Chapter Seven

Stress and Health

Mental health is the state of a person’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It
affects how we think, feel, act, handle stress, relate to others, and make decisions in daily
life.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO):

Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can
cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to contribute to his or
her community.

Key points of mental health:

• Emotional balance and self-control

• Positive thinking and self-confidence
• Ability to cope with stress and challenges
• Healthy relationships and social interaction
• Productive functioning in work or study

1. Emotional Dimension

• Ability to understand, express, and manage emotions

• Coping with stress, anxiety, and frustration
• Maintaining emotional balance

2. Psychological / Cognitive Dimension

• Positive thinking and realistic perception

• Decision-making and problem-solving skills
• Self-esteem, self-confidence, and personal growth

3. Social Dimension

• Ability to form and maintain healthy relationships

• Effective communication and social interaction
• Sense of belonging and social support

4. Behavioral Dimension

• Control over one’s actions and reactions

• Socially acceptable and responsible behavior
• Healthy habits and lifestyle choices
5. Spiritual / Moral Dimension

• Sense of purpose and meaning in life

• Moral values, beliefs, and ethics
• Inner peace and hope

6. Environmental Dimension

• Ability to adapt to one’s surroundings

• Managing demands of home, school, work, and society
• Creating a supportive and safe environment

Mental health is not only the absence of mental illness; it is the balanced development of
emotional, psychological, social, behavioral, spiritual, and environmental well-being.

1. Promoting Mental Health and Well-being

Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual:

• Realizes their own abilities,

• Can cope with the normal stresses of life,
• Can work productively, and
• Is able to contribute to their community.

It is more than the absence of mental illness — it involves emotional, psychological, and
social well-being. Mental health affects how we think, feel, and behave in daily life. It also
influences how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices.

Key aspects of mental health include:

• Emotional well-being: Ability to manage emotions such as sadness, anger, or anxiety.

• Psychological well-being: Self-awareness, resilience, coping skills, and problem-solving
ability.
• Social well-being: Healthy relationships and meaningful social connections.

Example: Good mental health means having balance — being able to enjoy life, recover from
setbacks, and manage stress effectively.

Promotion goes beyond treating illness — it focuses on building resilience, coping skills, and
supportive environments. Key strategies include:

• Individual level
 o Stress management (mindfulness, meditation, relaxation techniques)
o Healthy lifestyle (exercise, balanced diet, sleep hygiene)
o Positive coping (problem-solving, emotion regulation, time management)
o Seeking help (therapy, counseling, support groups)
• Community/Social level
o Social support networks (family, friends, community groups)
o Educational campaigns to reduce stigma
o Accessible mental health services
o Safe, inclusive workplaces and schools
• Policy/National level
o Integration of mental health into public health programs
o Workplace mental health policies
o Affordable treatment and counseling services
o Awareness through media, schools, and health systems

2. Social Factors Affecting Mental Health

Social determinants play a huge role in mental well-being:

• Socioeconomic status → Poverty, unemployment, financial insecurity increase stress

and risk of depression/anxiety.
• Social support → Strong family and community bonds act as protective factors.
• Education → Higher education often increases awareness and access to resources.
• Workplace conditions → Job insecurity, overwork, harassment, or lack of recognition
harm mental health.
• Cultural expectations → Gender roles, stigma, and social pressures can increase
distress.
• Discrimination and inequality → Racism, classism, sexism, or exclusion negatively
impact psychological well-being.

3. Stress as a Key Factor

Stress is a psychosocial risk factor that influences both mental and physical health:

• Types of stress:
o Acute stress (short-term challenges)
o Chronic stress (ongoing pressures, e.g., poverty, caregiving, unsafe living
conditions)
o Traumatic stress (disasters, violence, abuse)
• Impact of stress on mental health:
o Anxiety, depression, burnout
o Substance abuse as a coping mechanism
 o Weakened coping skills and decision-making
o Physical health issues (hypertension, immune suppression)
• Buffers against stress:
o Strong social support
o Healthy coping mechanisms
o Community belonging
o Access to healthcare

Promoting mental health means not just treating illness but strengthening resilience. Social
determinants (like poverty, inequality, education, and support systems) shape mental health
outcomes. Stress — especially chronic and social stress — is a major threat, but its effects can be
mitigated by supportive environments and strong coping strategies.

