Stress : Causes, Effects, And Treatments

Stress Is the body’s way of responding to the hectic lives most of us live, whether good or bad. The body releases chemicals into the bloodstream, which creates a rush of energy and strength If an individual is feeling stressed. This energy can prove useful if an individual is in physical danger. Because it enables a person’s survival instinct kicks in; it is often described as ‘fight or flight.’ In addition, stress can also have a negative effect on the body, for example: suffering from stress and leaving it unchecked can contribute to health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

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

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.

You get these feelings because of the stress response which starts in the hypothalamus. A

Stress is your body’s way of responding to any kind of demand; it can be caused by both good and bad experiences.

Stress is a nonspecific response of the human organism to any demand make upon it. It can influence the way we perform on tests and homework and how we act at home or work. There are different types of stress that can occur in the body. Acute stress is the body’s response to imminent danger. This short-term stress usually occurs when we are told we will have a quiz or have to give a speech in class. Chronic stress is a prolonged physical or emotional stress. This can cause damage to the body if the stress lasts for too long. Optimal stress is intense enough to motivate and physically prepare us to perform well but not enough to cause harm to the body.

The nervous system is activated, releasing hormones that prepare the body to take off or fight. This is called the "fight or flight" response. Your body’s heartbeat speeds up, your rate of breathing increases, muscles are tense, and you start to sweat. This is short-term and temporary (acute stress), and usually your body recovers quickly. Long term stress, when stress stays activated for ‘n long period (chronic stress), can lead to serious health problems. The constant rush of stress hormones will wear your body down, causing it to age quicker and be more prone to illnesses. When stress is not properly addressed it can lead to serious health

Once your brain has decided there’s a danger, in stressful situations, it sends immediate nerve signals down your spinal cord to the pituitary gland and all the ways to the kidneys where your adrenal gland resides, which is how adrenaline is released. Once released, adrenaline increases the amount of sugar in your blood, increases your heart rate and raises your blood pressure. The brain’s hypothalamus also sends signals to your pituitary gland, which allows the body to release Cortisol: Cortisol is a stress response that allows the blood and sugar pressure to remain high, which helps when escaping from danger. For instance, in an interview, which presents a challenge, simulated the same biological reaction that a threat to your life does.

People deal with stressful situations differently. However, there is an obvious fear when someone suddenly encounters a frightening situation. The acute stress response is a sudden reaction of the body prompted by a psychological disturbance over a short period. Most psychologists refer to the condition as the fight-or-flight response. When a person experiences a sudden physical or mental scare, the response is very fast. A person might decide to fight back the terrifying element or to run away, which signifies the flight aspect of the response (Lee, 2004). By 1920, few people understand this concept until Walter Cannon tried to establish the reason why an adrenaline rush occurs when an individual encounters a distressing situation.

Chapter 6 covers the fundamentals of stress disorders. After reading this chapter discussing the fight and flight response, psychological stress disorders and physical stress disorders, I have a better concept of this subject itself. Our fight and flight response is trigger by our hypothalamus, which sends off neurons and chemical for our mind and bodies to react. As discussed in class, the autonomic nervous system control the involuntary activities like heartbeat and breathing. The sympathetic nervous system is aroused when we face danger (THE FIGHT). For example, the sympathetic nervous system makes our heart beat faster when we are scared. The parasympathetic nervous system (THE FLIGHT) help make us calm, like regulating our heartbeats.

Biopsychosocial Framework The biopsychosocial framework is a general model or framework stating that the unavoidable interaction between biological, psychological, and social factors, all play a significant role in human functioning in the context of health. The biopsychosocial framework is used to organise the biological, psychological, and sociocultural forces on human development (David, et al., n.d) Middle Adulthood Middle age is the prime of life, many of the major life events of middle adulthood, such as parenting and work, span several decades of one’s life. During this time, there are significant developmental events, such as changes in reproductive capacity, developing expertise in well-exercised areas, and transitions in family

The response of the body to stress is somewhat like an airplane readying for take-off. Virtually all systems (the heart and blood vessels, the immune system, the lungs, the digestive system, the sensory organs, and brain) are modified to meet the perceived danger. During conditions of stress there is a shift in the balance between two branches of the automatic nervous system (ANS) – the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) and Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS).During stressful conditions, the activity of the SNS increases to prepare the body for the fight – or fight response. This means that, among other things, there is an increased heart rate, blood flow, and Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) – basically how sweaty our skin is! This response can be thought of as a shift in energy from the process of digestion to the muscles, meaning that the body is ready to take

Stress is a quantity that every human is afforded. It is how the body and mind interact in response to a stressor. Each stressor whether in the form of a major life experiences, traumatic events, work, school, and even exercise can be stressful. Stress of any amount makes an impact on a persons’ health and behaviors. Therefore, it is important to take notice of how you manage stressful events in your life however great or small an effect. Though everyone experiences stress in one way or another, no two people cope with stress in the same manner. Some individuals are more effective and recover from demanding situations quicker than others do. Consequently, the quality of health is contingent upon the type of stress and duration of

      Stress is an ongoing dilemma that occurs in each and everyone’s life. It is a factor that is undoubtedly a part of daily living. Due to the trivial problems that occur in people’s daily lives massive amounts of stress can arise. People perceive and manage stress in many different ways. The causes and effects of stress are numerous and one’s ability to manage stress is vital in maintaining healthy living.

Humans experience similar dramatic physiological stress responses as other species. That is to say, the physique response to a stressor prepares the body for rapid physical action (fight or flight). More rarely, as Rudinger (1988) argue, sitting paralysed by fear may constitute another response to stress. The fight or flee stress response involve extremely rapid, virtually immediate, changes within the muscular systems and organs (Pinel, 2006).