Analyzing The Article " The Effect of Stress on Health and its Implications for Nursing"
October 8, 2014 By: Becky Velez
One of the definitions of stress offered in literature is: "Stress is the psychological and physical state that results when perceived demands exceed an individual's ability to cope with them." The profession of nursing has thrived over the past century into a respected and necessary member of the health care arena. However, the future of the profession, and more imminently, patient care and the health of nurses, may be significantly impacted by repeated challenges in the contemporary era where current levels of stress and burnout are contributing to organizational problems, burnout, and attrition. According to the article " The effect of stress on health and its implications for nursing," stress is seen as a negative feeling affecting people's health either physically and/or psychologically. However, stress is a normal part of life and considered necessary to increase functional capacity.
This article identifies and discusses the effect of stress on health and its relationship to nursing.
First, according to the authors of the article, "the effects of stress on health and its implications for nursing," stress affects people in different ways and is recognized as a cause of physical and psychological ill health. For example, Psychological reactions to stress produce emotional responses ranging from exhilaration, when an event is stressful but manageable, to anxiety, anger, discouragement and depression when an event appears to be unmanageable. In addition, Physiological responses refer to the internal responses within the body that regulate physiological processes in an optimal way to adapt to the demands of the work environment. Therefore, physiological response to stress causes the body's metabolism to increase in preparation for expending energy on physical action, thereby curtailing unessential activities such as digestion,