Case Study Paper Erica Mariscal Vigil PSYCH/627 Kale Kirkland 02/16/15 Case Study Paper Stress, within the world we live in today, has become as common as a breath one may take. However, stress may not only affect you mentally but physically and emotionally as well. “Stress is the process by which we perceive and respond to events, called stressors, that are perceived as harmful, threatening, or challenging” (Straub, 2012, P.87). According to Straub (2012), Chronic or persistent stress can cause a person to become vulnerable against illness and disorders. “Researchers have established links between stress and many physical and psychological disorders, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, headaches, asthma, digestive
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a severe form of anxiety disorder triggered by a traumatic experience. It is often difficult for someone with this disorder to adjust and cope with life outside of the traumatic event that they have lived through. These events often cause the one experiencing them to feel a sense of fear or helplessness in a dire situation. Also, in some serious cases, these symptoms of fear or helplessness may last for months, or even years. Of course, everyone reacts to stress and trauma differently.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a type of anxiety disorder that's triggered by a traumatic event. You can develop post-traumatic stress disorder when you experience or witness an event that causes intense fear, helplessness or horror. Many people who are involved in traumatic events have a brief period of difficulty adjusting and coping. But with time and healthy coping methods, such traumatic reactions usually get better. In some cases, though, the symptoms can get worse or last for months or even years.
Outline and evaluate research into Stress and the Immune System Stress is the feeling of being under too much mental or emotional pressure, and is experienced when a person's perceived environmental, social, and physical demands exceed their perceived ability to cope. Stress itself is not an illness but can cause an illness if not tackled. By being stressed, it leads to an increase in cortisol (a hormone produced by the adrenal gland), and this increase in cortisol leads to a decrease in immune system functioning, which therefore leads to several illnesses. The main function of the immune system is to protect the body from infectious agents such as viruses and other toxins. In support of this theory, a natural experiment was carried out by Kiecolt Glasser et al in 1984.
Stress is defined as “the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we praise as threatening or challenging” (Myers, 2012, page 275). Stress is about an individual or is personal and is affected by the choices the person makes as an individual. The stress that is bad for you deprives you the ability to experience joy, happiness, enjoy life and who you are. That is why it is very important to recognize symptoms of stress and identify ways to bring the stress under control. The good stress is the kind that will help keep you motivated to be productive and be able to achieve the goals we set for ourselves.
The consequences of which are phenomenal. Research on OEF/OIF Veterans suggests that more then twenty percent of Operation Iraqi Freedom troops are likely to have PTSD after they return. In addition to PTSD, OIF service members are at risk for many other mental health problems. These studies vary widely in terms of methods used; estimates of
Somatoform disorders represent a group of disorders characterized by physical symptoms suggesting a medical disorder. However, somatoform disorders represent a psychological condition because the physical symptoms in the disorder cannot be fully explained by a medical disorder, substance use, or another mental disorder. These somatoform disorder physical complaints challenge doctors who must distinguish between a physical and psychological reason for the patient's complaints. Often, the medical symptoms patients experience may be from both medical and a psychological illnesses. Anxiety disorders and mood disorders commonly produce physical symptoms.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD as it is better known, is an anxiety disorder caused by an event with a possibility of extreme injury or death. PTSD can occur immediately after the traumatizing event or it can occur more than 6 months after the trauma. PTSD usually gets better around 3 months after it begins and lasts for at least one month, although some people have developed a long-lasting type of PTSD which can last for years. PTSD has been shown to be caused by natural disasters, or virtually any trauma in the world. The terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 caused PTSD in many people.
‘Discuss the extent to which research suggests that stress may affect the immune system’ 12 marks Stress is defined in three ways – one is a response to or reaction to something in the environment. The second is as a stimulus or a stressor, for example a feature of the environment that produces a stress response. Finally, is a lack of fit between the perceived demands of the environment and the perceived ability to cope with those demands, this is shown by the transactional model. When stress occurs in the body, the long term effects are shown through the para-sympathetic branch which activates the pituitary gland and releases ACTH into the blood stream. ATCH causes the adrenal cortex to enlarge and release cortisol - this can then weaken the immune system.
What is stressful for one person may be pleasurable or have little effect on them and we all react to stress differently. Human beings were built to handle stress; we adapted the autonomic part of the nervous system to handle acute stressor, such as a physical alteration, job interview or even a tough anatomy test. The body would respond by releasing stress hormones, corticosteroids, these hormones would then give an immediate energy surge to the body. The hormones were meant for only short periods; when the body is under chronic stress these hormones start to cause damage to the body. Forty-three percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress.