Nursing School and Allied Health Entrance Exam: Reading Comprehension Practice Test 7 — Flashcards

Directions: Following the passage below and answer questions:   

It is important to understand just what we mean when we talk about stress, and theoretical definitions of stress abound. Probably the best definition was offered by the renowned stress researcher Hans Selye, who summarized stress as “. . . any bodily change produced as a response to a perceived demand being placed upon the individual.” This definition highlights the notion that there are two important facets to stress: the psychological (or menial) and the physiological (or physical).    
Stress can be typically negative events, called “distress,” as well as the more positive happenings in life that nonetheless demand change and adjustment. After a demand is perceived, bodily or physical changes occur as a reaction. These biological responses typically include increased heart rate, respiration rate, rising blood pressure, and muscular tension, shallow (rather than deep) breathing, and the increased release of certain so-called stress hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.    
Such bodily changes occur for what is commonly known as the “fight-or-flight” response. The fight-or-flight response served a purpose ages ago, when acute, sudden stressors such as animal predators immediately threatened a person’s existence. Successfully fighting off or fleeing from the threat greatly increased one’s chance of survival. And, as with other creatures, our fight-or-flight stress reaction became “wired in” as a protective mechanism.    
Stress continues to serve us today, as mild to moderate levels of stress can sharpen our alertness and motivate positive growth, spur the need to accept challenges, and promote change in our lives. Stress becomes a problem only when you consider the nature of some of our stressors. Unlike the saber-tooth tigers of long age, today’s stressors tend to be more chronic in nature. Most people struggle with the demands of health problems, interpersonal difficulties, financial worries, and negative or critical self-imaging, to name just a few. These concerns have a propensity to stick around. When you begin to experience any one of them, your body reacts with predictable changes. However, because these stressors usually stay around and dominate parts of our existence for long stretches of time, the bodily changes that get “turned on,” stay “turned on,” which can cause or influence numerous undesirable consequences.    
Chronic stress can contribute to such physical problems as migraine headaches, lower back pain, ulcers, digestive disorders, TMJ (temporomandibular joint) syndrome, suppressed immunity, and, of particular concern to people with diabetes, difficulty controlling rising blood sugar. There is even some evidence that cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and certain types of cancer can be adversely affected by stress. Chronic stress also appears to contribute to many psychological and behavioral disorders such as depression, anxiety disorders, and low self-esteem.    
Everyone attempts to cope with the stress in his or her life, whether doing so consciously and deliberately or not. Unfortunately, many of the strategies people use to deal with stress actually produce additional sources of stress. Overeating, excessive alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and drug use are examples of stress management attempts gone awry.    
Any effective strategy of stress management needs to do more than just distract you from that which is causing the stress. It needs to address both the physical and the psychological aspects of stress. Everyone attempts to cope with the stress in his or her life, whether doing so consciously and deliberately or not.