Running head Health, Stress, and Coping Essays

Running head Health, Stress, and Coping Essays Running head Health, Stress, and Coping Paper Running head Health, Stress, and Coping Paper The chapter outlines the biological, psychological, social and cultural factors that influence health and illness. The potential stressors that increase the risk of illness are stressful experiences or situations that are uncontrollable or chronic lasting for at least six months. Some of them include work related problems, noise, bereavement and loss, poverty, powerlessness and low status. According to health researchers, there are three factors due to which these chronic stressors do not affect everyone in the same way .They are (1).Individual physiological differences in the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune and other bodily systems (2) psychological factors such as attitudes, emotions, perceptions of events (3) people’s behaviour under stress. The Physiology of Stress Research in the area of stress began in the year, 1956, when Canadian physician, Hans Selya (1907-1982) published â€Å"The stress of life†. He described about general adaptation syndrome which is a series of physiological responses to stressors that occur in three phases namely alarm, resistance and exhaustion. Selya believed that some stress is positive and productive while some negative stress that is unavoidable may overwhelm body’s ability to cope. Stress and Body   The modern research on stress focused on the hypothalamus which sends messages to endocrine glands that activate the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system releasing epinephrine and norepineprine. Further to this, it is now evident that when body is under stress the activity along the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal cortex called as HPA axis is initiated. The chemical messages from hypothalamus communicate with pituitary which in turn sends messages to outer part of the adrenal glands that secrete cortisol. If cortisol and stress hormones stay for too long they can be harmful contributing for hypertension, immune disorders, other physical ailments and possible emotional problems. The Mind-Body link To understand further on stressors and variations in people’s reaction to stress, an interdisciplinary specialty with focus on psychological processes, nervous, endocrine and immune systems called as psychoneuroimmunology or PNI has emerged. Research shows that chronic stress can weaken or suppress the white blood cells of the immune system. Not all people are affected in the same way by chronic stressors and environmental condition. The reason behind the differential responsiveness to stress could be attributed more to the perception about the stressor. This simply means that human beings show signs of stress when they feel crowded than when the place is crowed.  Ã‚   Therefore psychological factors play a major role. The Psychology of Stress Emotions and Illness- The effects of negative attitudes and emotions can affect the course of the illness and of recovery. Research shows that feeling anxious, depressed and helpless for example can delay the healing of wounds after surgery, whereas feeling hopeful can significantly speed healing .Efforts to link emotions and illness occurred with research on Type A personality in 1970s. The main ingredient in Type A personality turned out to be antagonistic hostility which is related to heart disease. Chronic depression also is a risk factor that is linked to heart disease. Positive Emotions are helpful in that they are associated with better health and longevity.   Psychologists are trying to find out what it is about feeling happy, cheerful and hopeful that could protect a person from getting sick. Perhaps, people with positive emotions have an easy going temperament and also have better social support. Managing Negative Emotions- As negative emotions are risky, trying to suppress those means processing the thought more frequently. One way to get rid of negative emotions comes from research on benefits of confession and forgiveness.It promotes empathy, the ability to see the situation from another person perspective. Optimism and Pessimism- Research indicates that optimism helps in promoting health and well-being than pessimism. The feeling of optimism is related to having a sense of control. According to Rotter, 1990, locus of control refers to general expectation about whether the results of your actions are under your own control (internal locus) or beyond your control (external locus).The greatest threat to health and well-being occurs when people feel caught in a situation they cannot escape. Two ways of controlling feelings can be through primary or secondary control that can help to reduce or even eliminate the relationship between stressors and health. An effort to modify reality by changing other people, the situation, or events is called as primary control while secondary control is an effort to accept reality by changing attitudes, goals or emotions. Coping with Stress Coping involves active efforts to manage demands that feel stressful. Different forms of coping with stress include using physical strategies, problem oriented strategies, cognitive strategies or social strategies. Some of the physical strategies include handling physiological tension by reducing body’s arousal through meditation, relaxation, and massage. Studies also show that physically fit people have fewer health problems. Some situations demand problem focused coping skills which depend on the nature of the problem. When there are problems that cannot be changed like losing a job, or chronic illness then using cognitive coping methods will help to change the way we think about the problem. The three ways for coping includes reappraising the situation, learning from experience and making social comparisons. Apart from these individual mechanisms of coping taking help of social support is another important approach that facilitates coping. Family members, friends, neighbors, and co-workers can lend support and provide help. Studies also show that social support enhances health and bolsters immune system. Another   better way of coping with stress is by helping others .Healing through helping enables   people to gain strength by focusing   less on their woes which can stimulate optimism and restore feelings of control. How much control do we have over our health? The process of coping does not involve elimination of stress but to deal with the stressors effectively. In the course of dealing with stressors, illness and health we have control over some psychological and social factors like negative emotions, pessimism, external locus of control, hostility, depression, and lack of supportive friends etc. Other three predictors of longevity are not smoking, eating a healthful diet and exercising regularly.   Therefore coping with stress means learning to live and deal with the stressors, problems and the pain.

