Stress Disorders, the Stress Is So Great Term Paper

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Stress disorders, the stress is so great that it is debilitating and dominates the person and interferes with living one's life. Stress can be good or bad. A skiing champion described how stress helped him perform his best, but a Viet Nam War veteran describes how horrific things he had seen haunted him and intruded into his mind, while awake and while asleep.

Our bodies show clear responses to stress. We perspire, breath quicker, heartbeat rises, and muscles tense for action. WE may also turn pale, or get "goose bumps," or feel sick to the stomach. Stress can trigger anxiety problems. In stressful situations, the brain triggers a variety of body-function changes. The sympathetic nervous system rallies body functions for fight 0r flight; the parasympathetic nervous system restores us to normal functioning.

One of the most devastating of the stress disorders is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It makes sense to be distressed by horrific events when they happen; that is acute stress disorder. If the memories linger, causing a repeated stress response, it may be PTSD. The person with PTSD re-experiences the event in vivid memories or nightmares. They avoid situations that might trigger these memories. The constant stress leaves them less responsive to deveryday events around them (psychic numbing or emotional anesthesia). The stress leaves them feeling disconnected from friends and loved ones or separate to some extent from reality.

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They may be in a state of hyper-alertness, have trouble concentrating and sleeping, and may well feel guilty over their own survival.

Various things can cause PTSD including combat, natural disasters, rape, systematic abuse (ex: the Holocaust), witnessing violence, and terrorism.

Experts suspect that some people may be biologically predispositioned to develop a stress disorder. Certain personalities are more vulnerable than others. Those who are already slightly anxious, or who have other psychological problems before the traumatic event, are more likely to be permanently affected. People who feel they have little control over their life are more traumatized by awful events.

Childhood experiences, such as living in poverty, can make a person more vulnerable to stress disorders as well as those with weak social supports. The severity of the traumatic event and the proximity to it plays a role as well. Many people across the country were negatively affected by the 9/11 attacks, but overall, the people who lived closer to the site were the most affected by it.

Some experts believe that interventions applied right after the traumatic event has happened can help prevent the development of PTSD. The Red Cross developed the "Disaster Response Network" along with the American Psychological Association to provide quick help for people traumatized by natural disasters or other major destructive events. 2,000 volunteer psychologists provide immediate….....

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"Stress Disorders The Stress Is So Great" (2004, November 18) Retrieved May 9, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/stress-disorders-stress-great-60253

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"Stress Disorders The Stress Is So Great" 18 November 2004. Web.9 May. 2024. <
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"Stress Disorders The Stress Is So Great", 18 November 2004, Accessed.9 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/stress-disorders-stress-great-60253