Essay on Stress: Sources, Management, and Psychological Theories

This essay delves into the multifaceted nature of stress, examining both the sources and effective management strategies. It begins by exploring life adjustments and daily hassles as significant contributors to stress, drawing on psychological theory and research evidence to illustrate their impact. The essay then transitions to discuss various methods for managing stress, including both biological and psychological approaches. Specifically, it analyzes the effectiveness of techniques like Benson's Relaxation Response and diaphragmatic breathing, providing theoretical explanations and supporting research findings to demonstrate their efficacy. The essay adheres to APA (6th edition) formatting guidelines, providing a comprehensive overview of stress and its management within the field of psychology.

Running Head: PSYCHOLOGY 1
Psychology
Student’s Name:
Professor’s Name:
Institution Affiliation:
Date:

PSYCHOLOGY 2
Life Adjustments and Daily Hassles as Causes of Stress
Life Adjustments
Most latent stressors encountered by most individuals consist of occasions or
circumstances which need individuals to encounter variations in their day to day lifestyle and
need time for them to adjust to these variations. These stressors consist of loss of any member of
the family, nuptial, break up, and heartbreaking. Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe were the
therapists who examined the relationship concerning life stressors and physical illness,
considering the theory claiming life events need substantial variations in an individual’s usual
day to day activities and schedules which are said to be stressful, considering that these
occasions are either productive or unproductive (Alder, 2015). They established an organization
known as the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) that consisted of 43 life occasions which
need variable ratios of individual change. Various life occasions that many individuals view as
enjoyable include: vacations, stepping down from their jobs, nuptial are amongst those recorded
in their research Holmes and Rahe; they are considered as eustress. The two therapists, Holmes
and Rahe, further claimed that events which take place in a person’s life usually accumulate by
time, and that is going through a set of stressful activities or occasions which increases
individual’s jeopardy of increasing physical illnesses (Bond, 2015).
By advancing their research the two therapists, Holmes and Rahe requested about 396
members who were able to deliver a statistical approximation for every single 43 products;
where every estimate matched up to the amount of change encountered by every member and in
which they felt that every occasion needed. Every estimate equaled to mean value totals for
every occasion which is mostly referred to as Life Change Units (LCUs). The statistical totals

PSYCHOLOGY 3
extended from 11 to 100; on behalf of the professed degree of life adjustment of every occasion
requires (Krentzman, 2014). Loss of a partner was rated as the uppermost on the gauge with 100
LCUs, and followed by break-up which is the second uppermost with 73 LCUs. Furthermore,
individual grievance or ailment, nuptial, and occupation cessation are further rated exceedingly
on the measure of 53, 50, and 47 LCUs, correspondingly. On the other hand, an adjustment in the
population (20 LCUs), an adjustment in a person’s habit in ingestion (15 LCUs), and holiday (13
LCUs) are rated at the bottom (Bond, 2015).
A broad study has confirmed that an amassing large number of life adjustment
departments in a short-lived period, of utmost two years, are linked to a broad variety number of
physical diseases and psychological health challenges. In a past protest, scholars achieved LCU
totals for the United States and Norwegian Navy individuals who were ready to get back in a
period of about five-month trip. An advanced inspection on health registers exposed progressive
though in, small amounts, associations concerning LCU totals preceding to the trip and
succeeding disease signs in the resultant five-month journey. Moreover, individuals have a
tendency of experiencing a variety of physical signs, like backache, stomachaches, diarrhea, and
bad skin, on certain days where individual-recorded LCU standards are significantly higher as
compared to the usual, like during a family member’s wedding (Cody, 2016).
Daily Hassles
Probable stressors rarely consist of main life occasions; daily hassles are considered
inconsequential frustrations and aggravations which are part of everyone’s day to day lives. For
instance: late night or hour traffic flow, losing house keys, loathsome colleagues, intemperate
meteorological conditions, quarrels with allies or family that keep accumulating each other and

