Speech Presentation Writing Assignment: Chronic Stress

Speech Presentation: Chronic Stress
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Speech Presentation: Chronic Stress
Today, we get to learn about chronic stress, its prevalence, types, and causes and how it affects people’s lives. People go through stressful conditions in their daily lifestyles, but what leads to chronic stress is when the stressful conditions prolong for an extended period of time. Research studies have revealed that chronic stress can lead to other health complications, such as cardiovascular diseases which are the number one leading cause of death in the U.S. Other complications include cancer, emotional disorder, endocrine diseases, and other diseases. According to Healthy People 2020, mental health problems are the leading factors that cause huge pressure on public health. Studies have also revealed that out of ten leading health indicators, five are closely associated with stress.
To clearly understand the attributes of chronic stress, students should be able to differentiate the direct and indirect effects of this condition. Direct effects make the human body to have psychological changes, while indirect effects tend to impact on the personal behavior of an individual. The systems that are affected include the immune, cardiovascular and different other systems. Chronic stress also contributes to exhaustion, particularly during the general adaptation syndrome stage. On the other hand, indirect effects of chronic stress tend to affect the behavior an individual, influencing him or her to engage in risky activities. This can include excessive consumption of alcohol, increased smoking habits, or excessive drinking of coffee compared to those people who are under minimal stress.
Students should also be able to understand another important issue associated with chronic stress known as allostatic load. Allostatic load can be defined as a process through which the body attempts to maintain a balance of homeostasis. The body works in numerous ways to prevent damage. This implies that when the body is repeatedly exposed to stressors, it is forced to try and establish stability and this exposes it to wear and tear. This cumulative process is what is termed as allostatic load, especially when a person is suffering from chronic or repeated stress.
Chronic stress is also divided into medium-term and long-term chronic stress. Medium-term chronic stress is a condition where stress makes the body to turn off certain functions while others are escalated to extreme levels. Medium-term chronic stress has numerous health effects, which include pain and muscle tension, fatigue, headache, stomach upset, cold and sore throat, bruxism, sleep difficulties, and other symptoms. The memory is usually affected by high-stress levels and this occurs when the levels of hormones that are released during certain occasions are not adequately balanced. Furthermore, studies have shown that people usually become sick on most occasions when they are e...