Decreasing Academic Stress in Schools

In an acute stressor, the immune system is heightened. But is suppressed in a chronic stressor. In this situation the cortisol levels rise, and weaken the immune system. This weaken system can make the human body more susceptible to serious disease, infections

The most critical stage of stress is when an individual cannot fight off their infections, depression and other health related problems is known as the chronic stress. When stress is not handled properly, over-time it can cause wear and tear to the body which affects a person’s body physical and mentally. For example, when a person undergoes surgery and they are experience high levels of stress their body make take longer to heal (ADA, 2013). This is a direct result of high blood glucose levels, which is product of stress hormones that are designed to deal with short-term

The nervous, endocrine, and immune systems share a close relationship critical to maintaining homeostasis during psychological and immune stress (Carlsson, Anneli, Ludvigsson, & Faresjö, 2014). Chronic stress, primarily mediated by the glucocorticoid cortisol, is associated with deleterious health outcomes and immune deficiency. However, acute stress is associated with protective health effects and immune enhancement. Stress has generally been regarded as adaptive when acute and short-term but maladaptive when chronic (Dhabhar, 2006; Carlsson, Anneli, Ludvigsson, & Faresjö, 2014; Johnson, Riley, Douglas, & Riis, 2013; Flinn and England, 2003; Wiegers, Reul, Holsboer, & de Kloet, 1994).

Stress can get bad enough to where it starts to affect your body system. Things like depression, heart attacks, diseases, rashes and a low immune system can all occur to people dealing with stress bad enough. The number of common signs and symptoms is outrageous and is depressing to see that there are so many people dealing with this and how it’s such a common thing in this world. On stress.org, they talk about the different body systems and how they’re affected. The nervous, musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastro and reproductive systems are all affected in some way and in many ways to say the least. If your stress ever gets so bad, I consider seeing a doctor or specialist seeing how dangerous this can get.

Cortisol also partially shuts down the immune system when levels are high. It interferes with T-cell production and function, making your body more susceptible to invading pathogens. Ever notice how people who are constantly stressed are always getting sick? Or how a person can go through a major stressor and right after overcoming it

For most people, anxiety is something that occurs occasionally throughout their lives such as, right before a big meeting, presentation, tests, or a simple medical procedure. Other people are facing challenges daily due to anxiety; some are diagnosed while others are not. Anxiety includes, “distressingly unpleasant and maladaptive feelings, thoughts, behaviors, and physical reactions. Students with anxiety often worry about their competence, even when they are not being evaluated” (Durwin, 467). These struggles affect the performance of adults in their everyday lives and more specifically; a child’s performance in academics. It is the role as an educator, to aid students with anxiety and other disorders with coping with these

The stress hormone that we release when are stressed is called Cortisol. Cortisol is an important hormone in the body and is secreted by the adrenal glands. It is at it’s highest levels in the morning and should only be released in short bursts of time. Cortisol is used within the body to maintain proper glucose metabolism, regulation of blood pressure, release insulin for blood sugar maintenance, immune function, and inflammatory response. Short terms effects of cortisol are small effects are a quick burst of energy for survival reasons, increased memory functions, a burst of increased immunity, lower sensitivity to pain, and helps maintain homeostasis in the body.

Stress causes the build up of cortisol. Excess cortisol- the body’s ‘stress hormone’- is responsible for the ‘symptoms’ of stress. The anxiety, sleep problems, digestive issues, headaches and depression that you experience when you are stressed are all as a result of an excess of cortisol in your body. By decreasing your cortisol levels, you will be able to eliminate these negative ramifications of stress.

Cortisol is a steroid hormone, found in the glucocorticoids (GC) class of hormones. It controls many physiological processes, vital for the survival of humans. This includes “metabolism, immune response, cardiovascular activity, and brain function” (Chung et al. 2011). Over and above control functions, cortisol also helps regulate blood pressure and its use of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. There is a strong correlation between stressful situations and circulating cortisol levels. The body response to stressful physiological or psychological situations by increasing the amount of cortisol secreted. This secretion causes the breakdown of muscle protein, which leads to the release of amino acids into the bloodstream. These

“I do not know why I am feeling like this.” That was a statement that a student made as she took off running to the restroom twice in a time span of ten minutes. While it is not the typical statement that you may expect from a pre-teen, it became a rather common occurence for this student. I spent additional time trying to understand this student in the hours that followed. She had always been running to the restroom, in a near panic before exams. In fact, I came to learn that this child was experiencing anxiety that was especially present during high-stakes testing. This instance occurred during my first year of teaching and it has shaped my views on anxiety in children.

Are adolescents able to able to perform well academically while under stress, as theorized in Allison Davis’ socialized anxiety theory? Although aspects of Allison Davis’ theory of socialized anxiety theory are accurate, it seems as though this theory does not take into account the vastly different learning styles, effective motivators of individual students and their needs. Though stress may be a motivator for some, it can prove to be a deterrent for certain students, particularly those that suffer from anxiety or depression.

These thoughts in turn yield anxiety because the ingrained beliefs in the necessity of a perfect academic track record stick in students’ minds. Typically, students are able fall back on emotional support systems that they build for themselves by focusing on their present selves and their passions in a healthy manner. It is in becoming so focalized on securing their futures through immense effort at school that students forget to listen to their mental needs as young adults, and they become far more vulnerable to school-induced anxiety in the absence of effective emotional support

According to the lecture notes in week one course material, stress is responsible for the increase in the amount of hormones such as dopamine and epinephrine that are released in the body and how they affect neurotransmitters. The notes continue to further explain that “These neurotransmitters flow through every aspect of the body and with normal hormone input that stress can put strain on the blood vessels supplying blood to the heart and as well as impact the overall immune system” leaving the body susceptible to infection and in a weakened state (GCU, 2013). The signs that I recognize in myself that I am stressed and need to address before they worsen are headaches, inability to eat, and an abnormal desire to sleep more

Stress is a part of our daily lives but our body has a mechanism that keeps us at homeostasis. The Hypothalamic-Pituitary Adrenal Axis (HPA) maintains and controls our response to stimuli that disrupts this mechanism. From the periventricular nucleus in the hypothalamus, corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) is released traveling to the anterior pituitary through the hypophyseal portal vascular system. This triggers the releases of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) which travels to the adrenal cortex and stimulates the release of cortisol. Once the balance is restored, negative feedback inhibits the release of the hormones (Figure 1). If stress is prolonged and the levels of cortisol or CRH remain high this balance can be disrupted causing a maladaptive response or allostatic load. This can lead to emotional disorders like depression and anxiety, heart disease, and diabetes.

Chronic stress can also interfere with the body’s immune system directly through hormonal changes. Glucocorticoids-a hormone