Stress Factors as We Have Learned Throughout

Stress Factors

As we have learned throughout the course of our present studies, stress and anxiety disorders can render a debilitating effect for the subject. The incapacity to control stress, to limit the physiological or emotional panic produced by stressful situations or to go about one's daily life with functional normalcy are all factors which can magnify and intensify an already imposing condition. We proceed with the understanding that chronic stress and the failure to manage this effectively is known to contribute to a host of worsening conditions both physically and emotionally. Among them, our research denotes that poor stress management can lead to chronic illness, a host of psychosomatic symptoms, an array of real bodily responses relating to the body's chemical 'fight' or 'flight' mechanism, and most importantly to our discussion, an intensifying experience of one's psychological symptoms. This is true even to the extent that poor stress management can lead to psychopathology in those who are pointedly vulnerable thereto. This denotes that while stress is a normal presence in any indivdual's life, how one manages reactions to stress will have a significant bearing on one's long-term mental health outlook. There is a wide array of factors that come into play for the individual managing stress factors in his or her life.

As the text by Lehrer & Woolfolk (2007) indicates, those who suffer from limitations in their capacity to control stress reactions or anxiety are particularly vulnerable to the emergence of emotional disorders or even psychopathic symptoms. This, the text by Lehrer & Woolfolk argues, is a primary danger in failing to regulate stress-management. They contend that this also aligns with a host of negative physiological indicators to suggest a direct connection between the regulation of one's physical response to stressors and one's longterm psychological stability. Lehrer & Woolfolk indicate that "emotional dysregulation may lead to psychopathology and stress-related physical disorders as seemingly diverse as generalized anxiety disorder, essential hypertension, major depressive disorder, and coronary heart disease." (p. 30)

They go on to argue that one way of managing stress, particularly with those who demonstrate some of the eccentricities that can lead to abnormal psychoses, is through a more positive channeling of the nervous energy that manifests as anxiety. This is a measure of stress management which the text by Lehrer & Woolfolk argues may not simply help the patient achieve greater regulatory control over his or her physiological response to stressors but it may also produce inherently constructive ways of channeling this energy. This denotes that one's conscious ability to maintain such control is a determinant factor in how one reacts to the presence of stress.

Stress management can take myriad forms and can be a determinant force in the life of one who has undergone sustained or singular trauma. Lehrer & Woolfolk posit the argument that responsiveness to this type of intervention may often be the distinction between a functional, healthy life and one spent in the terrifying shadows of psychological disorder. This is a compelling argument for the use of meaningful and individually tailored stress management techniques.