Stress and Self Esteem

In recent studies philosophers have discussed whether stress and self-esteem have any relations to one another. Does the effect of a person’s stress affect their self esteem? It might seem that a person with low self esteem could be the effects of a high level of stress. Self-Esteem affects everyone, especially teenagers. The articles suggest that there may be other factors that influence stress and self esteem. Introduction “The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines stress as a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension and may be a factor in disease causation.

It may seem confusing but everyone has dealt with stress in their lifetime. Stress is something that is not diagnosed by a doctor, but when a person is stressed, they can definitely feel it (R. , Jill, 2012, par 2). What is self esteem? It is the opinion you have for yourself and your value as a person. Self confidence is also a major role in self esteem. Studies have shown that there is a negative relationship between self esteem and stress. It was also found that self esteem appears to control the effects of stress on psychological functioning.

Those with low self esteem distribute more of a higher stress level than those with a high self esteem. By having a high self esteem it makes dealing with stress easier. High self esteem may protect the individual from distress by allowing the individual to feel less vulnerable and help them rise up from difficult situations. High self esteem may also result in more active and effective coping and in enhanced motivation in response to stress (Abel, 1996). Individuals have their own way they deal with stress and their self esteem.

Stress and self esteem have relations to one another but people deal with things differently. “Another study examined self esteem as a moderator of the influence of perceived stress and coping on symptoms of depression in a sample of 713 college students. The results suggest that self esteem may play an important role in the development of depressive symptoms in college students through interactions with perceived stress and coping (Eisenbarth, 2012, par. 1). ” If an individual does not see them self as worthy, or important, a rise in stress is likely to occur (Eisenbarth, 2012).

I believe the strength of the relationship between the two variables is a medium. Even though research suggests that stress and self esteem do not have such a close connection, I think self esteem and stress are closely connected because every person handles stress differently. If a person has a high level of stress and a low self esteem, it may cause his or her self esteem level drop even more. College students tend to have a higher stress level which could lead to serious depression disorders. The transactional model of stress and coping forwarded by Lazarus and Folk-man (1984) defines stress as an imbalance between people’s perception of the demands placed upon them and their interpretation of the resources available to cope with those demands (Esienbarth, 2012, par 3).

” Those with higher levels of self esteem may take stress more lightly, while those with low self esteem may only see the negative sides of the stress which could cause their stress to heighten even more. “A United States study shows that forty three percent of adults suffer adverse health effects from stress (Hall, 2012, par 2). If an individual has a high self esteem and recently suffers from a lot of stress can cause the persons self esteem to go from high to low. Having a low self esteem can lead to weight gain and depression. If a person does not get help when suffering stress or self esteem problems, it could eventually lead to health problems. Researchers found that there is a strong relationship between how someone copes with stress and self esteem. People with low self esteem are more likely to view their behavior as being dependent on the situation while people with high self esteem have a greater ability to connect in a wide range of coping behaviors.

Why do people with low self esteem view their coping behavior more as self-dependent? It has been suggested that self esteem influences coping because it is so strongly related to personal preferences which they use for their own differences and outcomes (Abel, 1996). It may be that peoples coping styles reflect their self esteem, but they could also be building a barrier that could make their self esteem crash. If a person continuously worries about their self esteem and how to cope with it, the more stressed and anxious they may become.

Self esteem is not as important as self acceptance. Many people argue that self esteem and self acceptance are the same thing, however to some people they disagree (R. , Jill, 2012). Things people need to do to make themselves feel better is to learn to accept themselves for who they are and not what you expect yourself to be. Everyone does good and bad things. Stress and self esteem are handled differently by everyone. Building a high self esteem can take years to complete and when they face stress it doesn’t affect them as much as it does a person with low self esteem.

By having high self esteem it makes dealing with situations easier. People with low self esteem seem to be shy, quiet, and self conscious about themselves and when they have high levels of stress they tend to keep to them self and cope with it on their own (R. , Jill, 2012). There are many different ways of coping with stress because everyone has it. Stress is a normal situation for people and everyone deals with it their own ways. Even though research says stress and self esteem have little to do with each other, there have not been a lot of studies to prove it.

In conclusion, Stress and self esteem have little to do with how people deal with or perceive the levels of stress in their lives. It has more to do with other factors such as coping styles and self concept. The purpose of this correlation essay was to research that people with high self esteem see themselves to have lower levels of stress than those with low self esteem and people who have low self esteem perceive themselves to have high levels of stress than those with high self esteem (Eisenbarth, 2012).

References Abel, M. H. (1996). Self-Esteem: Moderator of mediator between perceived stress and expectancy of success. Psychological Reports, 79, 635-641. Eisenbarth, Chris. (2012). Does Self-Esteem Moderate the Relations among Perceived Stress, Coping, and Depression? College Student Journal, 46, 149-157. Retrieved from http://www. nclive. org. Hall, Joanna. (2012). Outsmart Stress. Good Health, 72-74. Retrieved from http://www. nclive. org. R. , Jill. (2012) Stress and Self Esteem. Retrieved from http://www. ourstressfullives. com