Stress in the United States

Running Head: Stress in the United States Stress in the United States [Writer`s Name] [Institution`s Name] Stress in the United States In the United States today, psychological stress rules over the nation. Generally the stress-inducing episodes involve life transitions, for example marriage, having children, changing jobs, retiring, or suffering the death of a family member. But as a nation the two most important causes of psychological stress for Americans today are the deteriorating national economy because of global recession and the threat of terrorism, including the involvement of the US in wars in difference parts of the world. It would not be wrong to say that the most important problem and major cause of stress among in the US today is unemployment. The psychological stress as a result of these issues has not only put many heads in the country in a vice, but has also torn away their every body system, including brain. The situation has put the nation in a dilemma in which it is very concerned about its future. It is feared that prolonged stress can contribute to many physical and psychological ills because it compromises the effectiveness of the immune system. Stress can become a cause of obesity, heart diseases, diabetes because it increases the chances of the production of inflammatory hormones. Stress can also be a cause of depression. There are many events in the recent past which became basis for stress for the majority of people in the US. If we look and review the events of the past 20 years, we will find economic recession, with its mortgage crisis, soaring unemployment, plunging markets, student loan defaults and many other factors. They all contribute to stress and create problems for health, happiness, and family harmony. According to Brock and Buckley (2012), the everyday life of a person is full of a number of issues. Among them some are avoidable and some can become a cause of stress. As the result of the issues which become a cause of stress, the mind of the person always remains in an almost constant alarm-state. This situation puts this person in a state of readiness. The person always remains ready to fight or flee. When a person continuously remains in this type of state there are chances of the weakness of immune system of his or her body. The situation also increases the chances of acute and chronic psychosomatic illnesses. The authors are of the opinion that stress is increasingly cited as the cause of a number of psychological ailments, both in the home and at the workplace. Another important cause of stress for Americans is obesity which prevalence of which has b...