How can stress affect people in the modern society?

       Stress is often defined as a mismatch between the demands placed on us and the way we cope with these demands. People can sometimes recognize the short-term effects of stress but may not be aware of how harmful the long-term effects can be. A U.S. Public Health Survey estimated that 70 percent to 80 percent of Americans experience at least “some stress” every two weeks and visit a physician each year for a stress-related disorder. Job-related stress costs U.S. businesses $60million annually (DiClemente, 2006). More than half of working adults-and 47 percent of all Americans-say they are concerned with the amount of stress in their lives, according to a new telephone survey conducted Jan, 12-24 by APA's (American Psychological Association) Practice Directorate in partnership with the National Women's Health Resource Center and iVillage.com. In the current modern society people live in, everyone seems to be experiencing too much stress and it can bring up several effects to us such as anxiety, insomnia and ageing.

       Anxiety is a rather extreme response to stress. Anxiety Disorders affect about 40 million American adults age 18years and older (about 18%) in a given year, causing them to be filled with fearfulness and uncertainty. Simple life stress is easily one of the most common reasons that people develop anxiety. Some stress-related anxiety is normal; however, severe and excessive anxiety is classified as an anxiety disorder. Anxiety is usually characterized by irrational fear and worry. This type of stress effect may last for six months at a time. There are several types of anxiety disorders: panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorders and social phobias, among others. Physically, the symptoms associated with anxiety are similar to those caused by stress. Sometimes, it may have no specific cause, unlike fear, the cause of which can be seen and dealt with by fighting or running away. Based on research, Panic disorder affects about 6 million American adults and is twice as common in women as men. PTSD (post­traumatic stress disorder) affects about 7.7 million American adults, but it can occur at any age, including childhood. Women are more likely to develop PTSD than men, and there is some evidence that susceptibility to the disorder may run in families.

       Out of the many effects, insomnia is also one of the harmful effects that trigger by stress. Numbers of people who have insomnia have increase lately. Some surveys have shown that 30% to 35% of Americans reported difficulty falling asleep during the previous year and about 10% reported problems with long standing insomnia. Having insomnia means people often have trouble falling or staying asleep. Insomnia can be either a short-term or a long-term problem. Often insomnia lasts for just a few nights. If people cannot sleep almost every night for 2 weeks, that means it is a long-term insomnia. Insomnia that lasts this long usually continues until the cause is identified and treated. The research shows that Insomnia affects 1 in 3 adults every year in the US. According to the CCHS criteria, in 2002, an estimated 13.4% of the household population aged 15 or older—that is, 3.3 million Canadians—had insomnia. On average, they slept 6.5 hours a night, compared with 7.5 hours for those without insomnia, but many insomniacs got far less than 6.5 hours of sleep. For example, 18% of them averaged sleep less than 5 hours a night. People with insomnia may have trouble concentrating, remembering or accomplishing daily tasks. It will seriously affect people’s daily life.

       Last but not least, stress also bring the effect of ageing. It makes people grow old faster. As people get aged by stress, the immune system gets affected. Stress exacerbates the effects of aging on immune functioning, and that the immune consequences are lasting and deleterious. Given the social bedrock of human existence, the most stressful experiences people endure are typically those that strain or break social connections. According to Herbert & Cohen (1993), negative interpersonal events have been shown to be powerful modulators of immune processes. As the immune system aged, it becomes less able to distinguish self from nonself (that is, antigens). As a result, autoimmune disorders become more common. Besides that, macrophages (which ingest antigens) destroy bacteria, cancer cells, and other antigens more slowly. This slowdown may be one reason that cancer is more common among older people. Furthermore, there are fewer white blood cells capable of responding to new antigens. Thus, when older people encounter a new antigen, the body is less able to remember and defend against it. A study published in the Dec. 26, 2011, Archives of Internal Medicine found that a "high percentage" of older adults are receiving cancer screenings.

       In conclusion, people who live in the current modern society will surely have to face the problem of stress. People must learn how to manage and deal with these stresses. According to Mary Lucy Denise Henner, an American actress, producer and author, being in control of your life and having realistic expectations about your day-to-day challenges are the keys to stress management, which is perhaps the most important ingredient to living a happy, healthy and rewarding life. For my own opinion, stress can bring many effects to people and it can be very harmful, but stress can be control. People can de-stress in many ways. By knowing how to handle these stresses can help people live happier and healthier.

References 

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Delves, P. J. (n.d.). Effects of Aging on the Immune System: Biology of the Immune System: Merck Manual Home Edition. Retrieved from http://www.merckmanuals.com/home/immune_disorders/biology_of_the_immune_system/effects_of_aging_on_the_immune_system.html

Henry, T. A. (2012, January 2). High percentage of elderly patients screened for cancer - amednews.com. American Medical Association. Retrieved from http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/01/02/prsb0102.htm

NIMH · Home. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/anxiety-disorders/nimhanxiety.pdf

Padget, D. A., & Glaser, R. (2003). How stress influences the immune response. TRENDS in Immunology. Retrieved from http://www.direct-ms.org/sites/default/files/Stress%20and%20immunity.pdf.

Stambor, Z. (2006). Stressed out nation. 37(4), 28. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr06/nation.aspx.

Tjepkema, M. (2005). Insomnia. Health Reports, 17(1), 10. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/ads-annonces/82-003-x/pdf/4225221-eng.pdf.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (n.d.). Anxiety Disorders.NationalInstitute ofMentalHealth. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/anxiety-disorders/nimhanxiety.pdf.

Retrieved from http://www.palgrave.com/psychology/malim/pdfs/chap_11.pdf.