Running head: TYPES OF STRESS

Types of Stress in Teens Karina Padilla Mr. Bradshaw Period 0 Anatomy & Physiology 9 January 2011

Running head: TYPES OF STRESS

Types of Stress in Teenagers

Have you ever stopped and wondered how life would be without stress? Well, if youre anything like me you have stopped and wondered how less complicated life would be without stress. Stress could come from any occurrence in life, such as; your first baby, your first car, or a paper you have to write for you English class, or any sort of problems you may have at home or at work. Not all stress is bad for you. Some stress is caused by the wonderful situations in life and other stress, such as the bad stress is caused by the most tragic things in life. Teenagers believe it or not suffer from stress. As a teenager myself, I have suffered from stress in many occasions, but luckily I have been able to cope with it. Stress begins in an early age. There are four types of stress that take place in our lives. Those stresses are identified as Eustress, Distress, Hyperstress, and Hypostress. In the following paragraphs I will explain how each type of stress functions and affects our life. Eustress is what we call good stress, as I mentioned before not all stress is necessarily bad. Eustress is the kind of stress we feel before a presentation, before a competition, or before taking a test. This type of stress can get your blood flowing and helps you through a situation when you need an extra push. When we feel thrilled, excited, happy, nervous, or the feeling of accomplishment Eustress is helping our blood flowing. These types of emotions are only taking place for short period of time, because Eustress is a short-term stress that provides immediate strength that gives a person that ability to generate the best performance or maximum output. According to the National Center for Health and Wellness, Eustress is a Positive stress that is able to avert a health effect on you. A teenager often experiences Eustress in many situations, for

Running head: TYPES OF STRESS

example asking a special someone on a date, performing/auditioning for a school play, or driving for the first time. Those are scenarios of what a teenager many have experience Eustress. High school and college students experience distress in most cases. Distress is classifies as negative or bad stress. Distress creates feelings of discomfort and unfamiliarity. There are two types of distress they are acute stress and chronic stress. Acute stress is a short term stress that occurs from demands and pressures of the near future. Car accidents, if you are attacked, or if you feel extreme fear. These are examples if acute distress. Fortunately, acute distress is not dangerous because it does not last a long time and the body will wash away the extra hormones when the danger or threat has passed. Common emotional symptoms are combination of anger or irritability, anxiety, and depression. Acute distress can raise muscular problems such as; tension headaches, back pain, jaw pain, pulled muscles and tendon, and ligament problems. Chronic distress is a prolonged stress that can be caused by problems in life. Its the stress of dysfunctional families, of being trapped in an unhappy lifestyle, or in a dispraised job or career. Chronic distress can lead to violence, heart attacks, strokes and suicide. Chronic distress is very common in college student because they have so much to handle that the salutation to their problems is suicide. Acute distress is highly treatable and manageable. Chronic distress may be difficult to treat and may need medical attention as well as behavior treatment and stress management. When a person is pushed beyond what he or she can handle, they tend to experience Hyperstress. This is familiar in most teenagers. Suffers who are experiencing Hyperstress will find to get annoyed to the point where they breakdown and cry or experience anger outburst. They can also overreact to what otherwise are insignificant triggering events. Hyperstress can affect blood pressure, digestive system, the heart, immune system, and sleep. It can also lead to

Running head: TYPES OF STRESS lead to anxiety, depression, nervous breakdown, or physical illness. Suffers of Hyperstress find

they spend most of their time working and trying to juggle many different tasks all at once. They may also have to take on some new responsibilities of which they may have not been us to. This occurs when there are unexpected absences in the workplace or school due to sickness or any sort of other situations that may result in doing period of absence. People that suffer from Hyperstress tend not to know they are suffering from it and that is due to that their lives are so hectic they quite simply do not have time to stop and think of their health. Hypostress is the total opposite of Hyperstress. Hypostress is suffered when an individual is bored or unchallenged. People who suffer from Hypostress are often restless, have a lack of inspiration, and motivation. They are unfulfilled with their current employment because they have nothing to do, but do what they do day after day. Individuals that suffer from Hypostress seem to struggle with making their life more exciting and desirable. They also tend to struggle with a multitude of things, like reading, watching television, and maintaining a meaningful relationship. Hypostress can be treated by exercising, joining club or association, or counseling. There are several advantages and disadvantages we get from stress. Stress isnt just one type of stress and it isnt all bad for us. That exciting feeling we feel or the feeling of broadness is stress, but they are different types of stress. As you read above there are four types of stress that take place in our lives. Some stress may bring an end to our lives and others give us that extra push we all need. Without Distress, Hyperstress, and Hypostress life would be worry free and much more relaxing.

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