PSYCHOLOGY 4
which leaves most individuals stressed as the same way with the life stressors. Scholars have
established that the occurrence of daily hassles is, in fact, a better conjecturer of both corporal
and psychosomatic health as compared to life adjustment department (Davey, Sterling & Field,
2014). In popular research of San Francisco population, the rate of recurrence of daily hassles
was discovered to be more intensely linked with corporeal health challenges as compared to life
adjustment occasions.
Furthermore, insignificant daily hassles, particularly relational fights, mostly lead to
adverse and anxious mood conditions. Cyber hassles that take place on social media mostly
signify a new-fangled basis of stress (Bronk, 2015). In certain research, scholars who, in a period
of about ten weeks, conveyed larger Facebook-persuaded stress suffered led to higher degrees of
high breathing infections, particularly if they had greater communal distribution. Daily hassles
can lead and have a peal on most humans both emotionally and physically (Davey, et al. 2014).
Methods used to manage stress
1. Quit taking Caffeine, Liquor, and Nicotine
Quit or decrease your intake rate of nicotine and any beverages made with caffeine and
liquor. Caffeine and nicotine act as stimulating substance and they will hence upsurge an
individual’s degree of stress instead of reducing stress. Alcohol is a tranquilizing substance that
when drank in huge amounts, but then again performs like a stimulating substance when taking
in minor amounts (Bronk, 2015). For that reason consuming alcohol as a method or technique to
ease stress is not eventually of assistance. One is supposed to switch caffeinated and alcoholic
beverages for water, herbal teas, or watered down natural fruit extracts and object to preserve

PSYCHOLOGY 5
yourself hydrated because this will allow your body to survive better and deal with stress (Lilly,
Cullen and Ball, 2018).
2. Get More Sleep
Inadequate sleep is a substantial source of stress. Inappropriately still, stress further
interjects in ones sleep as opinions hold onto revolving via a person’s heads, hence preventing us
from easing sufficiently by sleeping (American Psychological Association, 2009). Instead of
depending on medicine, one is supposed to target at maximizing on their easing in advance
before sleeping. One is also supposed to make sure that their sleeping quarters is a calm haven
without aides-mémoires of the products or thoughts which causes one to suffer from stress (Lilly,
et al. 2018). Quit taking caffeine at nightfall and also extreme consumption of alcohol if you are
aware that this cause disturbance during sleep. Avoid engaging in any psychologically
challenging duty for a few hours before heading to sleep to ensure your brain calms down
(American Psychological Association, 2009).
3. Try Relaxation Techniques
Every day, one is supposed to ease with a stress lessening method. There is several tested
and put in action methods used in reducing stress; hence one is advised to attempt several
techniques and find out the workable one. For instance, try individual-hypnosis that is quite easy
and can be carried out in any place, even at one place of work or in the vehicle (Burton, 2018).
The only a very unpretentious method is to emphasis on a term or saying that has an optimistic
sense to your life. Terms like "peace" "affection" and "calm" can work in this situation, or you
could ponder of an independent-confirming chant like “I need to be calm in my life” or “Give me

PSYCHOLOGY 6
calmness.” Concentration on your selected term or expression; in case you discover your mind
has meandered, or you come to be conscious of invasive beliefs are getting your mind, just do
away with the thoughts and get back your concentration to the selected term or expression
(Siegel, 2014).
4. Speaking out to somebody
By just speaking to somebody involving what you are feeling is of great assistance.
Speaking out is helpful or workable through either off-putting you from your stressful ideas or
letting go some of the pressure arising by speaking it out to someone (Burton, 2018). Stress can
rain cloud a person’s potential to make decisions and avert one from viewing opinions and ideas.
Speaking opinions via an ally, co-worker, or even a skilled expert, can assist a person in finding
answers to your stress and placing your challenges into viewpoint (American Psychological
Association, 2009).
Analyze two or more approaches to managing stress and offer speculative clarifications
and study proof to indicate their efficiency.
Benson's Moderation Rejoinder
In Benson’s milestone research of the stimulation and comforting functioning of the
body, Dr. Herbert Benson who was a Harvard cardiologist learned that the mechanically
activated parasympathetic muscle organism reaction which usually brings to end a stress session
is usually activated in a mindful and deliberate fashion via the help of various stress decreasing
methods (Burton, 2018). Amongst a variety of approaches, the research (Benson) suggested to
take part in reduction response is this guileless breath-focused on the method that is usually

