Analyze the various causes of stress in today’s urban society
Modern definitions of stress all recognise
that it is a personal experience caused by pressure or demands on an
individual, and impacts upon the individual’s ability to cope or rather,
his/her perception of that ability. (Blaugh, Kenyon & Lekhi, 2012) Surveys
indicate that 60 percent of Americans feel they are under a great deal of
stress at least once a week. The costs due to stress from absenteeism, medical
expenses, and lost productivity are estimated at $300 billion annually. (Brain
Facts, n.d.) Additionally, the American Psychological Association also states
tha More than half (56 percent) of adults say they are doing an
excellent or very good job of knowing when they are feeling stressed, but only
about half as many (26 percent) report doing an excellent or very good job at
preventing themselves from becoming stressed. While it is
important to deal with stress, it is also important to know the sources and
causes of stress so that we can eliminate and deal with them easily. Stress is
everywhere and can commonly be brought about by pressures from work and from
school.
According to statistics from the American
Psychological Association (aPa), a startling two-thirds of Americans say that
work is a main source of stress in their lives – up nearly 15 percent from the
those who ranked work stress at the top just a year before. Work related stress
is caused when people are presented with work demands and pressures that are
not matched to their knowledge and abilities which challenge their ability to
cope. (Leka, Griffiths & Cox, n.d) The faltering economy, shrinking incomes
and rampant layoffs are undeniable factors that results in stress. On-the-job stressors range from unclear job
expectations and time pressures to noisy work stations. A significant factor is
lack of accommodation for work/life balance, which can add to the stress load,
especially for women who tend to be the primary caretakers of children and
elderly loved ones.
At school, stress is mainly caused by the expectations that students are expected to meet. These expectations can come from teachers, parents and sometimes even friends. Exams. Assignments. Project deadlines. These are things that students are always tasked with in their school life. Additionally, it also cannot be denied that students are expected to meet a certain expectation when completing such tasks. When sitting for examinations, students are expected to meet a targeted grade by both parents and teachers. When doing a particular assignment, students are expected to follow a certain standard, and while doing projects, peers can also expect the student to participate and contribute their part.
In conclusion, stress can be caused by pressures from both the work and educational surrounding. Stress
is a necessary and unavoidable concomitant of daily living - necessary because
without some stress we would be listless and apathetic creatures, and unavoidable
because it relates to any external event, be it pleasurable or anxiety producing.
A person's response towards stress depends on whether an event is appraised as
a challenge or a threat (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).
References
Juliano, C., & Sofield, L. Two Major Causes of
Stress: Loss and Unrealistic
American Psychological Association (n.d.). The Impact
of Stress.
Retrieved December 18, 2012, from
Blaug, R., Kenyon,
A., & Lekhi, R. (n.d.). Stress at Work. A report prepared for
The
Work Foundation's Principal Partners. Retrieved from
Health Advocate
Stress in the Workplace. Retrieved from
Nandamuri, P., &
Ch, G. Sources of Academic Stress - A Study on Management
Students. Retrieved
from http://jms.nonolympictimes.org/Articles/4.pdf
Psychologically
Healthy Workplace Program Fact Sheet by the Numbers.
Retrieved from
The essay starts off with an impressive introduction with adequate introduction techniques and a clear thesis statement.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the following topic sentence is unnecessarily specific, with an unnecessarily specific reference to one particular source, which technically binds that paragraph to that particular source. The second paragraph as no evidence of research at all.