The human body is designed to know when stress is used and is effecting the body and your body should know how and when to react to it. Everyone thinks that stress is a bad thing but it is also a positive. This is because stress is keeping you alert and will prepare you for any kind of danger. Stress can become dangerous is someone is faced with stress continuously without any kind of relief. Stress becomes very dangerous when they use alcohol, tobacco or drugs to try and relieve the stress.
What is stressful for one person may be pleasurable or have little effect on them and we all react to stress differently. Human beings were built to handle stress; we adapted the autonomic part of the nervous system to handle acute stressor, such as a physical alteration, job interview or even a tough anatomy test. The body would respond by releasing stress hormones, corticosteroids, these hormones would then give an immediate energy surge to the body. The hormones were meant for only short periods; when the body is under chronic stress these hormones start to cause damage to the body. Forty-three percent of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress.
This is the body’s response to a threat or danger. During this reaction, stress hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine are released from the adrenal glands. Then the sympathetic nervous system increases heart rate and respiration, slows digestion, and sends blood flow to major muscle groups giving the body energy and strength. This was what happened to
Selye was convinced that reactions to stressful situations: a. were general and nonspecific b. differed, depending on the type of stressor that was present c. were stronger when people had other physical illnesses d. differed, depending on the personality characteristics of the individual __A__ 3. The physiological reaction to an environmental threat, in which the autonomic nervous system energizes the body and hormones are released by the endocrine system, is called: a. a fight-or-flight response b. a resistance response c. a generalized anxiety response d. reaction formation ___D_ 4. In the general activation syndrome (GAS), described by Selye, the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system first becomes activated during: a. the resistance phase b. the stage of exhaustion c. recovery from the stress d. the alarm reaction __C__ 5. Quinn was driving his car on an icy road when the back end started to skid out of control. His car crossed the centerline, and he could see the headlights of rapidly approaching oncoming traffic.
The good stress is the kind that will help keep you motivated to be productive and be able to achieve the goals we set for ourselves. A person’s stress level can range from low to high. When the stress level is low the stress hormones produced will trigger stressors for boredom and depression while high-level stress triggers stressors for anxiety or excitement. Since the body reacts by producing stress hormones that will help take proper action, if you are experiencing more than one type of stressor you can use one to prevent yourself from experiencing or dealing with the other one. For example each time my husband is deployed I use the work, school and family problems stressors to distract me from worrying about him being in a dangerous mission.
When stressed our immune system’s ability to fight off viral infections is reduced due to a decrease of white blood cells. This is known as immunosuppression, this occurs when the stress hormone corticosteroid is present from a stress response and lowers the number of lymphocytes such as B-cells and T-cells . Stress can have two types of effects, a direct effect or an indirect effect. The direct effect is when stress affects our health directly, for example, when stressed our digestive system is inhibited, after stress is gone, the digestive activity increases, this can lead to the occurrence of Ulcers in the stomach. Stress also increases the heart rate and can lead to the increase of blood pressure, thus Hypertension and can lead to Coronary Heart Disease (CHD).
‘Stress’ refers to the psychological and physiological responses which occur when we perceive a threat and don’t have the resources to cope with it. These threats are known as ‘stressors’. There are three stages: the alarm reaction stage, the resistance stage and the exhaustion stage. The alarm reaction stage is where the autonomic nervous system is activated, triggering the ‘fight or flight’ response. Dilated pupils, saliva inhibition and faster heartbeat are examples of what happens to the body during this stage to enable us to prepare for action, whether it be to fight or to run away from the threat.
‘Discuss the extent to which research suggests that stress may affect the immune system’ 12 marks Stress is defined in three ways – one is a response to or reaction to something in the environment. The second is as a stimulus or a stressor, for example a feature of the environment that produces a stress response. Finally, is a lack of fit between the perceived demands of the environment and the perceived ability to cope with those demands, this is shown by the transactional model. When stress occurs in the body, the long term effects are shown through the para-sympathetic branch which activates the pituitary gland and releases ACTH into the blood stream. ATCH causes the adrenal cortex to enlarge and release cortisol - this can then weaken the immune system.
Outline the body’s response to stress (6 marks) There are two types of stress: acute and chronic stress. Acute stress (short-term stress) causes the body to respond through a process called the sympthomedullary pathways. This immediate response is achieved because of the hypothalamus’s direct link to the nervous system which causes the activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). This is a branch from the autonomic nervous system. The SNS also regulates the sympathetic adrenal medullary system (SAM).
Outline and evaluate the body’s response to stress The body responds to stress by releasing chemicals into our blood to give us a boost to do whatever needs to be done to survive, one way to describe what happens is to use Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS). Stage 1: Alarm When something is perceived as stressful and the HPA axis and SAM pathways are activated, the body releases stress-related hormones such as adrenaline, the heart rate and blood pressure increases, this is to give us a boost to either run away or face the stressor head-on, (otherwise known as the “fight or flight response”. Stage 2: Resistance If the stressor persists the body’s response carries on, and stress-related hormones continue to be released, and the arousal remains. Stage 3: Exhaustion If the stress persists for a long period of