Stress is a physiological reaction that happens in the body. Stress occurs when the body finds certain situations stressful and feels as if there is no way of coping with them. Various stressors cause the body to react in the same way. Stress exhausts the body and leads to various illnesses. Selye investigated the effect of stress on the body. He created the General Adaptive Syndrome model of stress or GAS model. Selye was curious as to how stress affected the boy. He put rats under various stressors and found that the rats all reacted in the same way. The GAS model has three stages. The first stage is the Alarm stage: during this stage the body first displays signs of stress such as raised pulse, and the release of cortisol into the blood stream. This is also when the fight or flight response is activated. After around a day or two, if the body is still under stress the second stage starts. During the resistance stage the body seemingly returns to normal, however, the cortisol levels in the blood stream increase to a dangerously high level and causes the immune system to weaken. The body then continues into the third stage, called the exhaustion stage. By this point the body can no longer function properly. The body becomes weak and exhausted, suffering from hair loss and stomach ulcers. Although Selye’s research is a valid hypothesis for the physical symptoms of stress, he does not take into account the cognitive thinking process humans have. Cox et al, however, did take into account the cognitive thinking process. He called this the transactional model of stress. This states the stress occurs as a result of a transaction, or interaction of two things: perceived demands from the environment, and the individuals perceived abilit... ... middle of paper ... ...t greater electrical conductivity in the skin. After the task participants were asked to solve 4 puzzles, 2 of which were unsolvable in order to create frustration. Participants who had taken part in the random noise conditions displayed the highest levels of stress. Those who had taken part in the predictable noise conditions had the second highest levels of stress and those with no noise condition had the lowest level of stress. Glass et al suggested that random noise is particularly difficult because we ‘tune out’ constant stimuli, but unpredictable stimuli require continued attention, and that this reduces our ability to cope with stress. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of a mild stressor on a specific biological response. Using previous studies, the candidates who are being stressed should leave with elevated pulses, and should be sweating.
The term ‘stress’ was generally thought to have been a concept created by Robert Hooke in the 17th century. He worked on the design of physical structures, such as bridges; his concept of stress came from how much pressure a structure could withstand. However, Lazarus (1993) pointed out that the term ‘stress’ has been used as far back as the 14th century, when it meant hardship or adversity. Back then it referred to the external stressor, such as the death of a spouse or financial worry; in the 20th century, there are many different schools of thought on this area. Hans Selye (1956), brought together the work of Cannon and Bernard and devised a comprehensive system of physiological stress; which he termed the ‘General Adaptation Syndrome’, and is a 3-stage process. He theorised that a certain level of stress called ‘eustress’ (Cox, 1978) could actually be beneficial to our overall performance. Later In 1976, Cox & Mackay devised another model called the ‘Transactional model’. This model takes into account the individual differences in the perception of the amount of stress experienced by the person. The main difference between these two models is that Selye’s model only accounts for the physiological side of stress, whereas Cox’s model takes into account both the physiological and psychological aspects of stress. Therefore, both models will have slight similarities and differences in their explanation for how stress occurs in individuals, which is the main focus of this essay.
Each bodily physiological system has an individual established set point, or level of balance; however, some fluctuations in these levels are tolerated. The balance of any system can be, and regularly is disturbed by internal and/or external events of the mechanical, physical, chemical, biological, and/or social types. When this balance is disrupted, and involuntary mobilizations of biological processes are not able to re-establish it, an alarm reaction is activated (Schedlowski and Tewes, 1999). This reaction is referred to as a stress response, and the activating agent is the stressor (Selye, 1936).
The term “Stress” was coined by scientist Hans Selye (1907-1982) in 1936. Selye (1926) defined stress as “the non specific response of the body to any demand for change”. Selye (1926) discovered in several laboratory experiments that animals showed similar symptoms when exposed to severe physical and emotional stimuli i.e. extreme heat or cold, loud disturbing noise, etc. Selye (1935) also noted that patients with different illness showed these same similar biological symptoms ...
To a great extent, stress can be a helpful response, especially for prehistoric humans. During this era, our species needed to react quickly to outside stimuli through a response of “fight or flight”. Through stress, certain hormones are released to help the individual resist the stressor, which may have meant running away from a natural predator. Thus, stress is a positive response that ensures the survival of the species. However, stress over a prolonged period of time causes exhaustion in the individual. Consequently, although stress can be helpful for individuals today, many often experience chronic stress, inflicting varying degrees of damage to their bodies.
The phenomenon of stress is presented in our lives more and more strongly. In the media, on the internet or at the doctor, we hear about it constantly. But what exactly is this phenomenon? “A large number of studies during the past several decades have explored relationships among environmental stimuli, psychological processes and organismic responses. Those studies that have investigated the various ways in which environmental changes or the perceived threat of such changes lead organisms to make specific adaptive responses are often subsumed under the rubric of stress research.”( Field, Mccabe, Schneiderman, 1985).
