Psychology and behaiviors in society - Essay Example

A stimulus that causes stress is known as a stressor.” (Huffman, Vernoy & Williams, 1987). For example, a person at work is given a deadline to complete his tasks for a company presentation. As the deadline comes near, he has nothing to show for and the person is anxious at his boss’ anger and disappointment in him. His boss is known to display strong emotional outbursts. This causes some biological reactions like sweating, dilation of the pupils, increase in heart rate, breaking out in sweat, etc.

He experiences stress and his stressors are the demands of his work and the fear of his boss. Stress is not always viewed as negative. Much stress is pleasant and beneficial, as its demands on the body helps increase the efficiency of the cardiovascular system. This positive stress is called eustress. Falling in love or the expectation of good news as well as physical exercise are examples of instances that cause eustress. These likewise cause the body to respond excitedly. Eustress is to be distinguished from negative stress called distress.

It is this latter kind of stress that is to be avoided, or minimized for good health. For this paper, we address the discussion of stress to this negative kind. A person living a life full of stress in a prolonged period may cause harm to his health. It can also dampen his motivation on what used to be something that impassioned him. This is called ‘burnout’. “The term “burnout” is a relatively new term, first coined in 1974 by Herbert Freudenberger, in his book, “Burnout: The High Cost of High Achievement”.

He originally defined ‘burnout’ as, “the extinction of motivation or incentive, especially where ones devotion to a cause or relationship fails to produce the desired results.” (Scott, 2007). A longtime teacher, known to be a dedicated and highly efficient educator may experience burnout after a series of demanding and tiresome work-related tasks spread out