The Impact of Stressful Time-Management on Health

Stress is a common factor in everyday lives but it is usually seen as a negative thing. In reality there are two types of stress, positive and negative stress. There are three more divisions of stress, acute stress, episodic acute stress and chronic stress. Negative stress has a lot of symptoms that you can use to identify it before it becomes too much. Positive stress is used to motivate and usually helps in defence and survival of an organism. Meanwhile, negative stress has no beneficial traits to it except because anxiety and worry amongst people. The brain is what is used to help identify the stress and choose which process your body should undergo to appropriately treat it. Our bodies have been known to require help when the stress gets too much due to the fact it overpowers the brain. This topic, I believe, is of utmost importance due to the increase in mental disorders, suicidal rates and general unhappiness amongst the growing generations. The aim of this research is to find simple yet effective solutions that can help reduce the increasing rates and increase productivity and well being amongst our people. It is quite an important topic because the problem doesn't stray too far from home. Without further ado, I hope you are able to pick up a few new facts and important pointers about stress and enjoy yourself while doing so.

Waking up at five am, the first thing on your mind is work. You have 2 major tests tomorrow, a project due at the end of the week and a lot of homework to finish. Yet, as soon as you looked at the pile of work due, your body felt weaker Your head hurts, your body is hot and your throat feels like it has been set on fire. Despite how much you are forcing yourself to do the work, you’ve just caught a cold, at the exact moment that you need to be most productive. Your worst nightmare has come true. But why is it only at these moments we fall sick? Why not when we don't want to go to school? Why must it be when we actually want to do work?

You may be asking ‘What is the relevance with all this?’, ‘Where did you get your inspiration?’ and ‘Why is stress the topic you chose?’. A few weeks ago, I had my week completely full and I felt sick a few days before I wrote one of my tests. So when Mr. Cosmas gave us the opportunity to choose our topics, I decided to choose something closer to home and after a brief interview with a number of my classmates, I had reason to believe that majority of us feel the same way too. Now the mystery of the moment is why does stress have such a big impact on our health and why does it make us so sick?

To get the answers, we need to ask questions that help us breakdown the problem. The first question is what is stress. Stress is your body's reaction to a challenge or demand or threat. It usually causes discomfort and distress for someone and can lead to other problems. The common symptoms of stress include acne, headaches, pain, frequent sickness, decreased energy, insomnia, digestive issues and appetite changes. Stress can affect you emotionally as well as physically. People who are stressed are usually depressed, agitated, moody and they usually have an overwhelming feeling. Stress symptoms are known to affect your body, your thoughts, and feelings as well as your behaviour and if left unchecked, they can lead to a number of health problems including high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. In fact, if you don't take caution stress can kill you especially chronic stress. ('Stress Symptoms: Physical Effects of Stress on the Body')

There are two main types of stress, eustress which is positive stress and distress which is negative stress. Positive stress motivates and helps focus your energy. It is short-term, feels exciting and improves employee performance. In other words, it is another form of motivation. Negative stress causes anxiety and/or concern, feels unpleasant, can be either short- or long-term, reduces performance and can lead to mental and physical problems. A stressor is a stimulus that causes stress to an organism. Some examples of eustress stressors are receiving a promotion, having a child or even taking a vacation. Some examples of distress are divorce, death of a loved one or unemployment. Now we have gotten the main types of stress, we can talk about further denominations. ('Types Of Stressors (Eustress Vs. Distress)')

Under these two types, there is acute stress, episodic acute stress and chronic stress. Acute stress is the most common type and is your body’s immediate reaction to a stimulus and is key in triggering your fight-or-flight response. The fight-or-flight response is a response made by your body if it detects a harmful threat and it either fights the threat or runs from it in order to aid ensure survival. In fact, acute stress is considered good for your body because it helps your body prepare for future stressful situations that are similar. Episodic acute stress is more frequent than acute stress. They occur more with people who tend to have ‘crisis’, are pessimistic or worry too much. They are irritable, anxious and known to have short tempers. The stress soon becomes such a huge part of their lives that they find it hard to change their lifestyles and may encounter a number of negative health effects. Chronic stress is the most dangerous form of stress. It is a result of unresolved and prolonged acute stress. It is constant and doesn't disappear. It can develop from poverty, family problems and other things. It is known to a number of serious diseases and health risks such as cirrhosis of the liver, cancer and lung disease.

