A brief overview of Stress, conflict, frustration for nursing students

1. Stress, Conflicts and Frustration
By
Lorita Furtado

2. Stress is the
physiological
response of the body
to physical an
psychological
demands. It is the
process of adjusting
to or dealing with
circumstances that
disrupts or threatens
a person’s physical or
psychological
functioning.

3. Types of Stress
Based on
result
Positive Stress/
Eustress/ Good
stress
Results when a person
perceives a stressor as
positive and can lead
to motivation and
challenge
Negative/Distre
ss/Bad stress
Results when a
demand vastly exceeds
a person's capabilities
and often results in
anxiety
Based on
duration
Acute
short-term stress that
goes away quickly. It
helps in managing
dangerous situations
Chronic
It’s the stress that lasts
for a longer period of
time and if ways to
manage stress aren’t
found it may lead to
health problems.

4. • Stressor =A stressor
is a chemical or
biological agent,
environmental
condition, external
stimulus or an event
seen as causing
stress to an
organism.

5. Types of Stressors
• In Psychology, stressors
are of 4 types namely:
1) Crises/catastrophes
This type of stressor
is unforeseen and
unpredictable and, as such,
is completely out of the
control of the individual.
Example:
devastating natural
disasters like floods,
pandemics etc.

6. Types of Stressors
2) Major life events
These events,
either positive or
negative, can create a
sense of uncertainty
and fear, which will
ultimately lead to
stress. Examples: death,
marriage etc.

7. Types of Stressors
3) Daily hassles/micro
stressors and
conflictsincludes
daily annoyances and minor
hassles. Examples : making
decisions, meeting deadlines
at work or school, traffic jams
etc.
Travel-related stress results
from three main categories:
lost time, surprises (an
unforeseen event such as lost
or delayed baggage) and
routine breakers (inability to
maintain daily habits).

8. Types of Conflicts
• The approach-approach conflict
• occurs when a person is choosing between two equally attractive
options, i.e. whether to go see a movie or to go see a concert.]
• The avoidance-avoidance conflict
• occurs where a person has to choose between two equally
unattractive options, for example, to take out a second loan with
unappealing terms to pay off the mortgage or to face foreclosure on
one's house.
• The approach-avoidance conflict
• occurs when a person is forced to choose whether or not to partake
in something that has both attractive and unattractive traits – such as
whether or not to attend an expensive college (meaning taking out
loans now, but also meaning a quality education and employment
after graduation).
• Multiple Approach-avoidance conflicts
• occurs when the person is forced to choose between two or more
things each of which has both desirable and undesirable features.

9. Types of Stressors
4) Ambient stressors
• They are defined as stressors
that are "chronic, negatively
valued, non-urgent, physically
perceptible, and intractable to
the efforts of individuals to
change them".
• Examples : pollution, noise,
crowding, and traffic.
• Unlike the other three types
of stressor, ambient stressors
can (but do not necessarily
have to) negatively impact
stress without conscious
awareness.

10. Types of Stressors
Organizational stressors
• Sometimes most
potent stressors can be
due to personal
organizational
problems in the unit or
on the home
front. Stress due to
bad organizational
practices is often
connected to "Toxic
Leadership“.

11. Adaptation to Stress
• The body responds to stress in many ways. Readjusting
chemical levels is just one of them. Here are some examples
of adjustments and changes.
• General Adaptation syndrome also often referred to as the
classic stress response, and it revolves around the concept of
homeostasis. General adaptive syndrome occurs in three stages:
• The alarm reaction
• The stage of resistance
• The stage of exhaustion.

12. GAS
• The alarm reaction. This stage occurs when the stressor is first presented.
The body begins to gather resources to deal with the stressor. This resulting
in the release of hormones from the adrenal gland s such as cortisol,
adrenaline and norephinephrine into the bloodstream to adjust bodily
processes. These hormonal adjustments increase energy levels, increase
muscle tension, reduce sensitivity to pain, slow down the digestive system,
and cause a rise in blood pressure and cause impairement in working
memory.
• The stage of resistance. The body continues building up resistance
throughout the stage of resistance, until either the body's resources are
depleted, leading to the exhaustion phase, or the stressful stimulus is
removed.

