Karadeniz Technical University (KTU) Farabi Hospital Department of Mental Health and Diseases Assoc. Prof. Dr. Demet Sağlam Aykut stated that it is very important how a stressful situation is perceived by the person and said, “The level of stress experienced by the person may vary according to the way he perceives the stress source. Exposure of the individual to a high level and / or long-term (chronic) stress situation that exceeds the individual's ability to fight causes the balance (homeostasis) of the organism to deteriorate.”
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Demet Sağlam Aykut from the Department of Mental Health and Diseases at KTÜ Farabi Hospital made statements about the negative factors of stress on human health. Pointing out that stress is a necessary stimulus for health and development, Aykut said, “Stress is derived from the Latin word ‘estrictia’ and means ‘strain, tension and pressure’. Although it is often used in a negative sense, stress is a normal and necessary process that also acts as a warning and a danger sign for people's mental and physical health. It can occur for physical or emotional reasons. An optimum level of stress is necessary for the organism to function, develop, mature and take action. In this respect, stress provides motivation for problem solving in almost every period throughout life and is defined as useful stress.”
Noting that the same stress source may not cause the same emotional reactions in everyone, Aykut said. “It is very important how a stressful situation is perceived by the person. The level of stress experienced by the person may vary according to the way they perceive the stress source. Exposure of the individual to a high level and / or long-term (chronic) stress situation that exceeds the individual's ability to fight causes the balance (homeostasis) of the organism to deteriorate.”
“Stress triggers cancer”
“Frequent exposure to stress in daily life and inability to manage stress effectively increases the risk of a number of health problems,” said Aykut and added: ”In individuals who cannot manage stress adequately, many chronic diseases such as gastric ulcer development due to increased stress hormones, increased susceptibility to cardiovascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, hypertension and heart attack, susceptibility to infections due to a slowdown in the immune system, stroke, diabetes can occur. However, stress is also thought to play a role in cancer development. In addition to genetic and environmental factors, stress has also been reported to be effective in cancer development. Studies have shown that exposure to stress hormones increases the proliferation of cancer cells and accelerates the spread of cancer in patients diagnosed with cancer. High-risk behaviors such as more cigarette-alcohol consumption, poor quality sleep and unhealthy eating habits, lack of physical exercise seen in stressed individuals can also be triggers for cancer development.”
“Stress management is the key to a healthy and productive life”
Stating that stress management is achieved by developing skills to cope with stress and increasing adaptation to stress, Aykut said: “Effective stress management is necessary to protect physical health and to lead a productive and productive life. Since the presence of mild stress increases energy and productivity, the aim of stress management is not to avoid stress altogether. Effective strategies for coping with stress include regular sleep and healthy nutrition, physical exercise, breathing exercises, meditation and relaxation methods, strengthening social support systems and increasing social interaction. As people have different strengths, weaknesses and perceptions of stress, methods of coping with stress will also vary according to individual characteristics. It is very important for people to determine and apply the most appropriate method for themselves and their lifestyles for effective stress management in order to protect themselves from many diseases that are inevitable to be encountered in daily life, which are predisposed to stress, reduce the quality of life, have a chronic course and threaten life.”
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