How Stress Affects Individuals Of All Ages, Genders, And...

Stress affects individuals of all ages, genders, and cultures. Either good or bad it effects daily life and can cause turmoil if not dealt with in a healthy manner. Take for example Josh Jones (client name has been changed to protect their confidentiality) a Caucasian adolescent male living in a rural Oregon school district. At age eleven he has just transitioned from elementary school to middle school and is adjusting to a larger pool of classmates and adapting to higher expectations set by his teachers. Josh is a middle child with two parents, one of whom recently lost their job; these multiple stressors in Josh’s life have accumulated to the point where Josh is having difficulty managing his stress prompting the following health†¦show more content†¦Some stress is good, the eustress, this is short lived stress which motivates individuals to develop good study skills or to make good decisions in difficult or frightening situations. Stress is not so good however when it endures for a long period of time. Distress occurs when an individual feels overwhelmed or out of control in their lives (Handling stress 2012) Long term stress, distress, impacts the body and can inflict negative, long term damage. Physical symptoms of distress can manifest as headaches, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain, and problems sleeping, these are just a few of the many effects stress can inflict on the body (The effects of stress on your body 2014). As an adolescent many of these stress symptoms can be detrimental to Josh’s well-being and functioning in school, for example Josh should be receiving approximately ten hours of sleep a night, if he is unable to achieve that amount it can in turn present problems such as diabetes, obesity and depression (Sleep and sleep disorders 2015) this results in additional stress further exacerbating the issue and putting clients, like Josh, at serious risk of developing these health disorders. In order to prevent these effects of stress Josh must be able to recognize symptoms of stress and be given tools to manage his stress in day to day life. Recognizabl e symptoms include anger, feelings of anxiety and fear