Now that we are aware of the types, it is important to know the sources. Some very common sources of stress include unemployment, school work, poverty, family issues and workplace issues. Distress is the reason for an increase in crime, depression and suicidal rates. Eustress, on the other hand, is responsible for an increase in productivity, positivity, and can be considered the motivation you have when faced with a challenge. So the two main types may have similar sources but produce quite adverse reactions which may be affected by different factors such as time, temperature and weather. So if you notice someone, who is usually cheery, is having a bad day remember to take into consideration the temperature and other factors and try to make the person happy. ('Common Causes of Stress & Their Effect on Your Health')

Now that we have talked about stress, it is important to talk about health as well. Most people think that health is when you aren't sick and you don't have any disease but they are wrong. ‘Health, as defined by the World Health Organization, is 'a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or illness.'’ There are six types of health: social, emotional, physical, environmental, spiritual, and mental. Physical health is the overall well being of the organs and other parts of the body and is considered the most visible of the six different types. Emotional health deals with how well you can manage your emotions, thoughts, feeling and behaviour. Social health is all about how well you can manage your behaviour in social situations, your interactions with others and how well you are able to build and keep relationships with others. Spiritual health has to do mainly with your soul, how connected you are to others and your belief in a higher power. Environmental health contains all the areas that involve the natural and manufactured environment and how they affect our environment. Mental health is psychological wellness in regards to thinking, behaviour and feelings. These 6 are important to us in our everyday lives, whether you notice or not.

With all these types of health, we have to realise they have one thing in common, the brain. This is where the stress-response system comes in. This is a system of organs that are led by the brain to resist stress. When a stress stimulus is sent to the brain, it activates the stress-response system by sending a message to the hypothalamus which in turn wakes up the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is a small gland - about the size of a pea - which releases hormones. The hormones move towards the adrenal glands, located on top of the kidney, causing them to release the stress hormone called cortisol into the body. Cortisol is sent to other organs to organize them to be ready to give the best and quickest response they can. In order to achieve this, it transfers energy to important muscles, increases heart rate and breathing and makes thinking clearer.

Another structure in the brain is the amygdala which is located in the middle of the brain and is the size of the small kidney bean. It is what receives the stress and motivates the HPA axis to respond. It detects emotional and biological stressors. An emotional stressor is a stimulus that causes you to feel scared, frustrated or sad. A biological stressor is an internal stress caused by injury or illness. Once the amygdala receives the stressors, it activates the HPA axis. But what happens when it stays for a long time? Well, it's simple. After a period of time, the body won't be able to cope with the amount of stress coming in. this is due to the fact the body is always pumping energy to the organs needed, so not only will your body not be able to keep up with the demand but a number of other organs will be neglected as well which deteriorates your health. ('Have No Fear, the Brain is Here! How Your Brain Responds to Stress')

But how do we prevent it from getting to the point in which it affects us? The first step is to evaluate the situation, it is then that you can decide the best way to handle the situation. If you think it is something that you can handle for a little longer, you can take a small break and continue. If you are pressed for time, it is important you step back and look at what you are trying to do, take a deep breath and dive back in. If it is school work, you should be able to plan your time and write down what you wish to achieve at specific time periods in order to keep track of your progress. If it is something too much for you to handle, don't be afraid to walk away. There are certain things you should realize that is too much for you and you should be able to easily walk away from them without guilt. Remember health is wealth. If it gets to the point that you are feeling depressed or you feel uncomfortable, it is important that you talk to someone or a trained professional.

For the management of stress, the rules of prevention can apply but there are also more things you can do. Exercising and sports are great ways of managing stress, it takes your mind off the problem while giving you time to think about the solution clearly as well as getting a great workout too. If you are the type that doesn't like to participate in sports or exercise, you can meditate. Meditation is very beneficial in clearing your mind and stop yourself from making rushed decisions. The best thing about it is that it can be done anywhere you choose. Talking to someone helps a lot, not only does it lift a weight off of you, you are able to learn new ways of management and bring a new perspective to reevaluate. Listening to music that is uplifting and upbeat is known to improve moods and bring a fresh breath of air into your day. Art, whether writing, drawing, painting and other formats, is a fantastic process in which you can express your emotions, thoughts and ideas. Getting more sleep is a simple yet effective way of reducing stress in your life. But most importantly, you should pray. “Research shows that people who are more religious or spiritual use their spirituality to cope with life,” notes Dr. Lee. “They're better able to cope with stress, they heal faster from illness, and they experience increased benefits to their health and well-being.”

Why is stress management important? As of 2015, Nigeria was voted the most stressful country in the world and in 2017, Lagos was considered the 3rd most stressful city. The suicide and depression rates have noticed a clear increase over the past few years. Drugs abuse has become more and more common amongst youths. In seeing all these trends, we can clearly see that we are headed for a dead end and stress is a big participant. In order to secure a better future for ourselves and the future generations, we need to decrease, or if possible eliminate, stress in this country. (Oladeinde Olawoyin, 2017) (Oladeinde Olawoyin, 2017)