Definitions, Examples, and Discussions of English Grammar

Definitions, Examples, and Discussions of English Grammar The word grammar  comes from Greek, meaning craft of letters, which is an apt description. In any language, grammar is: the systematic study and description of a language. (Compare with usage.)a set of rules and examples dealing with the syntax and word structures (morphology) of a language.   Without grammar, a language wouldnt work, because people couldnt communicate effectively. The speakers and the listeners of any exchange need to both function in the same system in order to understand each other. The grammar of a language includes basic axioms such as the existence of tenses of verbs, articles and adjectives and their proper order, how questions are phrased, and more. We Learn Grammar From Birth Author  David Crystal tells us in The Fight for English that  grammar  is the study of all the contrasts of meaning that it is possible to make within sentences. The rules of grammar tell us how. By one count, there are some 3,500 such rules in English (Oxford University Press, 2006). Intimidating, to be sure, but native speakers dont have to worry about studying them all. Grammar, in fact, its actually something thats begun being learned by every person in their first days and weeks of life, through interaction with others.  All native speakers when theyre born and start learning it as they hear it spoken around them, such as how sentences are put together (syntax), and the pieces that make them up (morphology). A preschoolers tacit knowledge of  grammar  is more sophisticated than the thickest style manual, writes  Steven Pinker in Words and Rules. [Grammar should not] be confused with the guidelines for how one ought to speak (Harper, 1999). Uses of Grammar Understanding the basics of grammar is needed to make us proficient speakers and writers, of course. As Sidney Greenbaum and Gerald Nelson write in An Introduction to English Grammar: There are several applications of grammatical study: (1) A recognition of grammatical structures is often essential for punctuation; (2) A study of ones native grammar is helpful when one studies the grammar of a foreign language; (3) A knowledge of grammar is a help in the interpretation of literary as well as nonliterary texts, since the interpretation of a passage sometimes depends crucially on grammatical analysis; (4) A study of the grammatical resources of English is useful in composition: in particular, it can help you to evaluate the choices available to you when you come to revise an earlier written draft. (2nd ed. Pearson, 2002) Study  beyond the basics increases our skills, and the ability to communicate clearly and effectively is necessary in any profession where theres interaction with other human beings, whether youre giving or receiving directions with other employees, discussing goals of your company on a particular project, or creating marketing materials for a nonprofit- the ability to properly communicate matters. Even if you dont know all the lexicographical terms and pedantic nit-picks involved in the study of grammar, take it from Joan Didion: What I know about  grammar  is its infinite power. To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence. Types of Grammar Whereas students of English mainly have to deal with just the nuts-and-bolts prescriptive,  traditional  type of grammar, such as making sure verbs and subjects agree and where to put commas, linguists have many more types to examine different aspects of the language, from how different languages compare to each other (comparative grammar) or use grammatical parts (descriptive  grammar) to how the words and their usage interact to create meaning (lexicogrammar). They study how people acquire language and debate whether every child is born with a concept of universal grammar. Teachers instructing English language learners follow a method of  pedagogical grammar  for their students. Other areas of study for linguists include:   Case grammarCognitive grammarConstruction grammarGenerative grammarLexical-functional grammar (LFG)Mental grammarTheoretical grammarTransformational grammar