Stress Health and Human Flourishing
Refugees in various parts of the world experience many challenges, both in their mother country and their new homes. Several factors are common in the experiences of almost all the refugees. Insecurity due to war and similar elements have been a major cause of refugee issues for over a significantly long time. Osman Mohamed of Somalia is one of the people who migrate from their mother countries to other countries in search of peace (kuow.org). Osman left Somalia after an event of a shooting, which led him to search for peace in Kenya and later the United States. In their new homes, refugees experience many problems, including the difficulty of adapting to the new environments and lack of food. Osman’s family got shot in Somalia. In the United States, refugees receive care from social workers for at most eight months, after which they are left on their own. Neda and Peiman are refugees in Turkey (kuow.org). They fled Iran due to issues of insecurity. Neda is finding it difficult to adapt to the new environment. The degree of stress she experiences is so significant that her family has nicknamed her “Neda Stress.” The general adaptation syndrome applies in both cases. War was an alarm in both Somalia and Iran. The people affected by the events perceived insecurity as a stressor. Their bodies initiated the flight-fight response. They, therefore, fled to safer grounds.
Stress can have a significant impact on the immune system, especially if the exposure to the stressors happens for a significantly long time. When one experiences stress, the body consumes large amounts of resources, causing wear and tear (Yaribeygi et al., 2017). The result is the weakening of the immune system, an event that predisposes individuals to various health conditions such as depression, heart attack, and diabetes. In the case study, Neda might have suffered from depression due to prolonged exposure to stressful moments. Her depressed state appears to have been so significant, something that gave rise to her nickname, “Neda Stress.”
Sports activities can be of significant help to people who experience various forms of stress. Refugees who find it difficult to cope with new environments can also benefit significantly from sporting activities (Taparata, 2016). One of the major causes of stress among refugees is the difficulty to freely interact with new people from different socio-cultural backgrounds. According to Seaward (2017), sporting promotes socialization and promotes a person’s well-being (Seaward, 2017). For the Jewish refugees who had fled the brutality of the German forces in the 1940s, sporting activities appeared to have a significant positive impact on reducing stress among the refugees.
There is a positive relationship between feeling in control over the environment and stress. According to a study by Seaward (2017), one is less likely to develop depression and similar adverse events when they feel like they have control over the environment (Seaward, 2017). For that reason, changing the course of events can have a significant impact on preventing stress. A good example of an environmental stressor is the coronavirus. Most people do not have control over the pandemic. However, the course of the stressor can be changed by creating a vaccine or cure to prevent further spread.
Someone with an internal locus of control believes that their actions determine their future. Those with an external locus of control believe that one’s future is beyond their control (PRICHEP, 2018). Free play involves the use of imagination when doing something to achieve a desirable outcome (PRICHEP, 2018). Therefore, free play for kids can promote internal locus of control, at least to some extent, because the kids get to know the impact of their actions in determining their future (Buddelmeyer & Powdthavee, 2016). People with an internal locus of control are less likely to develop depression and related problems than those with an external locus of control. Students with the internal locus of control are more likely to make decisions to prevent the occurrence of stressful events.
Having an optimistic member of a work team can have negative or positive impacts. One of the significant impacts of having an optimist in a team is that they will make other members more positive about their work, which will have other positive impacts such as better teamwork, increased productivity, improved teamwork, and lower turnover (Neumann, 2015). However, having an optimist in the team can be disadvantageous, especially when the member tries to convince other parties to implement a strategy without considering the negative consequences.
Religiously active people are likely to live longer than the non-religious. According to a study by Ofstedal et al. (2019), various factors associated with various religions are likely to increase the length of life at least to some extent (Ofstedal et al., 2019). The involvement in various social activities appeared to have some impact on the same. Other factors include the fact that most religions preach against unhealthy practices such as smoking and alcohol consumption. People who are happy during early adulthood are also more likely to be happy later (Ofstedal et al., 2019). According to the researchers, that is likely to happen because both socio-economic and demographic factors that create happiness in life persist for a significantly long time.
Different employees have different reactions when they learn about the salaries of their coworkers and bosses (Cullen & Perez-Truglia, 2018). In terms of relative deprivation, an en employee’s salary determines, to a large extent, their ability to afford a standard of life that has been approved by the society (Motokawa, 2015). Employees who receive relatively high salaries feel at peace with their workplace, while those who receive relatively low salaries feel threatened. They develop the fear of being unable to afford a particular standard of life.
This text supports the idea that “money cannot buy happiness.” One of the ten “scientifically proven ways to have a happier life” is that one should, if possible, take unemployment over a job they do not like (Neumann, 2015). The point is that one can be unhappy if they do something they do not like regardless of the salary.
One of the best ways to regain intrinsic motivation is to have a higher purpose in what one does daily (Buddelmeyer & Powdthavee, 2016). As a guitar player, my friend should have thought of a greater future in his career and try to oppose the negative effects of the events that happen on the way to greatness.
References
Buddelmeyer, H., & Powdthavee, N. (2016). Can having an internal locus of control insure against negative shocks? Psychological evidence from panel data. Journal of economic behavior & organization, 122, 88-109.
Cullen, Z. B. & Perez-Truglia, R. (2018). The Motivating (and Demotivating) Effects of Learning Others’ Salaries. Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2018/10/the-motivating-and-demotivating-effects-of-learning-others-salaries.
https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-08-12/its-not-just-olympics-sports-have-been-important-refugee-camps-decades
kuow.org. Upon Arrival: How refugees find their way in Seattle. kuow.org. http://kuow.org/post/upon-arrival-how-refugees-find-their-way-seattle.
Motokawa, K. (2015). Human capital disclosure, accounting numbers, and share price. Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting.
Neumann, K. (2015). KNOW WHY: Systems Thinking and Modeling: Gain insights for a happier life, more intelligent management, and a better world. BoD–Books on Demand.
Ofstedal, M. B., Chiu, C. T., Jagger, C., Saito, Y., & Zimmer, Z. (2019). Religion, life expectancy, and disability-free life expectancy among older women and men in the United States. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 74(8), e107-e118.
PRICHEP, D. (2018). To Raise Confident, Independent Kids, Some Parents Are Trying To ‘Let Grow.’ npr.org https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/09/03/641256596/to-raise-confident-independent-kids-some-parents-are-trying-to-let-grow?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=shotshealthnews
Seaward, B. L. (2017). Managing stress. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Taparata, E. (2016). It’s not just the Olympics. Sports have been important in refugee camps for decades. Retrieved August 29, 2018, from
Yaribeygi, H., Panahi, Y., Sahraei, H., Johnston, T. P., & Sahebkar, A. (2017). The impact of stress on body function: A review. EXCLI Journal, 16, 1057.