Stress is a diverse combination of Reaction on Social Levels

Life would be simple indeed of one’s biological and psychological needs were automatically gratified. But as we know there are many obstacles both environmental and personal, that may interfere. Such obstacles place objective demands or stress on the individual.

Stress is a diverse combination of reactions on social levels including psychological, behavioral, emotional and cognitive changes. Stress may be classified as frustration, conflicts, and pressures.

Frustration: frustration occurs when once strivings are thwarted, either by obstacles that block progress toward a desired goal or by absence of an appropriate goal. A wide range of obstacles both environmental and internal can lead to frustration inflation group prejudice and discrimination and the death of loved ones are common frustration stemming from the environment, physical handicaps, lack of needed competencies and inadequate self-control are sources of frustration that can result from our own personal limitation. Often frustration arises out of psychological barriers in the form of ethical and moral restrains and faulty value and assumptions. The frustration we face depends heavily on such factors as age and other personal characteristics, our specific life situation and the society in which we live.

Conflict: In many instances, stress results from the necessity of crossing between two needs or goals usually the choice of one alternative means frustration with regard to the other. For example, an early marriage means for going or shortening one’s college education, choosing one job may mean turning down another that seems equally desirable. Although we are dealing with frustration and conflict as if they were distinct source of stress, this differentiation is largely for convenience the key element in conflict is often the frustration that arises when we must choose an alternative and give up another in addition, however the necessity of making a choice commonly involves cognitive strength. It is often difficult to make up one’s mind specially when such alternative offer values that the other does not and the choice is an important one.

Conflict with which everyone has to cope may be conveniently classified as approach-avoidance, double- approach and double avoidance types.

Approach avoidance conflict: involve strong tendencies both to approach and to avoid the same goal. A woman may want to marry for sexual, social and security reasons while at the same time sharing the responsibilities of married life and the lost personal freedom. Approach avoidance conflict are sometimes referred to as mixed blessing dilemmas because some negative and some positive features must be accepted regardless of which course of action is chosen.

Double approach conflicts: involve competition between two or more desirable goals. On a simple level the individual may have to decide between leather and vinyl upholstery or between two dinner entries and or between two initiations for a particular weekend. In more complex causes, however as when an individual is formed between two good career opportunities or between present satisfaction and future once, decision making may be very difficult and stressful.

Double avoidance conflicts: are those that completely them us in we are caught between the devil and the Deep Blue Sea: we may have to choose between finishing a job intensely dislike or quitting and being called a failure.

It can be seen that this classification of conflicts is somewhat arbitrary and that various combination among the different types are perhaps the rules rather than the exception. Thus a ‘plus-plus’ conflict between alternative careers may also have its ‘plus-minus’ aspects growing out of the responsibility that other imposes but regardless of how we categorize conflicts they represent a major source of stress and can be overwhelming in their intensity. Stress may stem not only from frustration and conflicts but also from pressure to achieve particular goals or to behave in particular ways. Such pressures may originate from external or internal sources. A college student may feel under severe pressure to make good grades because her parents demand it or She may submit herself to such pressure because he wants to gain admission to college.

In general, pressure force a person to speed up intensify or change the direction of goal oriented behavior. All of us encounter different pressure in the direction of goal oriented behavior. All of us encounter different pressure in the course of everyday living and often it is possible to handle them without undue difficulty. In some instances, however our pressures seriously tax our objective resources, and if they become excessive they may lead to a breakdown of organized behavior.

It is apparent that a given stress situation may involve elements of all the three types of stress- frustration, conflict and pressure. For example, a serious financial loss not only main lead to lower living standards but also confronts the person with the evidence of poor judgement. If such evidence is contrary to the person’s view of himself or herself as a shrewd business men or women, the resulting cognitive dissonance may add to the complexity of the stress situation.