Can you stress yourself to death?

If a person is tasked with coming up with a definition of psychological stress they may find themselves faced with many variables that could be considered to be stressful or could be disqualified as being stressful based upon the reaction of each individual’s experience with the variable. Health psychologists do not underestimate the role that stress has in disease prevention or recovery so understanding this topic is vital for individuals who suffer from, or are at risk of, chronic illnesses (Brannon & Feist, 2004). Some areas of consideration regarding understanding stress are discussed below. A physical stress is something that occurs environmentally and causes an effect in the physical human body that has a negative biological effect (Cohen, Kessler, & Gordon, 1997). An example of a physical stressor could be an environmental factor such as high levels of pollution in the air that cause lung complications, or a high level of mold or pollen in the air that can cause an allergic reaction and a temporary cold. A psychological stressor is more the focus of this course and the manner in which a person copes with psychological stressors are indicative of whether or not he or she experiences a physical response to the stressor (Snyder, 1999).

Walter Canon recognized that the mind and psychological stressors can have a direct effect on a person’s health and behavior (Lovallo, 2004). Walter Canon felt that emotions were a part of the brain and that there was not a mind body separation; rather the mind and the body worked together (Lovallo, 2004). His concept was more focused on homeostasis and he studied the interaction of sensory nerves and their interaction with the brain structure’s response systems. Canon was one of the first people to use the term “stress” as it was a factor that caused the body to deviate away from its normal homeostatic state (Lovallo, 2004). Hans Selye looked at stress research with the hopes of understanding the relationship between the body’s response from leaving its homeostatic state when it has to regulate itself as a result of perceived stresses or threats (Lovallo, 2004).

The Unifying Stress models have both strengths and potential shortcomings. The Unifying Stress models contain the elements of the environmental demands such as stressors or life events, how a person appraises or addresses the demands, a determination of how the stress is perceived, how or if there is a negative emotional response, what the physiological or behavioral response is, and then a determination if there is an increase or physical or psychiatric disease (Cohen, Kessler, & Gordon, 1997). This complex model has strengths in that it incorporates all of these biological, environmental, and personal factors; however there are potential shortcomings in that the manner in which the model flow begins with environmental factors down to physical factors and does not incorporate all possible feedback loops, or potential situations, that could occur (Cohen, Kessler, & Gordon, 1997). The alternate feedback loops that are not incorporated into this model, such as emotional states or non-relevant emotional responses that may be caused by drugs or exercise are examples of the shortcomings of this model (Cohen, Kessler, & Gordon, 1997). There are challenges to measuring stress because life events and environmental factors vary greatly depending upon what social group a person falls in such as their socioeconomic status, age or sex (Cohen, Kessler, & Gordon, 1997).

A variety of different scales have been created to try to incorporate these factors into a stress measuring surveys (Cohen, Kessler, & Gordon, 1997). Cohen, Kessler, and Gordon (1997) feel that studies that assess vulnerabilities people have with regard to how they cope with and manage stress may be a better indicator of the effect stress has on a person’s life. Some people take stress and grow from it, hence the phrase I heard growing up “what does not kill you makes you stronger”. However, some can not handle the smaller stressors in life and they do not gain from the stress overtime. Coping skills and the Type A personality are further examples of factors that make it hard to measure how the stress of life events and environmental factors influence stress (Snyder, 1999).

Brannon, L. & Feist, J. (2004). Health psychology: An introduction to behavior and health (5th Ed.). CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

Cohen, S., Kessler, R. C., & Gordon, L. U. (1997). Measuring Stress: A Guide for Health and Social Scientists. NY: Oxford University Press Lovallo, W. (2004).

Stress & Health: Biological and Psychological Interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Snyder, C. R. (1999). Coping: The psychology of what works. Oxford University Press

Here is an alternative method to relieve stress from an anonymous source but please, don't try this at home:

Picture yourself near a stream.
Birds are softly chirping in the crisp cool mountain air.
Nothing can bother you here. No one knows this secret place.
You are in total seclusion from that place called "the world."
The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air with a cascade of serenity.
The water is clear.
You can easily make out the face of the person whose head you're holding under the water.
Look. It's the person who caused you all this stress in the first place.
What a pleasant surprise. You let them up... just for a quick breath... then ploop!...back under they go...
You allow yourself as many deep breaths as you want.
There now... feeling better?