In the 2008 National Geographic documentary Stress, Robert Sapolsky and other scientists explain the deadly consequences of prolonged stress. “If you’re a normal mammal,” Sapolsky says, “what stress is about is three minutes of screaming terror on the savannah, after which either it’s over with or you’re over with.” During those three minutes of terror the body responds to imminent danger by deploying stress hormones that stimulate the heart rate and blood pressure while inhibiting other functions, like digestion, growth and reproduction.
The purpose of this paper is to define stress and how it effects the body's physiological systems. This paper will include the normal functions and organs involved in the following five physiological systems, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, respiratory, immune and musculoskeletal. This paper will also include a description of a chronic illness associated with each physiological system and how the illness is affected by stress.
Everybody has at least one thing in common. Can you guess what it is? If you guessed, heartbreak, you’re right, but that’s not the answer I’m looking for. The correct answer is stress. Everyone has stress in his or her life at one point or another. It’s one of many inevitable parts of life. Whether it’s busting out a research paper for Psychology at the last minute, expecting your first child to be born, to making sure you’re up in time to catch the Saturday morning cartoons, it’s clearly evident that everyone goes through stress. The real question is, how is stress handled in our society? A person is defined by how they handle the stressors in their lives and how they overcome stressful moments. This paper will explore the aspects of stress management; hoping to help others in their times of stress.
What is Stress actually? Hans Selye, the noted stress researcher, once said, “Stress is a scientific concept which has suffered from the mixed blessing of being too well known and too little understood. Physicians, psychologists, biologists, engineers, and students may each have a different meaning in mind when they talk about stress”. One useful definition of stress is that it is a demand made upon the adaptive capacities of the mind and body.
Pressure turns into stress when individuals feel they are unable to cope with the situation. People have different ways of reacting to stress, so a situation that feels stressful to one person may be a positive challenge to someone else. Many of life’s demands can cause stress such as work, relationships and financial issues. When individuals feel stressed, it can obstruct them from dealing with demands, or can affect everything an individual does (Choices, 2016d). Stress can have a big impact both emotionally and physically. There are two ways people can portray signs of stress, psychological and physiological. Stress can affect how individuals feel, think, behave and how the body works. Psychological signs of stress can include: irritation, frustration, confusion, forgetfulness, anxiety, bad habits, headaches, behavioural signs of stress which can include avoiding others or decreased contact with family or friends and depression. Physiological signs of stress can include: heart palpitations, inflammation, insomnia physical tension, headaches and digestive problems. These stress hormones are released to enable an individual to deal with pressure or threat of "fight or flight" response. The theorist Walter Cannon 1920 developed the fight or flight response also known as ‘acute stress response.’ Stress is a biological and psychological response experienced when faced with a threat that people do not have the resources to deal with. The flight or flight response is a surge of hormone; adrenaline which is produced by glands located in the kidneys, which are released into the bloodstream. It is the response of the sympathetic nervous system to a stressful event and therefore, preparing the body to fight or flee. This can include an increased metabolism and heart rate, increase blood flow to the brain and muscles, erect hairs, raised sugar levels,
Stress once served as a lifesaving response to threatening events such as being hunted by a predator or hunting prey. The stress response helped our ancestors survive and stress provide important benefits, muscles are be primed, attention is focused, and nerves are ready for action, all of which give us the capacity to fight or to run away from danger. While stress once served a role in our ancient lives, the effects of stress in our modern world take a toll on our bodies and health. The impact of stress can be seen in all major systems of the body, while it may be impossible to avoid stress, there are steps people can take to reduce the negative impacts of stress.
In today’s society, life is fraught of troubles, deadlines, frustrations and demands. In the lives of many people, stress is so prevalent that it has become a way of life. According to many doctors and researchers stress refers to the response people have when facing circumstances that force them to act, change, or adjust in some way to maintain their footing, or to keep things balanced. Today, there are many important contributors to stress (called stressors) and the effects they cause to the human body and mind. Physical, cognitive and behavioral problems are some of the effects that stressors can contribute to the human body and mind. Stress can lead to financial problems, work problems, and relationship difficulties.
There are several events that provoke stress responses. The three categories of events are catastrophes, significant life changes, and daily hassles and social stress. We respond and adapt to stress by taking part in the three stages of the general adaptation syndrome. The first stage is when you have an alarm reaction. This means that blood is diverted to skeletal muscles and you feel a very faint shock. The next phase is when you are in the response phase. This is where you cope with whatever the stressor is. The last phase is the exhaustion phase. This is where your reserves of energy are depleted and you are more vulnerable to illness.
Stress a term used to describe the human response to pressure when faced with challenges or even dangerous situations, resulting in an increase in our energy and alertness, a prolonged exposure to stressful stimuli can lead to harmful effect on health, a functional definition of stress may be hard to establish, the research of stress probably started with Selye Hans (1956) using the term “stress” in his book “the stress of life” referring to stress as the unpleasant environmental events and the physiological reaction toward it, examining the effect of anxious but different physical and emotional stimuli on laboratory animals, suggesting that persistence exposure to stress caused these animals to develop diseases similar to those seen in humans.
The term “stress” has multiple meanings. As Richard Lazarus stated in his 1966 book “Psycho...