How Stress and Psychology Are Connected

Introduction

Stress is a natural human response that prompts humans to address challenges and threats in life (Schroder et al., 2017). It is simply a state of mental tension or a certain level of worry caused by a challenging situation. On the other hand, psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior (Schroder et al., 2017). While studying the mind, psychologists understand the mental process, brain functioning, and behavior which defines the level of tension such minds might be experiencing from time to time. However, every human experiences stress to some extent in their lifetime ranging from tension at work to pressure from friends and family, among other triggers. Therefore, one may wish to understand the connection between stress and psychology, having noted that both involve human mental functioning. Stress affects human mood and behavior. Psychology is the study of mind and behavior that can analyze mental processes and brain functioning, which translates to certain behaviors/states like stress in humans.

According to Galanakis et al. (2016), stress affects nearly every body system causing great changes that influence how such victims behave and feel. When stress causes such mind-body changes, it directly contributes to psychological disorders and diseases that affect physical and mental health, reducing the human quality of life. Since stress affects mood causing tension, such victims’ mental functioning becomes compromised, resulting in a negative attitude toward life. Unfortunately, when a person experiences a negative attitude towards life, nothing makes sense which expresses the extent of harm that stress has on a person’s psychological well-being resulting in too many negativities like headaches, sleep disturbance, social life withdrawals, poor eating and digestive habits, poor work or academic productivity among others as illustrated below.

https://www.verywellhealth.com/psychological-stress-5205714

Unlike in old and unhealthy individuals, where acute stress responses may impose a health burden, such responses in young and healthy individuals may be adaptive and not impose a health burden. However, the relationship between psychological stressors and disease is affected by the nature, number, and persistence of stressors. In such a case, one can argue that exposure to stressors like violence and abuse, whether physical, emotional, or physical, divorce and marital conflicts affects children’s psychological well-being, leading them to experience a stressful life in the long run. Psychological effects of abuse include provocative behavior, disturbances in attachments, and avoidance of intimacy, whether happening to children, adults or the elderly (Galanakis et al., 2016). Unfortunately, childhood abuse remains associated with a negative attitude toward learning, leading to poor academic performance, which may ruin the entire life of such a child.

Conclusion

Stress has a close connection with psychology. Stress affects one’s mood and behavior, a psychological effect that limits such victims’ well-being. Exposure to disturbing experiences such as violence, abuse, tension at work, and humiliation, among others, trigger stress exposing such victims to psychological disorders that limit their mental well-being. Psychologically, stressed people tend to lose the meaning of life, making it quite a challenge to remain composed, happy, and focused in life, thus a need to address any noted stress-related triggers to enhance an individual’s well-being. Since stress is a common experience that humans engage in during their lives, it is wise to avoid its triggers, and if unconsciously exposed to them, there is always the need to seek the right help to address such stressful experiences.

References

Galanakis, M. J., Palaiologou, A., Patsi, G., Velegraki, I. M., & Darviri, C. (2016). A literature review on the connection between stress and self-esteem. Psychology, 7(5), 687–694.

Schroder, H. S., Yalch, M. M., Dawood, S., Callahan, C. P., Donnellan, M. B., & Moser, J. S. (2017). Growth mindset of anxiety buffers the link between stressful life events and psychological distress and coping strategies. Personality and individual differences, pp. 110, 23–26.