The discomfort in adjusting to the immediate environment results in a psychological or physiological disorder. Adjustment disorder requires therapy or medical treatment, just like other psychological disorders. The difficulty in adjusting to the immediate social or cultural environment is known as ambient stress. Short-term exposure to ambient stressors does not result in significant psychological impacts. However, continued exposure results negatively influence productivity and motivation.
Items Embedded in My current Life Environment as Ambient Stress
Ambient stress refers to persistent environmental conditions that are not urgent but might negatively influence productivity or quality of life (Weiten et al., 2018). Usually, ambient stressors run in the background, are embedded in our daily lives and immediate environments, and are hard to avoid. Examples of ambient stress include noise pollution, traffic jam and crowding. Current ambient stress embedded in daily life includes smartphones, crowding, and noise pollution.
Smartphone stress results from frequently checking the phone for text messages and constantly viewing content on social media. A smartphone is classified as ambient stress since its use is hard to control and happens subconsciously. Going for long periods without using a smartphone causes anxiety and the feeling of missing out on the immediate environment. Extended use of smartphones has resulted in negative impacts on social life and disruption of sleeping patterns.
Crowding in social places and access to public facilities is another cause of ambient stress. The lack of privacy in public areas, increased physical contact and the constant need to be alert to happenings in the immediate surrounding often leads to ambient stress. Crowding leads to exhaustion and deterioration of mental energy due to the excess strain on the happenings in the immediate environment. Crowding also leads to reduced productivity since attention is easily diverted to the happenings in the immediate surroundings.
Noise from the surrounding environment is the other source of ambient stress. Noise sources include traffic, entertainment, construction sites, and social gatherings. Noise pollution leads to diverted concentration, low productivity and interruption of the regular sleep pattern.
Reflection about Moving Out of a Situation because of Excessive Ambient Stress
Individuals cope differently with stress in the immediate environment. Individual responses to stress can be classified into three main categories; physiological, emotional and behavioural (Weiten et al., 2018). The emotional stress response involves the development of a strong feeling toward the surrounding environment, such as anger, annoyance or disgust. Physiological responses result from biological processes from exposure to stress, such as hormonal imbalance, neurochemical changes or arousal. Finally, behavioural responses involve individual conduct or action in response to stress, such as blaming others, lamenting or regretting.
Recently, I encountered road rage while in a traffic queue. Everyone waited patiently for the slow-moving traffic to clear to reach their respective destinations. A young man tried to avoid the traffic by driving aggressively on the wrong side of the traffic. An upset older adult raced to block the young man resulting in a collision. The young man moved out of his car and started banging the older adult’s car window. Other drivers were hooting profusely, leading to a lot of noise and confusion on the road. The situation resulted in excessive stress from the surrounding environment. I decided to raise the windows of my car and turned on slow music to get me relaxed. Traffic officers cleared the traffic within no time, and everything returned to normalcy.
Conclusion
Difficulty in adapting to new conditions or stressors from the immediate environment results in the body responding unconditionally to external stimuli. The response to ambient stress can take three primary forms; emotional, behavioural or physiological. Identifying the source of stress is essential for finding the appropriate response to unwanted external stimuli. Continuous exposure to ambient stress is risky and can result in the development of chronic illnesses.
Reference
Weiten, W., Dunn, D. S., & Hammer, E. Y. (2018). Psychology applied to modern life: Adjustment in the 21st century (12th ed.). Cengage Learning.
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