PSYCHOLOGY 7
experienced mostly everywhere: Select a concentration term or expression (Peterson, 2016). (As
suggested by Benson the terms "one" or "calm," nonetheless every word you see relaxing is
supposed to function as planned.). Settle down silently in a relaxing manner, keep your eyes
closed, lessen your muscles and breathe in a slow rate and of course, reiterating your
concentration term or expression as you breathe out.
Diaphragmatic Inhalation
One more connected unpretentious and in effect technique for discharging body tension is
diaphragmatic breathing, this encompasses inhaling intensely from your diaphragm. Grownups
have a habit of breathing in a precise, narrow manner, by only using the higher most section of
the chest. This propensity is aggravated at times of stress, as inhalation turn out to be even more
narrow and quick. Profound, dawdling diaphragmatic inhalation discharges tension from the
muscles through refining the movement of oxygenated blood all over a person’s body (Burton,
2018).
One can feel the comparable difference experienced between narrow inhalation and deep
inhalation through experimenting this workout:
Lay low on a couch or the floor: Bow your knees and ease your toes. Preserve your spinal
column a conventional position. When required, place a small pillow on the lower spinal for
sustenance. Put one hand on your belly and the other hand on the chest (Burton, 2018).
Breathe in gradually and intensely: Concentrate on the hand which is on continuous movement
(Webster and Haight, 2017). Narrow inhalation makes the hand place at the chest to have the

PSYCHOLOGY 8
most movement. Abysmal, diaphragmatic inhalation ensures the hand placed on the abdomen to
have faster movements.
Have a continuous inhalation intensely for about 6 or 12 minutes: Focus at ensuring
movements on the hand positioned at the abdomen rather than the hand placed on the chest
(Webster and Haight, 2017). As soon as you have become proficient at the diaphragmatic
inhalation method, you can use the technique whenever you need stress relaxation.

PSYCHOLOGY 9
References
Alder, B. (2015). Psychology of Health 2nd Ed. Psychology Press.
American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication Manual of the American
Bond, M. H. (2015). Working at the interface of cultures: Eighteen lives in social science.
Routledge.
Bronk, K. C. (2015). Purpose in life: A critical component of optimal youth development.
Springer Science & Business Media.
Burton, L. J. (2018). An interactive approach to writing essays and research reports in
Cody, J. A. (2016). The roles of stress appraisal and self-efficacy in fostering resilience to
improve psychosocial outcomes following negative life events among college students: a
multiple mediation analysis.
Davey, G., Sterling, C., & Field, A. (2014). Complete psychology. Routledge.
Krentzman, A. R. (2014). Review of the application of positive psychology to substance use,
addiction, and recovery research. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 27(1), 151.
Lilly, J. R., Cullen, F. T., & Ball, R. A. (2018). Criminological theory: Context and
consequences. Sage publications.
Peterson, C. (2016). Pursuing the good life: 100 reflections in positive psychology. Oxford
University Press.
Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
psychology (4th ed.). Milton, QLD: Wiley.
Siegel, R. D. (2014). Positive psychology: Harnessing the power of happiness, mindfulness, and
inner strength (Vol. 4). BookBaby.

PSYCHOLOGY 10
Webster, J. D., & Haight, B. K. (2017). The art and science of reminiscing: Theory, research,
methods, and applications. Taylor & Francis.