Cortisol is sometimes referred to as a ‘stress hormone’ because it is produced in times of stress. The high levels of cortisol are not surprising as many depressive episodes are preceded by stressful events. Given this, the high levels of cortisol may be a result rather than a cause of depression – they may be produced as a response to stress rather than a cause of the disorder. The Biological Model states that psychological disorders are caused, at least in part, by biological factors. This suggests that treatment should
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). Although this disease can be caused by the indirect effects. Indirect effects of stress are associated with the bad habits that stress causes us to take part in, these included smoking, poor diet and alcohol abuse. These poor habits can thus lead to ill-effects on one’s health. These issues are more related to chronic stress rather than acute stress and it occurs for a long period, thus affecting health for a longer period.
Anti depressants such as MAOI’s which increase the available amount of nor adrenaline in the brain, were found to be effective for elevating the symptoms of depression. So when noradrenalin is increased in the brain, symptoms of depression get better, suggests that it is chemicals that are the root cause of depression. This idea is also found in the results of taking reserpine, a drug used to treat high blood pressure. Depression is a unwanted side effect of this drug, as this drug acts by lowering levels of nor adrenaline. So again strongly suggests that low activity noradrenaline, is a factor contributing to the cause of depression.
“People with Generalized Anxiety Disorder report that the anxiety that they experience cause substantial interference with their lives and they need a significant dosage of medications to control their symptoms.” (Gerow and Chatmon 2013, p. 258). To try and help Mr. Hudson with his disorder I’m going to try two methods of treatment. The first method would be a psychoactive drug therapy. I will have him try an antianxiety drug called Equanil, a muscle relaxant for his extreme muscle tension. According to Gerow and Chatmon, “When muscular tension is reduced, a person usually reports feeling calm and at ease” (p. 281).
In the view of stress as an environmental event, what aspects are missing when considering an individual’s response to a stressful situation? The individual’s perception of the event, the degree of which the change is perceived as stressful, coping strategies and available support systems at the time of the life change. 3. In their study, what event did Miller and Rage find produced the highest level of stress reaction in their subjects? Death of a family member with a child being
Running Head: Theory Critique Hart Theory Critique: Archibald Hart The Anxiety Cure Jennifer Hooker Liberty University COUN 507 Diane Powel 12/09/12 Summary of Content Dr. Archibald Hart’s book The Anxiety Cure is often presented as a self-help book. Dr. Hart introduces a guideline that would assist a person in determining the causes and prevention of anxiety and ways to cope with it. Dr. Hart wants to raise awareness on the growing effects of anxiety is now one of the major emotional disorders at this time (Hart, 1999). Stress can often be unpredictable and difficult to avoid, however it can end up leading to depression or an anxiety disorder, which could negatively affect the progress of living a healthy life. Dr. Hart provides examples of different techniques that can be utilized when coping with anxiety without having to rely on the use of medication.
When a person with a phobia encounters the stimulus which causes their fear they experience extreme anxiety and will show avoidance behaviour. There are various elements that make up the fear response of phobia such as, cognitive element, where the expectation of harm about to happen, the perception of danger and threat. There is also the biological element which is the body’s emergency reaction to danger (‘fight or flight’ response) release of adrenaline leading to increased heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, sweating, etc. There is also the emotional element which is the feeling of dread, terror and panic. The final element is the behavioural one, involving fleeing, avoidance behaviour or freezing.
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
The neurotransmitters Cortisol and Adrenaline are released when a person is in a situation that requires the fight, flight, or freeze response (Seahorn and Seahorn, p.87, 2008). However, extreme stress causes neural cell death in relation to excessive cortisol secretion. Seahorn and Seahorn continue that there are many characteristics of PTSD and symptoms often appear quickly without warning. These symptoms include but are not limited to: hyperarousal, nightmares, insomnia, flashbacks, panic attacks, fear, avoidance, anger, and hopelessness
When the body detects stress, the SNS is activated which leads to raised heart rate, which leads to higher blood pressure which can lead to Chronic Heart Disease, heart attack, stroke etc. The Beta Blocker is taken then and it acts by reducing activity of adrenaline and noradrenaline and also binds to the receptors of the heart and other areas of the body stimulated by arousal. As a result of blocking these receptors, it is therefore harder to stimulate them and so the heart beat is slowed, and therefore lower blood pressure. A strength of drug treatment is that they are proven to be affective, for example Kahn et al tested 250 participants over 8 weeks, and found that BZs were better than a placebo. The drugs are also very quick and easy to use, and do not require extra effort or stress that could be incurred using other, longer methods of stress management.