Is stress just a perception?
How is stress defined and what types of stress are there?. The prominent work of Hans Selye (1907 - 1982) introduced the term ‘stress’. Alongside Selye the work of Lazarus and Folkman (1994) gave birth to the transactional model of stress.
This leads to understanding the biological response to stress and stressors and it’s effects on the individual. Further to this what are the possible sources of stress?
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| Hans Selye telling it like it is. |
Finally the work of Friedman and Rosenman (1970) studied how personality type can affect the response to stress. Also other factors like lifestyle, gender, socioeconomic status and the environment can effect how individuals experience stress.
A useful way to conceptualise stress is to view it as a process whereby an individual perceives and responds to events that he appraises as overwhelming or threatening to his well-being (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).
There are different approaches to defining stress. Stress can also be categorised into three types which are acute, chronic, or episodic.
Acute stress can be a perception of threat or danger that triggers a ‘fight or flight response' (Canon, 1932) by the nervous system, for example narrowly avoiding being run over by a car. However it can also be milder situations like taking a test or arguing with a friend. Acute stress in more severe cases can lead to PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder)
Chronic stress is caused by a consistent daily frustration, unpleasantness and interference in living a ‘normal’ content daily life. For example suffering from a long-term illness, worrying about money or living in poor conditions.
Episodic acute stress is when an individual frequently experiences acute stress. A feeling of constantly being exposed to stressors can be absolutely exhausting. Stress can be caused my internal and external factors.
Hans Selye (2950) defined stress as ‘the non specific response of the body to any demand.’ In 1936 Selye observed what happened to an organism when it was exposed to an unpleasant stimulus and related that back to human behaviour by describing it as ‘stress’. He also observed physical effects patients suffered that were not directly caused by their disease or medical condition (biological).
The thing all types of stress have in common is that they are a ‘response to a demand’ in the words of Selye. This response is determined by how severe the individual perceives the threat or how they deal with ongoing perceptions of chronic stressors.
Hans Selye (1936) explained the physiological response to stress using the G.A.S General Adaptation Syndrome model. Firstly alarm/reaction takes place when a threat is perceived. Secondly a physical response is then activated (the resistance phase) ‘…mix of hormones and chemicals such as adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine to prepare the body for physical action. This causes a number of reactions, from blood being diverted to muscles to shutting down unnecessary bodily functions such as digestion. (Stress Management Society, 2019). The parasympathetic nervous system is then activated to conserve vital energy. The third stage is exhaustion and this can be evident in situations of chronic stress where the individual feels permanently tired and overwhelmed. This is due to the fact that the ‘warning system’ of the HPA axis is running like a low level engine rather than switching off (cortisol negative feedback loop) and allowing the individual to return to a calm homeostatic state. Over time this causes many health problems including heart attack, stroke, weight gain and a weak immune system. Epigenetic studies of the effects of stress show that stress can effect the body at a molecular level.
A new research finding in biology has shown that molecules are found in all our cells which interpret our experiences by switching genes on or off in particular cell types. These molecules, or ’epigenetic’ mechanisms, bind to DNA and control gene activity. This in turn changes the functions of our cells, tissues and organs, and so affect what we think, feel and do. We are beginning to understand that these epigenetic mechanisms are modified by factors that also affect our health, and recent evidence indicates that social stress is one such factor. (Dr. V. Cunliffe, Bristol University Epigenetics and Stress Network, 2019). Dr Cunliffe also goes on to explain the link between health and social inequalities in the UK and poor health. That the stress experienced by those in a lower class in the UK is actually changing epigenetic mechanisms.
Stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that "demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilise.” (Richard S. Lazarus, 1984)
Possible sources of stress can vary from person to person and professionals have tried to categorise stressful events as a way of measuring them.
Sources of stress can include anything from a large event like the death of a partner to smaller cumulative events that build up over time, like missing the bus for work and then discovering you've left your keys at home. These events can be interpreted in different ways by each individual.
Ways of measuring these events include the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale (1967); patients had to say whether they had experienced any of a series of 43 life events recently, the events were called LCU or Life Changing Units. Each unit has a different ‘weight’. The more weights/events added up the higher the score and the higher the score the more likely you are to suffer poor health. Other ways that have been sought to measure sources of stress include the hassles and uplifts scale (HSUP) (Delongis et al. 1982) to measure people's attitudes towards daily situations.
Self reporting questionnaires seem to be the method of choice for quantifying stress. If stress/stressors are perceived in an individual way how can we explain what actually makes people stressed?
Lazarus and Folkman (1984) who defined stress as conflict between perceived external or internal demands (stressors) and the perceived personal and social resources to deal with them. So the individual is asking themselves whether they feel equipped to deal with the source of stress. This is the transactional model and it requires the individual to appraise the situation. The first appraisal is the individual questioning whether the event is a personally relevant threat. This can be a positive or stressful event and this is where the second appraisal comes in. If the event is considered harmful/stressful an evaluation takes place as to whether the person has the resources and coping mechanisms to respond. If it exceeds their ability to respond it becomes too much to cope with.
These appraisals and responses (what we find stressful) are impacted by a range of factors like personality type, childhood/previous experiences and as Dr Cunliffe research shows even changes in epigenetic mechanisms. Certain factors can be explained by a biopsychosocial model of health:
The Biopsychosocial model of health looks at the physical factors of health, incorporating the psychological and social factors of health also (Brannon L. and Feist J. 1992). This is with the view to determining a holistic picture of the health of an individual. Biological(physical), social and psychological factors can all play a role in affecting an individual’s health, and particularly can all attribute or be a result of a person’s stress levels. (Essays, UK. November 2018)
Friedman and Rosenman (1974) conducted a study to determine a link between behaviour in cardiovascular patients and stress. They discovered that a type of patient with what they described as a ‘Type A’ personality was at much higher risk of developing coronary heart disease. Of the 257 men that died during the study 70% were classed as having the Type A personality. Type A’s were attributed as being competitive, time pressured and often angry or self critical. Their ‘fight or flight’ response was more likely to be set off by things in their environment. Type B personalities are much more relaxed, creative and open. Environmental factors were also considered and it still harboured the same result. The researchers found that more than twice as many Type A people as Type B people developed coronary heart disease. When the figures were adjusted for smoking, lifestyle, etc. it still emerged that Type A people were nearly twice as likely to develop heart disease as Type B people. (S. McLeod, 2017)
Personalty type would impact how the transactional model of stress works. If two individuals with different personality types were both exposed to the same stressor (for example losing their car key) their individual responses could be markedly different. Type A may respond by the second
appraisal being that it is beyond their ability to reason with or control the situation and they would become angry frustrated and stressed. Type B however may asses that it’s ok and the key will turn up saying to themselves ‘I lost the key before and it turned up pretty quickly’ thus handling the situation without feeling stress.
From this evidence I would conclude that stress is a perception and that this perception is highly individual. The perception is influenced by many factors including environmental, biological and social. Early events like childhood trauma can effect the way a person experiences stress as well as previous positive and negative experiences. This can be part of behavioural conditioning and behavioural therapy can help people deal with the way they respond to stressful situations/events.
The transactional model would suggest that if stress is a perception we can train ourselves to deal with our response and perspective. Therefore evidence suggests that stress is a perception but a perception that can be changed.
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