Comparative Table: Social Factors, Stress, and Mental Health

Positive Influence Negative Influence Impact on Stress &

Social Factors
(Protective) (Risk) Well-being
Support reduces stress,
Strong family ties,
Family & Social isolation, family promotes resilience;
supportive friendships,
Social Support conflict, neglect isolation increases
community belonging
anxiety, depression
Financial stability reduces
Stable income, job Poverty,
Economic stress; insecurity increases
security, financial unemployment, job
Status chronic stress,
independence insecurity
hopelessness
Access to quality Education promotes
Lack of education,
education, awareness of coping skills; lack of it
Education limited awareness, low
mental health, problem- worsens stress and limits
literacy
solving skills help-seeking
Positive workplaces
Supportive colleagues, fair Overwork, harassment,
Workplace reduce burnout; negative
workload, recognition, safe discrimination, unsafe
Environment ones increase stress,
conditions conditions
anxiety, depression
Inclusivity fosters well-
Inclusive values, respect Gender inequality,
Cultural & being; stigma and
for diversity, reduced discrimination, stigma
Social Norms inequality worsen stress
stigma around mental illness
and self-esteem
Safety reduces fear and
Safe neighborhoods, Violence, unsafe
Community & stress; unsafe conditions
access to health services, housing, poor
Environment lead to chronic stress,
social cohesion healthcare access
trauma
Positive events boost
Positive milestones
Traumatic events (loss, well-being; negative ones
Life Events (marriage, achievement,
disaster, abuse, conflict) increase stress, risk of
new opportunities)
PTSD
This table shows how the same social domains can either buffer stress or amplify it,
depending on whether the conditions are positive or negative.

B. 1. Social Stressors

Social stressors are pressures or demands that come from social environments and relationships.
They affect mental health by challenging our ability to cope.

Examples of social stressors:

• Interpersonal stress: Conflict with family, friends, or coworkers.

• Role stress: Pressure from fulfilling multiple roles (e.g., parent, employee, student).
• Social inequality: Discrimination, racism, gender inequality.
• Life transitions: Marriage, divorce, moving, changing jobs.
• Workplace stress: Job insecurity, high workload, harassment.
• Environmental stress: Living in unsafe neighborhoods, poverty, overcrowding.

Key point: Social stressors are tied to how society is structured and how relationships function.

2. Stress Adaptation

Stress adaptation is how individuals cope with and adjust to stressors. It involves physiological,
psychological, and social adjustments.

Adaptation strategies include:

• Problem-focused coping: Actively addressing the stressor (e.g., finding solutions to job
problems).
• Emotion-focused coping: Managing emotional response (e.g., meditation, talking to
friends).
• Meaning-focused coping: Reframing the situation positively (e.g., finding personal
growth in adversity).
• Avoidance coping: Ignoring or avoiding stressors (can be adaptive short-term but
harmful long-term).

Adaptation depends on:

• Personality traits
• Social support
• Past experiences
 • Resources available

Example: Losing a job is a stressor → adaptation could involve learning new skills, seeking
social support, or reframing it as a chance for career change.

3. Types of Stressors

Stressors can be categorized in different ways:

Type Definition Examples

Short-term stressors that require
Acute stressors Deadlines, exams, arguments
immediate adaptation
Poverty, chronic illness, long-term
Chronic stressors Ongoing or persistent stressors
caregiving
Stress from physical conditions or Noise, extreme weather,
Physical stressors
environment overcrowding
Psychosocial Stress related to social relationships or Discrimination, family conflict,
stressors societal conditions workplace pressure
Major life Significant changes that require major Death of a loved one, divorce,
stressors adjustment migration
Traffic jams, misplacing items,
Daily hassles Small, frequent irritations
waiting in line

Important: Chronic stressors and daily hassles often have the greatest long-term effect on
mental health because they build up over time.

