Alfred R.

Ortiz

BSN III

NCM104

STRESS AND FUNCTION:

Each body system performs specific functions to sustain optimal life for an organism. Mechanism for
adjusting internal conditions promotes the normal steady state of the organism and ultimately its
survival. (pg. 91, Brunner & Suddarth’s)

Stress and adaptation: Stress is a state produced by a change in the environment. That is perceived as a
challenging, threatening, or damaging to a person dynamic balance or equilibrium. (pg.92, Brunner &
Suddarth’s)

Hans Selye (1982) points out that few people define the concept of stress in the same way or even
bother to attempt a clear-cut definition. According to Selye, an important aspect of stress is that a wide
variety of dissimilar situations are capable of producing the stress response such as fatigue, effort, pain,
fear, and even success.

Bio-psychosocial Model of Stress (Bernard & Krupat, 1994) stress involves three components: an
external component, an internal component, and the interaction between the external and internal
components.

Stressor exists in many forms and categories they may be described as a physical, physiologic, or
psychosocial.

Physical stressor includes cold, heat and chemical agent.

Physiologic stressor includes pain and fatigue.

Stressor can also occur as normal life transitions that require some adjustment, such as childhood to
puberty, getting married or giving birth.

Stressors are also classified as:

1. Day to day hassle,

2. Major complex occurrence involving large groups and even entire nations.

3. Stressor that occur less frequently and involve fewer people.

Stress as a stimulus for disease: Relating life event to illness (theoretical approach that defines stress as
a stimulus) has been a major focus of psychosocial studies. (pg.93 Brunner & Suddarth’s)

Psychological response to stress:

After recognising stressor, person consciously or unconsciously reacts to manage the situation. This is
termed the meditating process. (pg.93, Brunner & Suddarth’s)

General Adaptation Syndrome: Selye then developed a theory of adaptation to biologic stress that he
named the general adaptation syndrome. Has 3 phases: Alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Local adaptation:

According to Selye, a local adaptation occurs. This syndrome includes the inflammatory response and
repair processes that occur in the local site of tissue injury. Selye emphasized that stress is a nonspecific
response to all stressors, regardless of whether they are physiologic, psychological, or social.

Inflammation: a defensive reaction intended to neutralize, control, or eliminate the offending agent
and to prepare the site for repair.

Chemical mediator of inflammation injury initiates the inflammatory response, but chemical substance
released in site as vascular changes.

Systemic response to inflammation: The inflammatory response is often confined to the site, causing
only local sign and symptoms. However, systemic response can also occur.

Types of inflammation:

Acute inflammatory response is immediate and serves protective function. After the injurious agent is
removed, the inflammation subsides and healing takes place with the return of near normal structure
and function.

Chronic Inflammation:

Develops if the injurious agent persist in the acute response is perpetuated (chronic). (pg.104 & 104 Brunner &
Suddarth’s)

Mental Health:

Mental or affective disorder such as depression or chronic stress may affect a person’s desire to move.
The depressed person may lack of enthusiasm for taking part in any activity and may even lack energy in
usual hygiene practice. (pg. 1067, Fundamentals of Nursing, seventh ed.)

Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel,
and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health
is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.
Mental hygiene: The branch of psychiatry that deals with the science and practice of maintaining and
restoring mental health, and of preventing mental disorder through education, early treatment, and
public health measures.

Therapeutic use of self. A health care provider's use of verbal and nonverbal communication, emotional
exchange, and other aspects of his or her personality to establish a relationship with the patient that
promotes cooperation and healing.

Freud’s Structural Model of Personality

Freud not only theorized about how personality developed over the course of childhood, but he also
developed a framework for how overall personality is structured. According to Freud, the basic driving
force of personality and behaviour is known as the libido. This libidinal energy fuels the three
components that make up personality: the id, the ego and the superego.

Freud's concept of the id, ego and superego has gained prominence in popular culture, despite a lack of
support and considerable scepticism from many researchers. According to Freud, it is the three
elements of personality that work together to create complex human behaviours.

Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development

Erik Erikson’s eight-stage theory of human development is one of the best-known theories in
psychology. While the theory builds on Freud’s stages of psychosexual development, Erikson chose to
focus on how social relationships impact personality development.

The theory also extends beyond childhood to look at development across the entire lifespan.

At each stage of psychosocial development, people face a crisis in which a task must be mastered. Those
who successfully complete each stage emerge with a sense of mastery and well-being. Those who do
not resolve the crisis at each stage may struggle with those skills for the remainder of their lives.

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development remains one of the most frequently cited in psychology,
despite being subject to considerable criticism. While many aspects of his theory have not stood the test
of time, the central idea remains important today: children think differently than adults.

According to Piaget, children progress through a series of four stages that are marked by distinctive
changes in how they think. How children think about themselves, others, and the world around them
plays an important role in the formation of personality.
Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development

Lawrence Kohlberg developed a theory of personality development that focused on the growth of moral
thought. Building on a two-stage process proposed by Piaget, Kohlberg expanded the theory to include
six different stages. While the theory has been criticized for a number of different reasons, including the
possibility that it does not accommodate different genders and cultures equally, Kohlberg’s theory
remains important in our understanding of how personality develops.

Final Thoughts

Personality involves not only inborn traits, but also the cognitive and behavioural patterns that influence
how people think and act. Temperament is a key part of personality that is determined by inherited
traits. It is the aspects of personality that are innate and have a lasting influence on behaviour.
Character is another aspect of personality influenced by experience that continues to grow and change
throughout life. While personality continues to evolve over time and respond to the influences and
experiences of life, much of personality is determined by inborn