Stress is a critical part of well-being. Many philosophies have addressed this fundamental truth. Health psychologists recognize the importance of stress and many work towards finding solutions to the problem of stress or work towards relieving stress from within their organizations. (Brannon et al., 13) There are some similarities between experiences of stress. Stress is unique on the dimensions of its character, the persons experience and perception of the stressors, and the individual’s response to stress. Stress can encourage personal growth and can be a risk factor of disease. This paper will explore the differences and similarities of stress, the disease-stress relationship, as well as some available interventions for stress.

Stress is an important aspect of health as it has a complex and strong relationship to both physiological and psychological well-being. The contemporary biopsychosocial model of health is a holistic one that considers a positive state of being as an important component of health. Health today does not simply mean being disease-free. (Brannon et al. 11) Of course, a positive mental state can impact every aspect of life effecting ones environment, behavior, and influencing the onset and progression of many diseases.

It is hard to fully quantify the importance of the psychological component of stress. However, it seems clear that it is a primary factor in human suffering and well-being. Any attempt at measuring the importance of the psychological component of stress cannot avoid philosophy. If ones own happiness is considered the most important aspect of life, then the mental aspects of stress are more important than the disease. However, it is also important to consider the importance of stress’s merit. Acute stress can have mental health benefits, helps us to learn and grow and acts as an important warning from our unconscious to take action and solve a problem (Sanders, 2015).

Stress is a risk factor for many physiological and psychological conditions. Stress interacts with the Central nervous system and the endocrine system causing the release of cortisol and glucocorticoids that have a depressive effect on the immune system due to their effect on the activation of phagocytosis and macrophages (Brannon et al. 139). Inhibition of the immune system opens up the gateway for infectious disease, although short term stress is usually not a significant risk factor.

The links between stress events and psychological disorders tend to rely on several factors, including the nature of the stress. One aspect of the nature of stress is immobilization or the sense that one cannot escape. The experience of immobilization is part of most stressors considered traumatic (Van der Kolk, 86). These kinds of stressors are a risk factor for PTSD. This may be due to the acute stress response becoming maladaptive after being frequently activated. It is also known that trauma can effect the structure and function of the brain, potentially leading to behavioral, memory, cognitive, or mood disorders such as depression (Morey et al. 2015). Most people who experience trauma do not develop PTSD, but may develop some other issue offering more evidence that psychological disorders are complex and multi-factorial (Schneiderman et al. 2005).

Behavior is another pathway to disease from stress. People may seek unhealthy avoidance or emotional styles of coping that are risk factors for disease. Drinking or smoking are risk factors for cardiovascular disease and many other disorders. Maladaptive coping mechanisms or inappropriate responses to stress can damage the persons social network which limits the opportunity for healthy social or problem focused coping. At worse, these coping mechanisms can become addictions which have high psychological comorbidity (NIDA, 2018).

Chronic Low Grade Inflammation is argued to be the common soil of stress related disease. Chronic stressors seem to lead to chronic inflammation. Compared to acute stressors whose inflammatory response is eventually regulated by the immune system’s interaction with the HPA axis, chronic stress maintains low levels of inflammation. The exact mechanisms by which this persistent state of low level inflammation causes disease remain unknown. Inflammation leads to the production of cytokines which are correlated to higher rates of coronary artery disease and neuroinflammation is known to be correlated to neurodegenerative diseases (Liu et al. 2017).

Some diseases seem to have a closer relationship with stress than others. PTSD can result from inescapable trauma, but probably not from daily inconvenience. Depression seems to be strongly related to stress, both as a drug comorbidity, or a result of chronic neuroinflammation. Links between stress and cancer are debated, with some cancers seeming to have a stronger relationship to stress than others. Sometimes stress is found to have no bearing on injury, such as the incidence of kidney injury after heart surgery (Engelman et al. 2021). Stress is not a known risk factor for incidence of certain diseases, but can influence progression, such as for arthritis (Eustice, 2020).

There are many ways to conceptualize and categorize stress. One can consider the source of stress. This includes: life events, cataclysmic events or daily hassles which can be measured on point scales and used to predict the likelihood of later illness. We can also measure the duration of the stress. Typically we organize this under acute, episodic acute, or chronic stress categories. A person’s response to stress may be a useful way of conceptualizing stress as well.

Stressful situations warrant different responses from different parts of the brain depending on the situation. Initially a threat to safety or social connections may prompt changes in our expression, changes in tone of voice, or to call for help. This is governed by the Ventral Vagal Complex. If no help arrives we may enter a flight or fight response depending on the threat, this is governed by the Sympathetic Nervous System. Finally, a threat that pins us down, or seems inescapable, may activate the Dorsal Vagal Complex (DVC). Activation of the DVC in response to threat reduces metabolism in the body, slows the heart rate down, causes the person to completely disassociate, shuts down their awareness, and may cause the individual to no longer experience pain (Van der Kolk, 82-84).

While trauma and stress certainly are unique, we do see similar stress hormones involved, common pathways that lead to disease, and also observable trends that we see in typical responses to stress. One model of these trends is Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome, which conceptualizes the adaptations that an organism goes through in responding to stress in different stages. Despite this model coming under some scrutiny, it still valuable in modeling a general and reasonably accurate model of an average stress response (Brannon et al. 103-104).