C. Stress and social Group

1. Stress and Social Groups — The Link

Social groups (family, friends, work teams, communities) play a big role in how stress is
experienced and managed. They can be both sources of stress and buffers against stress.

A. Social Groups as Sources of Stress

Stress can arise from group interactions, roles, and expectations:

• Role conflict → When group roles clash (e.g., being both a caregiver and employee).
• Role overload → Too many responsibilities in a group (e.g., work, family duties).
• Interpersonal conflict → Disagreements or tension within the group.
• Social pressure → Expectations to conform to group norms or achieve certain standards.
• Discrimination or exclusion → Being treated unfairly within a group based on identity
(race, gender, class, etc.).

Example: Workplace teams with poor communication can cause stress due to unclear
expectations or constant deadlines.

B. Social Groups as Buffers against Stress

Social groups can also protect mental health by offering:

• Emotional support → Comfort, understanding, encouragement.

• Informational support → Advice, problem-solving strategies.
• Instrumental support → Practical help (childcare, financial help, etc.).
• Sense of belonging → Feeling valued and accepted.

Example: Family and friends helping someone recover from loss or illness can greatly reduce
stress levels.

2. Theories Linking Stress and Social Groups

• Buffering Hypothesis → Social support buffers (reduces) the harmful effects of stress on
mental health.
• Social Integration Theory → Being part of social groups improves health and reduces
stress.
• Social Strain Theory → Conflict and pressure within social groups increase stress and
harm well-being.

3. Key Points

Social Group
Examples
Influence
Source of stress Role conflict, social pressure, interpersonal conflict
Buffer against stress Emotional support, shared resources, belonging
Impact on health Strong groups improve coping, weak/conflictual groups increase
Social Group
Examples
Influence
distress

Social groups are double-edged — they can either generate stress through conflict, overload, or
discrimination, or reduce stress by offering emotional, informational, and practical support.

D. Goffmans conception on self

Erving Goffman’s conception of the self is a cornerstone of his sociological work, especially in
The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959). He views self not as a fixed, inner essence, but
as something created and maintained through social interaction. His idea comes from Symbolic
Interactionism — the belief that meaning and identity are constructed through social processes.
1. Self as a Performance

Goffman uses the metaphor of the theatre to explain self:

• The self is like an actor performing on a stage.

• Everyday social interactions are performances, where individuals present themselves to
others in ways designed to influence how they are perceived.
• This is called dramaturgy.

2. Impression Management

• People actively manage their self-presentation to control the impressions others form of
them.
• This involves front stage and back stage behaviors:
o Front stage: Where we perform for an audience (public self).
o Back stage: Where we prepare, relax, and drop the public performance (private
self).

3. Self as Social Identity

• Self is constructed through interaction — it emerges when people define situations and
themselves in relation to others.
• Identity is not something we possess inherently, but something we negotiate socially.
• Different social contexts lead to different “selves.”

4. The Role of Social Structure

• While self is created through interaction, these interactions happen within social
frameworks shaped by norms, roles, and expectations.
• The self depends on shared definitions of reality — without these, performances could
not be understood.

5. Key Terms in Goffman’s Theory of Self

Concept Meaning
Dramaturgy Social life as theatrical performance
Concept Meaning
Impression Management Strategies to control how others see us
Front Stage Public performance where individuals maintain a specific image
Back Stage Private area where individuals relax and prepare for performances
Face The positive social value a person claims for themselves
Face-Work Efforts to maintain face or avoid losing face

For Goffman, the self is fluid, relational, and performative. It is not an internal, fixed core but
a continual process of presentation, shaped by social interaction and dependent on context.