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Behavioral effects of stress showcases the way in which a
person acts and behaves when under the influence of stress.
Continuous, uncontrolled, stress can cause
myriad behavioral effects on a person.
Modern man has a big
disadvantage over our cave dwelling ancestors. They used to settle
their scores immediately whenever a problem arose: whether attack by a
wild animal or by other tribes. Thus the stress response reaction was
immediately satiated and no further damage was done.
But modern man cannot slap his boss; the
consequences would be dire! Nor can he get out of the car and kick the
hell out of the errant driver for showing obscene gestures.
The result: stress induced intense
emotions remain pent up inside without release. The continuous release
of hormones and chemical mediators keep the body in a highly
tensed state for long. This leads to irritability, anger, worry and
anxiety.
The resultant emotional conflicts leads
to altered behavioral responses to people and events. A sense of
resentment and hurt are the undercurrents of such behavioral
alterations.
Following are some of the
behavioral effects of stress:
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Excessive smoking
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Nervous tics
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Increased use of alcohol or drug(s)
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Mannerisms like nail
biting, hair puling etc.
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Increased or decreased eating
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Absent mindedness
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Accident-proneness
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Aggressiveness on least
provocation.
It is evident that
behavioral effects of stress are very dangerous and can affect
interpersonal and social relationships in a negative manner.
There are two ways to avoid
the adverse behavioral effects of stress:
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Change your response to
stressful events so that their negative impact is minimized
-
Practice a regular
stress
management program, so that whatever stress is being built up is
washed away on a daily basis.
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