Stress can be defined as excessive psychological or physical demand on somebody; no one passes through life without stressful periods, There are so many stressors (stimuli that cause that excessive physical or psychological demand) in the society, some of these life events can be prevented, you can prepare your mind for some and weather the storm while the others could be ameliorated by self-control in case of unexpected natural and financial disasters.Good things abnd bad things can cause stress and in a some cases, stress is necessary for optimal performance.
Common causes of stress (stressors) in our society include:
1. Deadlines
Deadlines in any organisation can be a source of stress but these may be necessary for optimal performance. Production of a newspaper or magazine is time bound, television news hour, the news is expected by every one at that time, that can cause stress in the news room from the reporters to the editors, producer and anchor person. Same applies in every aspect of an organization where there is a chain of actions. To meet set deadlines therefore puts excessive demands on the individuals concerned. This is both physical and psychological.
2. Workload
Heavy work load puts excessive physical demand on the person concerned and this could very stressful.
3. Relationships
Love relationship could be very stressful especially if one of the parties is doing the loving and the other is less bothered. It could also be stressful if the emotional demands get too much, for example, a party may demand too much attention by frequent phone calls or /and visits, feel insecured, too controlling, wants to know about every movement of the spouse, cases of suspicion of cheating, religious inhibitions and family complications.
4. Natural disasters
We are talking here about earth quakes, floods, tornadoes, typhoons, famine and conflicts. Those affected suddenly find they have no homes, no properties, no money, the situation is worse if there are several children to cater for. They suddenly find themselves in refugee camps. The physical and psychological demands are tremendous.
5. Death of loved ones
The death of any one causes a lot of emotional, not to talk of a loved one. The person affected suddenly realizes the finality of death; that after burial the dead person will never be seen again. It begins with loneliness then depression, the death of a loved one brings excessive psychological demand and off course physical demand because burial in our society is very demanding.
6. Divorce
The breakup of a marriage has both psychological and physical demands. The spouse who was not working suddenly has to work, both parties become lonely as they have to make new friends, move into different circles, some relocate to new countries or neighbourhoods. All these are very stressful.
7. Financial commitments
House rents, mortgage, school fees, medicare and domestic running costs are all causes of stress in any society but especially in the capitalist world
8. Bad government
Bad government can also be a major cause of stress, bad government means lack of electric power, lack of potable water, bad road leading to heavy traffic and flooding, poor healthcare delivery system leading to heavy out-of-pocket spending on healthcare, poor housing and high cost of education. Bad government can also lead internal conflicts and its attendant fallouts.
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