Positive and Negative Stress

Stress comes in two forms: positive (good) stress and negative (bad) stress. Positive stress is the body’s natural ability to learn how to cope with stress; it may energize a person to cope with the challenges presented. Good stress produces satisfaction and relief once the action or actions causing the stress are over. However, if positive stress continues for an unreasonable amount of time, it can turn into a negative stressor and affect the person negatively (Box 6-1). Good stress can result in an overenergized person who eventually becomes overworked, leading to exhaustion. A person who is exhausted ultimately becomes an overwhelmed individual. Bad stress can inadvertently affect a person physically, emotionally, and mentally. Bad stress affects blood pressure and heart rate and can make individuals respond in an unusual manner to normal situations. The normal situation of running out of milk may trigger a person’s temper. Bad stress must be taken control of to prevent conflict between family and co-workers.

Choice, Control, and Consequences

Three factors affect good and bad stress: choice, control, and consequences. Choice is determined by the individual. An individual chooses to be involved in a project and chooses to have good stress associated with the project. For example, a technician chooses to remodel an exam room by applying new colors of paint, adding a border around the perimeter of the room, and staining the baseboards. The good stress provides satisfaction once the project is completed.

Control is how a person wishes to respond to and master stress. Clients and emergencies determine the schedule of a practice. The practice may set up the daily schedule, but walk-ins and emergencies ultimately change the schedule on a daily basis. The increased business and complex cases add stress to each team member’s daily routine; however, if team members can have a quick meeting to control the stress, then each member’s stress level will decrease because a plan has been discussed and implemented. The team has taken control, ultimately reducing stress.

Consequence is the result of an action. For example, once cancer has been diagnosed, death is a likely outcome at some point in the patient’s future. Therefore death is the consequence of the diagnosis. If the anticipated result is expected, the stress produced is a good stress (resulting in little effect on the heart rate and blood pressure). However, if an unexpected death results from anesthesia, bad stress results. Death is not a normal consequence of anesthesia and produces a large amount of stress on the staff.

Stages of Stress

The body automatically responds to stress mentally and physically. “Fight or flight” is the body’s automatic response and is necessary for survival. Several stages exist in the fight or flight response: alarm, adaptation, exhaustion, and death. Stage 1, alarm, is the initial response to fight or flight. The body releases increased endorphins and hormones and the blood flow within the body is increased. This affects and increases the breathing rate, blood sugar levels, adrenal gland secretion, cortisone production, and perspiration. Adrenal gland secretion of epinephrine increases the individual’s heart and respiratory rate. A prolonged increase in heart rate increases blood pressure, which ultimately has negative effects on the cardiac system. The adrenal glands’ activity, over a prolonged period, may cause muscle tension and digestive tract disorders. Diarrhea, nausea, ulcers, and constipation can result from the adrenal glands’ oversecretion. If stage 1 continues, the body learns to adapt to the conditions and tries to compensate for the abnormalities, resulting in stage 2, adaptation. After a prolonged period, the body adapts and becomes exhausted (stage 3), resulting in burnout, fatigue, and eventually death (stage 4).

Role of Neurotransmitters

During stressful situations, neurotransmitters in the brain are called on and can be oversecreted in a manner similar to hormone release and adrenal gland response during stage 1. Overproduction of neurotransmitters can cause anxiety, anger, and depression. After prolonged release, a person is no longer able to cope with normal stressors. This is when many turn to drugs or alcohol to try to eliminate the stress. Drugs and alcohol distort or eliminate the exchange of information in the brain, releasing the stress felt by these individuals.

Personalities and Stress

Personalities predispose people to experience stress differently. It is not known how personality affects stress, whether it is learned or genetic; however, personalities are grouped into types. The stress-prone personality is generally a “type A” personality. These individuals are perfectionists, often multitask, expect a high level of performance from themselves as well as their co-workers, and tend to be successful. Stress-prone individuals are at a higher risk for heart disease and hypertension (Figure 6-1). Stress-hardy personalities are less prone to stress, are in control of their lives, and do not have to be “the best.” They often control and compartmentalize the stress and deal with it later. “Type B” personalities manage stress well, rarely letting others know they are suffering from any type of stress.

Identifying Stressors

Identifying stressors can help one cope with stress in a successful manner. Individuals in the veterinary field generally experience life-event, environmental, personal, client, and career stressors. Life-event stressors can include death, divorce, retirement, pregnancy, financial difficulties, and holidays. The list of life-event stressors that can affect an individual is endless, and each person will respond to each situation differently. For example, the holiday season can be extremely stressful for a person with financial difficulty or a large, overbearing family. Holidays may be peaceful and enjoyable for an individual with financial success and a small, close-knit family. How the person deals with the stress is individualized, as is whether they choose to control the situation or not.

Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel

Join