PSY 101 WEEK 5 DISCUSSION 1 100%VERIFIED

PSY-101 WEEK 5 DISCUSSION 1 The film Portrait of a Killer (Stress, 2008) shows the process of stress and the effects it can have on different aspects of physical and mental health. It identifies the hormones involved in stress as adrenaline and glucocorticoid. It then analyzes their potential to result in intense cardiovascular issues, differentiating muscle responses, rising blood pressure, and elevation of heart rate, which also circulates blood faster inside the body causing other systems to react. More specifically identifying probable negative responses in fighting bacterial and viral infections and eliminating certain mental or physical processes entirely to instead focus on handling the stress. The main identifier in my analyses of the film is that humans do not handle stress like animals whose body applies stress to physical excitement, therefore use physical methods to cope with stress. Humans have developed a mental response or causality in handling stress. The change of physical response to mental retentive stress creates altered brain chemical production and use, making stress the opposite of the intended human evolutionary process. Humans as a species, use or get stress from a mental process instead of a physical response. A few major reasons for this evolutionary adaptation are the effects or abilities to cope with stress successfully. Factors such as over-confidence or ego, a false understanding of the level of social support, views of social grandeur without faults or continuing the use of one positive stress relieving tactic from one’s past experiences, expecting equal results. This last example is one of the downfalls when attempting to appraise newly introduced types of stress. The ability to properly identify a stressor as a challenge or threat remains difficult because of the everchanging social concepts, social acceptance and negative labels associated with an incorrect choice. Deciphering the type of stress and potential effects should be determined by individual values and not what is deemed socially acceptable. My Holmes-Rahe statistical prediction of stress test score is 347 out of 1466, putting me in the 80% group, meaning a high likeliness of stress-related health issues in the next two years if no changes to stress management occur (The American Institute of Stress n.d.). My scores were a bit higher than expected, but not surprising with the negative health issues I already deal with on a daily basis. I have taken huge strides in stress management over the past year because of the necessity involved with addiction recovery. The previous method of coping with stress was to use a substance of some type, but that method quickly becomes more burdening than dealing with the stress healthily from the start. I focus on helping others battle their personal addictions through peer support and in turn, found a healthy way of coping with personal stress. The other stress prediction results rely heavily on being an introvert, which the evaluation views as negative in coping with stress. However, I have found that being an introvert has removed many past stressful situations, promotes quiet relaxation and an opportunity for daily self-reflection to identify and change any potential stressors or stressful situations. I have more control over my own level of potential stress. R