What is it that makes people feel stress? One factor is the degree of control they have over an unpleasant situation. Both animals and humans have been found to cope better with painful or threatening stimuli when they feel that they can exercise some degree of control, rather than being passive and helpless victims. Such a sense of control can help reduce the negative consequences of stress, both psychological and physical.
In one well-known experiment, a scientist gave electric shocks to pairs of rats. In each pair, one of the two animals was given a degree of control over the situation; it could reach through a hole in the cage and press a panel that would turn off the shock both for itself and for its partner. Thus, the two rats received exactly the same number of shocks, but one was passive and helpless, and the other was in control. After a continuous 21-hour session, the animals were sacrificed and their stomachs examined for ulcers. Those rats who could exert control had fewer ulcers than their helpless partners.
The sense of control benefits humans, too. For example, the loud music coming from your stereo is not stressful; in fact, it’s quite enjoyable. But the same music coming from the place next door can be terribly irritating and stressful. Merely knowing that one can control a noise makes it less stressful.
Personality is another key factor that influences the degree of stress one experiences. It has been found that there is a certain kind of person who can resist stress. People who cope well with stress tend to be committed to what they are doing, to feel in control, and to welcome moderate amounts of change and challenge. These people experience fewer physical illnesses than those with other kinds of personalities.
Until recently it was generally believed that, to maintain good health, people should avoid stress. But the desire to avoid stress may lead people to lose potentially beneficial changes in their lives, such as getting a better job or a promotion. Besides, the attempt to avoid stress is often unrealistic. It is also true that, if people do not confront a certain amount of stress in their lives, they will end up being bored from lack of stimulation, and this can be physically harmful. Thus, each person needs to come to terms with stress in his or her own way, sometimes trying to avoid it, but sometimes accepting it or even seeking it out as a challenge to be mastered.
上記の英文は大学入試問題を解く演習で最近扱った問題です。
実際にはＺＫＡＩの問題集に掲載されている関西大学の「ストレス」についての英文です。
現代はまさにストレス社会。
ストレスに押しつぶされて病気になってしまうことも多々あると思われます。
また、ストレスに耐えられなくてその場やその状況から逃げ出してしまいたくなることもあるでしょう。
まず、この英文を読んで思ったのは、
なぜ「ストレスを感じるのか」という要因を理解しておくことの大切さです。
それをわかっているだけで、救われることがあるかもしれません。
受験というストレスを感じている生徒にとっては、
これは単なる英文読解練習だけではなく
内容理解により新たな知識が追加されました。
読後においてストレスに向かう姿勢や考え方が変わる気がします。
「ストレスって悪いことばかりではないよ」という救いにもなりそうです。
ところで、12月1日から従業員50人以上の事業所に「ストレスチェック」が義務化されました。
医療費削減等が目的のようですが、
産業医から披検査者へ結果が伝えられ、
状況に応じて披検査者が事業所に相談する流れのようです。
過酷な労働時間を課す等、就業時間も厳守できないブラックな企業が社会問題化されています。
そうであれば
精神的に参っている病気を抱える従業員に対しての的確な処遇や配慮がなされるとは到底考えられません。
福利厚生にも恵まれた一部の大企業に勤務する従業員にしかこの制度は該当しないように思えてしまいます。