13. GAS
• The stage of exhaustion. The body is completely drained of the
hormones and resources it was depending on to manage the
stressor. The person now begins to exhibit behaviors such as anxiety,
irritability, avoidance of responsibilities and relationships, self-
destructive behavior, and poor judgment. If someone is experiencing
these symptoms they have a much greater chance of lashing out,
damaging relationships, or avoiding social interaction at all.
This physiological stress response involves high levels of sympathetic
nervous system activation, often referred to as the "fight or flight"
response. The response involves pupil dilation, release of endorphins,
increased heart and respiration rates, cessation of digestive processes,
secretion of adrenaline, arteriole dilation, and constriction of veins. This
high level of arousal is often unnecessary to adequately cope with
micro-stressors and daily hassles; yet, this is the response pattern seen
in humans, which often leads to health issues commonly associated
with high levels of stress.

14. Frustration
• Definition
• The feeling of being upset or annoyed as a result of being unable
to change or achieve something.
• Signs
• Withdrawal, fixation, blaming others, aggression, regression,
physical disorders, apathy, rude behavior, throwing the hands into
the air, tapping the fingers or feet, disgust or displeasure on the
face.
• More severe the frustration, more dramatic will be the
movements.

15. • Causes
• Frustration originates from feelings of uncertainty and
insecurity which stems from a sense of inability to fulfill
needs.
• Needs can be blocked two different ways; internally and
externally.
• Internal blocking happens within an individual's mind, either
through lack of ability, confidence, conflicting goals and desires,
and/or fears.
• External blocking happens to an individual outside their control
such as physical roadblocks, difficult tasks, or perceived waste of
time.
• Other causes may be
• Grades, Deadlines, Expectations, Social pressure, Peer pressure,
Examination, illness etc.

16. Sources of Frustration
SourcesofFrustration Environment-Physical and
social
Individual factors-
Expecatations and wants
Vs capabilities
Conflicts

17. Effects of Frustration
• Headaches, stomach
aches, hypertension,
anxiety, ulcers and even
heart attacks
•Anger and When the obstacle is
too influential to direct anger , this
anger is redirected to something
less influential.
• Indulging in self-
destructive habits
• Compromise
Loss of
confidence
Easily
Giving up
of Goals
Fight and
flight
mode
Depression

18. How Nurse can help preventing
frustration
• Develop-positive Nurse Patient relations
• Practice patient Listening
• Talk to the patient and significant others whenever needed
• Explain all procedures before performing
• Involve patient and his/her family in care and don’t promote
dependence on healthcare professionals
• Don’t yell at patients and their significant others
• Positive and healthy environment
• Be empathetic
• Keep expectations real
• Take consent before all procedures
• Respecting patient’s rights

19. How Nurse can help preventing
frustration
Encourage patient to
• Ask himself, “What Is Working in This Situation?”
• Keep an Accomplishments Log.
• Focus On What You Want to Happen.
• Remove the “Noise” and Simplify.
• Multiple Solutions.
• Take Action.
• Visualize a Positive Outcome to the Situation.
• Stay Positive.
• Help them communicate what their frustration is about.
• Encourage patients to describe calmly what he or she is feeling.
• Guide them brainstorm solutions to the problem.
• Help the patients determine whether the situation is important
enough to address or something he or she could forget about.
• Give the patients achievable targets

20. • https://www.slideshare.net/mereterickallan/frustration-and-
stress-report?qid=24680158-4ddf-4db4-921e-
0dd8627a2444&v=&b=&from_search=3
• https://www.slideshare.net/aqsattiq/frustration-
61533420?qid=9188f981-c5fc-4b81-bb2d-
e69f0ed0be13&v=&b=&from_search=5
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frustration
Thank You