There are a number of ways to effectively manage stress. The best way of course is to solve the problem itself. This not only eliminates the source of stress, but gives a sense of accomplishment and may increase a sense of self-efficacy. What aids in problem focused coping is simply by conceptualizing the acute stressor as a challenge to be overcome. By doing so we can convert stress that has negative effects, to one with positive effects, known as Eustress. By overcoming stress, you can help develop a greater sense of self-efficacy, become stronger under adversity, and gain a greater sense of control (Bergland, 2019). Personally, my favorite approach to stress is through a problem focused approach, by accepting acute stress as a challenge to be overcome, and by breaking the challenge down into manageable pieces. This method provides frequent positive reinforcement.

What may be overlooked by many is the importance of a strong social network. A strong social network means a buffer against stress. This can be because of a number of reasons. Perhaps a friend can help you resolve your stress-related issues. A therapy group provides social coping opportunity with people who have a similar problem to yours. Social support is known to be a strong predictor of longevity, and lack of it is a risk factor for disease (Brannon et al. 114-116).

Another usefull intervention for stress is Mindfulness. Mindfulness originated as a Buddhist practice and has been found to be beneficial in reducing stress. Mindfulness is attending to the present in an accepting manner. By attending to the present, we avoid the stress of the future and eliminate the stress of dwelling on the past. Mindfulness has been proven to have many positive health outcomes, including reduction of stress, slower disease progression in those with HIV, lower blood pressure in cancer patients, and more health benefits (Brannon et al. 124-125).

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) attempts to combine behavioral modification, cognitive therapy, and modification of the environment to achieve reductions in stress (or other issues). Stress Inoculation Therapy is a version of CBT. First the patient will work with the therapist to identify their problems, the therapist will then teach skills for coping, and attempt to adjust their cognition’s to improve self-instruction, and finally the patients will put the effects into practice and the results monitored. CBT has been proven to both reduce and prevent stress for a wide range of stress-related problems (Brannon et al. 121-122).

Simple breathing exercises can help us to activate our parasympathetic nervous system and calm our bodies down. This is part of the reason why many meditations and yoga may be effective for reducing stress, as they emphasize exhalation (Van der Kolk, 79). Yoga has been shown to help along relaxation by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, reduce stress, and reduce cortisol levels (Cronkleton, 2021).

Ultimately, there is no reason to rely on a single intervention method. A combination of interventions can facilitate reductions of stress in different situations and can have cumulative effects. By reducing the stress experienced, we also reduce the negative effects on the body, mind, and avoid the social damage that may be done to others. However, it may not be wise to wish for a life without stress due to its benefits as a motivating force. Without stress we may not be able to fully appreciate the positive experiences of life. We must learn to manage stress. Like fire, stress can burn us, it can spread, but it can also provide us with light.

References

Brannon, L., Updegraff, J. A., & Feist, J. (2021). Health Psychology: An Introduction to Behavior and Health. Cengage Learning.

Van der Kolk, B. (2015). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma (Reprint ed.). Penguin Publishing Group.

Liu, Y. Z., Wang, Y. X., & Jiang, C. L. (2017). Inflammation: The Common Pathway of Stress-Related Diseases. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00316

Schneiderman, N., Ironson, G., & Siegel, S. D. (2005). Stress and health: psychological, behavioral, and biological determinants. Annual review of clinical psychology, 1, 607–628. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.144141

NIDA. 2018, August 1. Comorbidity: Substance Use Disorders and Other Mental Illnesses National Institutes of Health. https://nida.nih.gov/publications/drugfacts/comorbidity-substance-use-disorders-other-mental-illnesses

Chiriac, V. F., Baban, A., & Dumitrascu, D. L. (2018). Psychological stress and breast cancer incidence: a systematic review. Clujul medical (1957), 91(1), 18–26. https://doi.org/10.15386/cjmed-924

Sanders, R. (2015, July 9). Researchers find out why some stress is good for you. Berkeley News. https://news.berkeley.edu/2013/04/16/researchers-find-out-why-some-stress-is-good-for-you/

Morey, J. N., Boggero, I. A., Scott, A. B., & Segerstrom, S. C. (2015). Current Directions in Stress and Human Immune Function. Current opinion in psychology, 5, 13–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.03.007

Engelman, D. T., Crisafi, C., Germain, M., Greco, B., Nathanson, B. H., Engelman, R. M., & Schwann, T. A. (2021). Stress Biomarkers Do Not Correlate With Risk Factors for Kidney Injury After Cardiac Surgery. The Annals of thoracic surgery, 112(2), 532–538. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2020.09.025

Eustice, C. (2020, April 15). The Role Stress Plays on Coping With Your Arthritis. Verywell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/the-effect-of-stress-on-arthritis-188163

Bergland, C. (2019, August 11). 3 Counterintuitive Benefits of a Stress-Is-Enhancing Mindset. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201908/3-counterintuitive-benefits-stress-is-enhancing-mindset

Cronkleton, E. (2021, May 4). Here’s How to Use Yoga for Stress Reduction. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/yoga-for-stress