Stress Inside and Outside the Workplace: Part I of III: Excerpted from the forthcoming book Stress in the American Workplace.

• Author: DeCarlo, Don
• Position: Work Stress

In the opening chapter, Dr. Hans Selye first defined stress as the "non-specific" response of the body to any demand made upon it. With the passage of time, Dr. Selye came to define stress as "the rate of wear and tear on the body. Still later in his career, Dr. Selye was again asked to define stress and responded, "Everyone knows what stress is, but nobody really knows." These words sound vaguely familiar to the comment of "I know it when I see it" first used by United State Chief Justice Potter Stewart in 1964 to describe his threshold test or obscenity in Jacobellis v. Ohio.

Simply stated, stress is what we feel when we have to respond to a demand on our energy. Stress is a natural part of life, and occurs whenever there are significant changes in our lives, whether positive or negative. It is generally believed that some stress is okay (sometimes referred to as challenge or positive stress) but when stress occurs in amounts that individuals cannot cope with, both mental and physical changes may occur. Feeling stressed can feel perfectly normal, especially during exam time. One might notice that sometimes being stressed-out motivates the individual to focus on their work, yet at other times, one feels incredibly overwhelmed and finds it virtually impossible to concentrate on anything. While stress affects everyone in different ways, there are two major types of stress: stress that's beneficial and motivating--good stress and stress that causes anxiety and even health problems--bad stress.

Everyone has different stress triggers. Work stress tops the list, according to surveys. Forty percent of U.S. workers admit to experiencing office stress, and one-quarter say work is the biggest source of stress in their lives.

Causes of work stress include:

* Being unhappy in ones job

* Having a heavy workload or too much responsibility

* Working long hours

* Having poor management, unclear work expectations, or no say in the decision-making process

* Working under dangerous conditions

* Being insecure about one's chances for advancement or risk of termination

* Having to give speeches in front of colleagues

* Facing discrimination or harassment at work

Stress is also a fact of nature whereby forces from the inside or outside the workplace that affect the individuals emotional or physical well-being, or both. One responds to stress in ways that impact the individual as well as their environment. Routine stressors are related to the pressures of school, work, family, and other stressors we confront on a daily basis. There are also more serious stressors brought about by a sudden negative change, such as losing a job, divorce, or major illness. A third type of stress, traumatic stress, is one experienced during periods of armed conflict (war), a major accident, assault, or natural disaster where people may be in danger of being seriously injured or killed. People who experience traumatic stress may have very distressing temporary emotional and physical symptoms, but in many instances, manage to recover naturally soon after.

Everyone experiences stress from time to time. There are different types of stress--all of which carry physical and mental health risks. A stressor may be a one-time or short-term occurrence, or it can happen repeatedly over a long period of time. Some people may cope with stress more effectively and recover from stressful events more quickly than others.

A second thing to consider about stress is that we are all different and all perceive and respond to stressors differently in the events that are perceived as stressors and the coping abilities at our disposal. However, there are a number of situations which are generally identified as being stressful that include the passing of a loved one, financial worries, work overload, unemployment, a change in relationships, parenting, balancing work and family, caregiving, health problems, Christmas, competitiveness, peer pressure, exams, and not having enough time to do what one wants to do. When viewed from this perspective, stress is an ever present issue confronted by the majority of Americans today.

In a dangerous situation, stress sends signals to the body to prepare to face a threat or flee to safety. In these situations, ones pulse quickens, breath comes faster, muscles tense, and one's brain uses more oxygen and increases activity--all functions aimed at survival and in response to stress. In non-life-threatening situations, stress can motivate people, such as when they need to take a test or interview for a new job.

Coping with the impact of chronic long-term stress can be challenging. Because the source of long-term stress is more constant than acute stress, the body never receives a clear signal to disengage and return to normal functioning. With chronic stress, those same lifesaving responses in the body can disturb the immune, digestive, cardiovascular, sleep, and reproductive systems. Some people may experience mainly digestive symptoms, while others may have headaches, sleeplessness, sadness, anger, or irritability. Over time, continued strain on the body from stress may contribute to serious health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other illnesses, including mental disorders such as depression or anxiety.

According to experts, stress is a burst of energy that basically advises one on what to do. In small doses, stress has many advantages. For instance, stress can help meet daily challenges and motivates an individual to seek and attain higher goals. In fact, stress can help accomplish tasks more efficiently and may even boost memory. Stress is also a vital warning system, producing the fight-or-flight response. When the brain perceives some kind of stress, it starts flooding the body with chemicals like epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol. This creates a variety of reactions such as an increase in blood pressure and heart rate. Plus, the senses suddenly have a laser-like focus so one can avoid physically stressful situations such as jumping away from an on-coming car.

In addition, there are various health benefits with a little bit of stress. Researchers believe that some stress can help to fortify the immune system. For instance, stress can improve how the heart works and protect the body from infection. In one study, individuals who experienced moderate levels of stress before surgery were able to recover faster than individuals who had either lower or higher levels of stress.

Stress is a key for survival, but too much stress can be detrimental. Emotional stress that stays around for weeks or months can weaken the immune system and cause high blood pressure, fatigue, depression, anxiety and even heart disease. In particular, too much epinephrine can be harmful to one's heart where it can change the arteries and how their cells are able to regenerate.

SIGNALS OF TOO MUCH STRESS

It may be difficult to distinguish when one is experiencing good or bad stress, but there are important ways that the body telegraphs that it is struggling with too much stress. The following is a short-list of warning signs to be aware of when considering whether a person is facing too much stress:

* Inability to concentrate or complete tasks * Body aches * Illnesses like autoimmune diseases flare up * Headaches * Irritability * Trouble falling sleeping or staying awake * Changes in appetite * More angry or anxious than usual

It is important to keep in mind that stress can occur both inside and outside of the workplace. And there is also the distinct potential for overlap where a stressful situation away from work has repercussions on the job. Likewise, stressors stemming from work may impact family interactions and other nonwork related situations.

The following material distinguishes between the two types of exposure and attempts to identify and briefly describe the more prominent types of stressors occurring within each.

FAMILY EVENTS AS STRESSORS

Stress can disrupt family functioning and may negatively influence the general well-being for all those involved. There are many possible sources of stress and a person may find themselves experiencing multiple stressors at the same time. Though some stress is inevitable in the family unit, too much can contribute to increased levels of dysfunction. Knowledge of some of the contributing factors underlying the stress may assist in preparing a person to adapt to stressful situations and to avoid some of the negative consequences.

Family stress is defined as disturbance in the steady state of the family system. The disturbance can emerge from the outside context (e.g., war, unemployment), from inside the family (e.g., death; divorce), or both simultaneously. In any case, the family system's equilibrium is threatened or disturbed. Family stress is therefore also defined as change in the family's equilibrium. Such change can be expected (as with the birth of a baby) or unexpected (as with winning a lottery).

For a person to experience stress, he/she must first encounter a potential stressor. In general, stressors can be placed into one of two broad categories: chronic and acute. Chronic stressors include events that persist over an extended period of time, such as caring for a parent with dementia, undergoing a long period of unemployment, or imprisonment. Acute stressors involve brief very focused events that sometimes continue to be experienced as overwhelming long after the event has ended; for example, falling on an icy sidewalk and breaking ones leg.

Whether chronic or acute, potential stressors come in many shapes and sizes. They can include major traumatic events, significant life changes, daily hassles, as well as other situations in which a person is regularly exposed to threat, challenge, or danger.

Below are just a few of the major types of stress situations associated with family situations.

Death of a Loved One--This form of stress can be associated with the...