Relationships as One of the Major Causes of Stress - Essay Example

Assignment 2 Stress is part and parcel of human life. At least each and every person has at one time experienced some form of stress. Stress has become a normal element of life that it would be quite unique to give no account of stressful moments in one’s entire life. There are many causes of stress in everyday life, for example, family chaos, peer relationships and work load among many others. This focuses on relationships as one of the major causes of stress for most people. Relationships form a crucial element of social life of every individual. Right from the time of birth up to maturity, people anticipate to have some sense of love and belonging. Relationships make people to feel in place. Relationships make people happy and appreciate their life worth living. However, it is the same relationships that cause stress for most people. Relationships are major and common causes of stress for many individuals, especially when the relationships turn sour. People frequently undergo relationship problems such as, but not limited to infidelity. Relationships between spouses, peers, friends, employees and any other form of social systems, are usually characterized by conflicts. Despite the fact that relationship problems are the most prevalent, many people are oblivious of the causes of the problems. It is this lack of comprehensive understanding of the causes and nature of conflicts in relationships that causes stress for many individuals. In most occasions, problems in relationships are associated with concealed conversations and conduct patterns buried deep within individuals. Most often, people fail to recognize their roles in relationships. Further, many people are always perplexed about what they are supposed to do in order to establish and sustain blissful, triumphant and long-lasting relationships. As they mull over how to make their relationships perfect, most people end up stressed. However, in many incidents, break ups in relationships and lack of understanding are usually what result into stress for many individuals. Relatively few people can manage their stress levels after break-ups. Instead of focusing on positive ways of dealing with their predicaments, many people are often engulfed in sulking and crying over spilt milk, which worsen their situation all together. What stresses one person may not be a problem to the other. According to mental health experts, personality contributes hugely to the manner in which people handle their relationships and stress. According to mental health professionals, individuals with “Type A” personalities are usually impatient, determined, time-conscious and driven. These personalities if not controlled properly may lead to stress-related ill health. On the other hand, people with “Type B” traits tend to be relaxed, not overly time-conscious, determined. As such, people with “Type B” traits often perceive things adaptively. Unlike individuals with “Type A” traits, they can think constructively and figure out how they can resolve their situations. Generally, individuals with “Type B” personalities tend to be less vulnerable to stress compared to people with “Type A” traits (Pejuskovic et al 389). It is often noticed that women and men usually respond to stress differently. One of the reasons that have been attributed to this is hormonal influence (Rai 52). Three hormones are believed to play a significant role in how women and men react to stress. These include cortisol, epinephrine, and oxytocin. In the event of stress, cortisol and epinephrine hormones are released, which increases blood pressure and also increase blood sugar level of an individual. Cortisol also reduces the efficiency of an individual’s immune system (Rai 52). In women, cortisol and epinephrine hormones are released into the bloodstream during a stressful event; oxytocin hormone is released from the brain to counter the release of cortisol and epinephrine hormones. Oxytocin also plays a role in nurturing and calming emotions. Hormonal interplay explains women’s emotions during pregnancy (Donatelle 163). Whereas men also release cortisol and epinephrine hormones when faced with stressful moments, they release oxytocin in relatively smaller amounts, which leaves them vulnerable to stress. In the case of Mary and DeWayne, it is clear that Mary feels that her fiance, DeWayne does not care about her anymore. Their relationship that has lasted for over two years is on the verge of breaking. When she spots her supposed fiance with another woman, she is nerve broken and confronts DeWayne the following. Unfortunately, DeWayne tells her that their relationship is over. This exposes the already vulnerable Mary to stress. Because she had fixed her mind on the relationship so much that she constantly thought about him, Mary is so humiliated and depressed that she resorts to weird behaviors to avert her stress. Being in a relationship for two years and having discussed possible marriage, Mary has also the reasons to expect much from the relationship. However, pegging her hopes entirely on her partner without preparing for any eventuality makes her expectations unrealistic. Human behavior is often unpredictable and she should have focused more on herself rather than give all her attention to DeWayne. DeWayne’s behavior is not in anyway acceptable. In spite of feeling withdrawn from his relationship with Mary, he keeps lying to her. When Mary bumps into him with another woman and confronts him the following day, he shamelessly tells her “it is over” instead of apologizing or offering an explanation to Mary. His approach to breaking his more than two year old affair with Mary is quite rude. On the other end, Mary’s reaction to the break up is normal. After putting all her hopes in the relationship, no one can blame her of her reactions. However, her approach is not the best either. She needed to explore positive approaches to dealing with the situation like seeking advice from her close friends. Letting all the negative thoughts to engulf her is quite an improper way of handling stress. In order to avoid the situation, Mary and DeWayne should have dedicated some time to chat about the problems in their relationship and see if there is any possibility of salvaging their relationship. Also, Mary should have resorted to the help of a psychiatrist or shared her problem with trusted friends. As the saying goes, “a problem shared is half solved.” When people get into relationships, they tend to get so engrossed in it that they lose reality with the real world. As such, if the relationships end, they become so heart broken that they cannot simply accept the change and move on. If I were Mary’s friend, I would have approached her to know what the problem was and advice her that break up are normal characteristics of relationships by going as far as giving her examples much worse than her case and what the victims did. I would propose to her to visit a mental professional to assist her to get over DeWayne. Works Cited Donatelle, Rebecca J. Health: the basics 6th Ed. San Francisco: Pearson/Benjamin Cummings, 2005. Print. Pejuskovic, Bojana, Dusica Lecic-Tosevski1, Stefan Priebe and Oliver Toskovic. “Burnout Syndrome among Physicians – The Role of Personality Dimensions and Coping Strategies.” Psychiatria Danubina, 23. 4 (2011): 389-395. Print. Rai, A.K. Stress management: sleep, meditation & yoga. New Delhi: Diamond Pocket Books, 2005. Print. Read More