Stress as an evolutionary adaptation
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Stress, although stems from outside events that we cannot control, we control how exactly it is that we react. The body has the nervous system to effectively communicate from our environment to the brain, which can analyze the importance and weight that a situation holds. Although the brain, and the nervous system facilitate higher level thinking, a system has been adapted to alert us to danger.The autonomic nervous system is split into the sympathetic nervous system and the autonomic nervous system; which facilitate the fight or flight response, and the rest and digest states of being, respectively. This allows for the body to produce reflexes which include: coughing, sneezing, and retaining steady heart and breathing rates. Had we not adapted these reflexes, we could forget to breathe, the caveat being that when the brain perceives danger, it will prepare the body to fight for its life (Crash Course 0:00-2:20).
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Two tiny organs seated neatly atop your kidneys pump adrenaline into your bloodstream. You don’t choose to do this. Your adrenal glands do it, and then you have to live with it. And that’s not all. Your brain then diverts blood from activities it deems nonessential to high-priority tasks such as hitting and running. Unfortunately, as the large muscles of the arms and legs get more blood, the higher-level reasoning sections of your brain get less. As a result, you end up facing challenging conversations with the same intellectual equipment available to a rhesus monkey. Your body is preparing to deal with an attacking saber-toothed tiger, not your boss, neighbor, or loved ones. We’re under pressure" (Patterson 2).
When this state of consciousness robs you of portions of your brain, the body resorts first to either fighting against danger or retreating whenever the threat seems too risky. This is true for those that are under stress from communications. For example in the book Crucial Conversations, they tell the tale of a bossy CEO of a company in a meeting proposing a rather detrimental moving of the company headquarters. Opposition that comes to the boss' attention is downplayed and the coworkers in the meeting clam up, for they believe that speaking up for their beliefs is too risky, potentially jeopardizing their state of employments. Whether one is on the recieving or delivering end of a stressful conversation, it is important to open up the pool of meaning to others respectfully so as to achieve the most input as possible (Patterson 6).
In the face of fear we begin thinking rationally less and less. It is at this point that we realize that there is fear in the room that we should advocate to make it a safe place to speak, these are the ideas that have sincerity and value to a conversation. On the other hand, fully avoiding the issues at hand merely to keep the peace does no more than avoid a problem. In response to avoidance of communication, others input regarding the topic may be stifled, only to surface in consecutive conversations moving forward. This is a selfish tactic for anybody that tries to employ it.
In the face of fear we begin thinking rationally less and less. It is at this point that we realize that there is fear in the room that we should advocate to make it a safe place to speak, these are the ideas that have sincerity and value to a conversation. On the other hand, fully avoiding the issues at hand merely to keep the peace does no more than avoid a problem. In response to avoidance of communication, others input regarding the topic may be stifled, only to surface in consecutive conversations moving forward. This is a selfish tactic for anybody that tries to employ it.
Furthermore, American Psychological Association's Lynn Bufka, PhD, did a question and answer on Reddit in 2014 for an NPR special regarding stress in America. She pointed that stress serves its pupose, but it is us that dictate the weight that stress has on our day to day livelihood. When asked, "Is it possible to be totally stress-free in society nowadays?" Her response was,
I'm not sure we want to be totally stress free. Sometimes stress makes us work harder, get more prepared for tasks we are facing, or perform better. Stress sometimes results from good things — like getting married or bringing a new pet into the home!
However, we want to be aware of those situations in which we feel overwhelmed by demands. That is when we want to try and reduce our stress, by doing things like changing the demands (when possible), or changing how we think about situations. Sometimes the situations are stressful and sometimes we make them more stressful because we pile on expectations or mental demands or perfectionism even beyond whatever the situation is (St. Fleur).
However, we want to be aware of those situations in which we feel overwhelmed by demands. That is when we want to try and reduce our stress, by doing things like changing the demands (when possible), or changing how we think about situations. Sometimes the situations are stressful and sometimes we make them more stressful because we pile on expectations or mental demands or perfectionism even beyond whatever the situation is (St. Fleur).