGNMENT & ACTIVITIES- 29.17% (1 )

FAMILY PROBLEM- 7.88% (6 )

RELATIONSHIP DIFFICULTIES-12.5% (4)

TEST- 19.44% (2 )

PESSIMISM-4.63% ( 7)

FINANCIAL PROBLEM-9.72% (5 )

UNCERTAIN FUTURE- 14.35% ( 3)

OTHERS -2.31% (8)