In today’s day and age, we are affected by many things that shape our lives: politics, social relations, sports, financial status of our bank accounts, or even our own health. In each and every aspect of human life stress plays a vital role in not only shaping our character, but also our future health.
Stress is initially defined as the disruption of normal physical or psychological activity. The medical aspects are then defined as to how stress builds up in the human brain. There are many reasons why a person may experience stress, but the most important facet of stress affecting individuals are the consequences—depression, high blood pressure, irritation, insomnia, eating disorders, and heart attacks.
On scale one I scored a fourteen. I am married and have one child living with us. I have a very stressful job that takes up a lot of my time: that of being in charge of an educational complex that is on 160 acres. It has a high school, intermediate school, grammar school, football stadium, baseball stadium and a softball complex. On scale two I scored a sixty seven, which suggest serious susceptibility for stress. I know that I am stressed out! It seems for me life keeps trying to take me out. Two months ago I had a heart attack at the age of 52. I have never had high blood pressure, have never smoked nor drank, but I am a little over weight. Scale three puts me in the average range--finally something average. On scale four it shows that I am a type A personality, something that truly describes who I am and how I react to events in my life. In my job I have to multitask to get events running smoothly and promptly; this, combined with the overall duties inherent in my job, form the majority of my stress. Scale five shows that my coping strategy is “avoidance.” I don’t like big crowds, keep to myself, and have a routine that stick to daily. After my heart problem, the way I think about life has truly changed. I have gone back to school to become a teacher, something I have always wanted to do but could never afford. I no longer care so much about the money anymore, but instead more about wanting to be happy with myself. I am also pushing myself socially to try new things and experience life instead of just focusing on my job. In scale six it shows I have to be in control. This shows up in a lot of my quirks and traits, but most especially in that I hate flying. Scale seven indicates that my internal locus borders on the moderate to strong. Some of the benefits being my work ethic and desire to succeed in everything I do. One of the draw backs is that I always have to be in control. Scale eight shows a greater sense of optimism: I believe that everyone can be successful if they believe in themselves (Myers, 2014).
To understand what stress does to us, it is important to note that physical and psychological stresses have different impacts on the human brain and thus mental health. Since physical stress often occurs during rigorous exercise, this recovery is more or less dependent upon the physical conditioning of the individual. However, mental stresses affect a person both physically and physiologically. This is what makes it so dangerous; as there is no cure, mental stress more often than naught can come back again without warning and act as a virus and eternal battle for the person subjected to this type of stress. Deadlines, finances, relationship or marital problems, work or profession, school, existing ailment, and other emotional or psychological disturbances are the most common causes of mental or emotional stress. Lack of sleep, poor nutrition, sedentary lifestyle, and very tiring activities are, on the other hand, leading roots of physical stress. Doctors, however, claim that mental stress reduces a person's energy and vitality more than the physical few minutes have travelled through the blood stream and stimulated our adrenal cortex to stressors produce a stress hormone – cortisol. (National Institute of Mental Health, 2004).
Cortisol has been shown to damage and kill cells in the hippocampus (the brain area responsible for your episodic memory) and there is robust evidence that chronic stress causes premature brain aging. It seems it makes your brain more vulnerable to damage such as strokes, ageing and stressful events. The cortisol released in stress travels into the brain and binds to the receptors inside many neurons (in the cytoplasm). Through a cascade of reactions, this causes neurons to admit more calcium through channels in their membrane. (National Institute of Health, 2007)
According to the article “Is Stress Running Your Health?” by Sarah Tuff, overdoing your response to stress can yield damaging results. Moreover, such results can escalate to, as Tuff reports from Dr. Robert Lee, “a state [of] ‘superstress,’” transforming a potentially infrequent condition into a chronic illness. To prevent such an event, and indeed the more common stress bouts themselves, one can turn to a more holistic approach in tandem with medical examinations. Evaluating your lifestyle (eating habits, physical activities, etc.), having a positive outlook in life, excellent time management, and balancing your priorities are what most doctors would say are some of the best ways to avoid stress and prevent surmountable loss of energy and vitality (Tuff).
Unless a person takes important steps and seeks medical advice on how stress in his daily routine can cause medical disorders, he will find that not only does he suffer from the physiological aftermaths, but also his life can be in danger if the brain is not allowed to relax.

Works Cited
"Fact Sheet on Stress." NIMH RSS. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/stress/index.shtml>.
Kreamer, Anne. "How Is Stress Affecting Your Health? The Mind-Body Connection."Anne Kreamer. 20 July 2007. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <http://www.annekreamer.com/how-is- stress-affecting-your-health-the-mind-body-connection>.
Myers, David G. Psychology in Everyday Life. New York, NY: Worth, 2014. Print.
"News in Health, January 2007 - National Institutes of Health (NIH)." News in Health, January 2007 - National Institutes of Health (NIH). Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2007/January/docs/01features_01.htm>.
Tuff, Sarah. "Is Stress Ruining Your Health?" Alternative Medicine. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. <http://www.alternativemedicine.com/handling-stress/stress-ruining-your-health>.