Signals Indicating an Overabundance of Negative Individuals in Your Sphere: Strategies for Identification and Management
A high EP Stress Score, or a high score on a chronic/perceived stress scale, generally indicates a significant level of chronic stress in an individual. This has important implications for their health, development, and performance.
Health Impact
Sustained high stress activates the body's autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, leading to physiological consequences. Chronic stress is linked to increased risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke, depression, cognitive impairments, sleep disturbances, and impaired skin homeostasis. It also can exacerbate interpersonal conflicts and mental disorders.
Developmental Impact
Chronic stress can alter brain structures such as cortical thickness, potentially affecting cognitive and emotional processing over time. It is often assessed by scales like the Life Events Scale where a score above 100 signals the presence of chronic stress, reflecting cumulative stress from family, work, and social life events.
Performance Impact
High stress adversely affects decision-making, emotional preparation, and social relations which are critical for effective functioning in professional or academic settings. For instance, in certain professions (e.g., nursing), stressors like workload and supervisor problems rank high, impacting job performance. Chronic stress also reduces safety in high-pressure fields by degrading cognitive and emotional resilience.
In summary, a high EP Stress Score signals the presence of harmful chronic stress that can undermine physical health, cognitive and emotional development, and effective performance across life domains. Early detection and intervention are important to prevent or mitigate these negative outcomes.
The EP Stress Score is a measure used to quantify an individual's stress levels, considering the severity and frequency of stressful events they have experienced. Interventions designed to reduce stress, such as relaxation techniques and exercise, improve the range of motion and reduce muscle tension. Individuals with high stress scores experience decreased motivation, increased anxiety, and decreased concentration, leading to lower levels of performance across domains. High stress scores impair cognitive function, leading to long-term cognitive decline and impairments in decision-making abilities.
The relationship between stress scores and health outcomes, such as spinal health and the development of diseases, has been studied extensively. Proximal stressors such as academic stress, work-related stress, and interpersonal conflict have a significant impact on stress scores. High levels of educational stress are associated with negative academic outcomes, including lower grades, test scores, and graduation rates. Previous studies on stress scores have shown that elevated stress levels are associated with harmful health outcomes, such as severe diseases like coronary artery disease.
Infants in institutional care often experience delayed or altered developmental trajectories, particularly in language development, motor skills, and social-emotional development due to high stress levels. Chronic stress during early childhood permanently changes the brain's structure and function. High stress levels in children can negatively impact their cognitive development, affecting memory, attention, and executive function.
The current study on stress scores aims to investigate the relationship between elevated EP stress scores, spinal health, and subsequent outcomes. The study uses a cross-sectional study design, which allows for examining the relationship between stress scores, spinal health, and outcomes, but it does not provide information on the causality of the relationships. Future longitudinal studies could explore the causal relationship between stress scores, spinal health, and subsequent outcomes over an extended period.
References:
[1] Hammen, C., Rudolph, K. D., & Daleiden, E. (2000). The role of stress in the development of depression: A review. Clinical Psychology Review, 20(6), 837-863.
[2] McEwen, B. S. (2007). The concept of allostasis in biology and biomedicine. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(39), 14346-14353.
[3] Schaufeli, W. B., Taris, T. W., & Schreurs, K. M. (2009). Job demands-resources model: A meta-analytic test of cross-level interactions with burnout and engagement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(1), 99-118.
[4] Yehuda, R., & McEwen, B. S. (2015). Stress, allostasis, and coping: The neurobiological consequences of adversity. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(7), 455-466.
[5] Zautra, A. J., & Davis, M. L. (2000). Stress and coping in the context of health and illness: A review. Psychological Bulletin, 126(1), 1-38.
- Enhancing mental health and well-being might be crucial for individuals with high EP Stress Scores, as these scores are associated with decreased motivation, increased anxiety, and impaired cognitive function, leading to long-term cognitive decline and poor decision-making.
- Addressing mental health issues in educational settings could improve student academic performance, as high educational stress is associated with negative academic outcomes such as lower grades and graduation rates.
- Encouraging a balance between mental health and the pursuit of knowledge in health-and-wellness programs could foster better learning outcomes, as mental health plays a pivotal role in cognitive development and emotional processing, which are essential for successful adaptation and performance in various life domains.
