Acute Stress Response

There are three different theories that are used when talking about how we react to stress through the physiological aspect or the psychological aspect. The first is part of the physiological aspect of stress called the Cannon Fight or Flight theory which was proposed in 1914. Fight or Flight response is a physiological stress response that evolved to help organisms to survive immediate danger. The theory states that when an organism, human being or animal, faces imminent danger (acute stressor) the body arouses quickly and is ready to act via two different systems. They are the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system. The sympathetic nervous system stimulates the adrenal medulla which is part of the endocrine system and is the region that produces the hormones such as adrenaline and noradrenaline. These hormones increase heart rate, blood flow, and glucose levels to prepare the body for an emergency. This response from the body suggests that the body knows how to protect itself and reach homeostasis. These two systems work together to either fight against the danger or flight away from the danger. Lord, King and Pfister in 1976 studied the Fight or Flight response in animals through a very unethical study. They administered chemicals on male hooded Wistar rats which inhibited the neurotransmitters from functioning normally. This made it very difficult for the rats to escape an electric shock. The results of the study suggest that the Flight or Fight response

Van der Kolk (1987) notes that human responses to trauma are relatively constant across various types of traumatic stimuli, where individuals have poor tolerance to arousal stimuli and may experience social and emotional withdrawal. These changes in the body’s arousal and perception prevent the continuance of “normal” life, and require help.

The fight or flight instinct does not allow time to process anything new. Our brains become focused on the object or event that is causing the body to undergo stress.

Animals and Humans have a biological stress response intended to facilitate survival in the case of a life threatening attack or severe illness. This is commonly referred to the “fight or flight” response. Some primates, including humans have developed the unhealthy propensity to trigger this response for psychological or social reasons. Humans in particular experience the stress response exponentially more often for psychological reasons than for the purpose of survival (Stress, 2008). For example, we are may feel “stressed out” about work or school and if we think about it too much and get upset, we may experience a stress response Just by thinking about something that is bothering us, we can trigger the biological “fight or flight”

The individual reacted with a fight or flight reaction and over estimated the danger they were in (2008).

The repetition of these traumatic events and the stress caused by these events can manifest itself in physiological and psychological disorders which, over the course of the 20th century have changed names and

A physical indicator of this type of symptom is nightmares in which the individual relives the event. Re-experiencing symptoms are often triggered by a sound, sight, or event that causes the individual to relive the initial trauma. For example, triggers might include a seemingly trivial occurrence such as hearing a car backfire which could resurface memories of gunfire for a combat war Veteran, or seeing a car accident which can remind a crash survivor of their own accident (Friedman, 2007). The second type of symptom frequently occurring in individuals with PTSD is avoiding situations that serve as a reminder of the initial event. Individuals with this symptom may choose to purposely avoid situations or people that trigger memories of the initial traumatic event (Friedman, 2007). For example, a person who underwent a devastating earthquake may avoid watching television shows or movies involving earthquakes. Also these individuals may simply attempt to stay extremely busy to avoid having to think or to talk about the traumatic event that occurred. The third type of symptom most often experienced by individuals is emotional numbness (Friedman, 2007). Often victims of PTSD find it difficult to accurately express their feelings. Consequently, not only is it easier for these individuals to avoid expressing their feelings, but it also allows them to avoid memories of the catalytic event. Individuals

When a person is faced with an experience that has to do with personal tragedies, environmental disasters, or wars, they must continue their lives and cannot do it like before because their emotional life is altered. It is observed from avoidance behaviors to behaviors both poles of hyperarousal emotional response limit performance of the person in their life or immediately after the event lived.

This theory was formulated by Foa and Riggs (Foa, Cahill & Boscarino, 2005) and encompasses information about cognitive, behavioural and physiological reactions to an event. Information links these stimulus and response elements together after people have either experienced a traumatic event themselves or have witnessed another person experiencing the event. The perception of death or danger to one’s life can lead to a feeling of helplessness (Foa, Cahill & Boscarino, 2005). Among the types of events that may trigger PTSD are shootings, witnessing torture or being tortured, being in a traffic accident, being in a war, being raped, or suffering because of a natural or man-made disaster.

As cited by Barkhuizen (2010), the victims of violence experience fear, shame, and become more isolated from other people overtime. A stress response syndrome was described by Hilberman (1980) as cited by Barkhuizen (2010), a marked passivity, guilt, fear, depression, and helplessness are present among the battered spouses in the study which is related to the victim’s self-esteem.

In the first study for the current research of this topic by Jelicic, it observes the result that acute stress has on the recall of neutral and emotional words. There was two controls for the experiment; a psychosocial stressor or a control task. Each participant’s level of stress hormone cortisol was measured before and after the presence of the stress, as well as after the test of their memory. The stress presented had an adverse effect on the two types of words. For neutral words, the participant’s memory was impaired, however for emotional words the memory was enhanced (Jelicic). A criticism with this study is that even though the cortisol was measures as what was said to be the main determinant of the effects, they were not mediated by it. The authors decided it did not make sense to guess the effects on the memory were caused by

The body has a natural response to immanent danger approaching. Often it undergoes a “flight-or-fight”, a physiological response to a harmful event or threat of survival. However, this reaction to danger can be damaged or altered due to Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD usually occurs after a terrifying event that involves physical harm, or the threat of it. Instead of the body having a natural response to danger, this “flight-or-fight” reaction could occur at any given, uncontrollable moment. Traumatic events including rape, child abuse, natural disasters, and car accidents are one of the many things that can trigger PTSD. PTSD was originally brought to attention when war-veterans were experiencing these symptoms. One veteran

Stress is the body’s way of responding to any sort of demand or threat. When one feels intimidated, the nervous system react by releasing an enormous amount of stress hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol, which awaken the body for emergency response. The heart pounds faster, breath fastens, blood pressure increases, and the senses sharpen. These physical changes increase the reaction time, strengthen the focal point, and increase the stability and endurance. This is known as the “fight or flight” response and is the body’s way of protecting oneself.

What is acute stress and what can acute stress lead to if untreated in young adults? First discovered and recognized for around 1936, a common type of stress called acute stress is often a response to life changes and the need to adjust to those changes. While many changes are positive, such as going on vacation or getting a new job, some changes are negative, such as an illness of a parent. Any type of change or disruption in a child’s life‒whether it is mental, emotional, or physical‒can cause stress. This is especially true if these changes seem to be out of a child’s control. Acute stress, if not dealt with, can cause migraine, stomach aches, diarrhea, nausea, ulcers, back pain, skin disorders, and even high blood pressure, which may increase a teenager’s risk of heart disease. Sometimes acute stress may lead to more serious symptoms,

Psychological and physical well-being and the overall quality of life are under a constant threat of stress and thus, psychological and medical sciences have long been concerned with studying stress response. Cox (1979) claimed that because of the poor understanding and defining it, the concept of stress tends to be rather elusive. The term, “stress”, commonly describes any physchological or physical alteration that deranges the organism’s homeostasis (or balance). This essay reviews some of the biological factors involved in stress and it has been organized in the following way. The paper begins by briefly introducing the concept of stress. It will then go on to discus and describe the automatic response (fight or flight reaction),