Stress is a biological term for the consequences of the failure of a human or animal to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats to the organism, whether actual or imagined. It includes a state of alarm and adrenaline production, short-term resistance as a coping mechanism, and exhaustion. Common stress symptoms include irritability, muscular tension, inability to concentrate and a variety of physical reactions, such as headaches and elevated heart rate.
Origin and terminology
The term "stress" was first used by psychologists before the endocrinologist Hans Selye in the 1930s. He later broadened and popularized the concept to include the response of the body to any demand. In Selye's terminology, "stress" refers to a condition, and "stressor" to the internal reaction causing stress.
It covers a huge range of phenomena from mild irritation to the kind of severe problems that might result in a real breakdown of health.
Signs of stress may be cognitive, emotional, physical or behavioral. Signs include poor judgment, a general negative outlook, excessive worrying, moodiness, irritability, agitation, inability to relax, feeling lonely or isolated, depressed, aches and pains, diarrhea or constipation, nausea, dizziness, chest pain, rapid heartbeat, eating too much or not enough, sleeping too much or not enough, withdrawing from others, procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities, using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax, and nervous habits (e.g. nail biting or pacing).
Models
General Adaptation Syndrome
Hans Selye researched the effects of stress on rats and other animals by exposing them to unpleasant or harmful stimuli. He found that all animals presented a very similar series of reactions, broken into three stages. In 1936, he described this universal response to the stressors as the general adaptation syndrome, or GAS.
Stress is how the body reacts to a Stressor (something or reason that causes stress). There are acute stressors, which affect an organism in the short term; and there are chronic stressors, which affect the organism in the long term. Either type may greatly or regularly affect the organism. Acute stressors can make the way you deal with stress easier.
Alarm is the first stage. When the threat or stressor is identified or realized, the body's stress response is a state of alarm. During this stage adrenaline will be produced in order to bring about the fight-or-flight response. There is also some activation of the HPA axis, producing cortisol.
Resistance is the second stage. If the stressor persists, it becomes necessary to attempt some means of coping with the stress. Although the body begins to try to adapt to the strains or demands of the environment, the body cannot keep this up indefinitely, so its resources are gradually depleted.
Exhaustion is the third and final stage in the GAS model. At this point, all of the body's resources are eventually depleted and the body is unable to maintain normal function. At this point the initial autonomic nervous system symptoms may reappear (sweating, raised heart rate etc.). If stage three is extended, long term damage may result as the capacity of glands, especially the adrenal gland, and the immune system is exhausted and function is impaired resulting in decompensation.
The result can manifest itself in obvious illnesses such as ulcers, depression, diabetes, trouble with the digestive system or even cardiovascular problems, along with other mental illnesses.
Selye: eustress and distress
Hans Selye published in 1975 a model dividing stress into eustress and distress. Where stress enhances function (physical or mental, such as through strength training or challenging work) it may be considered eustress. Persistent stress that is not resolved through coping or adaptation, deemed distress, may lead to anxiety or withdrawal (depression) behavior.
The difference between experiences which result in eustress or distress is determined by the disparity between an experience (real or imagined), personal expectations, and resources to cope with the stress. Alarming experiences, either real or imagined, can trigger a stress response.
Lazarus: cognitive appraisal model
Lazarus argued that in order for a psychosocial situation to be stressful, it must be appraised as such. He argued that cognitive processes of appraisal are central in determining whether a situation is potentially threatening, constitutes a harm/loss, a challenge, or is benign.
This primary appraisal is influenced by both person and environmental factors, and triggers the selection of coping processes. Problem-focused coping is directed at managing the problem, while emotion-focused coping processes are directed at managing the negative emotions. Secondary appraisal refers to the evaluation of the resources available to cope with the problem, and may alter the primary appraisal.
In other words, primary appraisal also includes the perception of how stressful the problem is; realizing that one has more than or less than adequate resources to deal with the problem affects the appraisal of stressfulness. Further, coping is flexible in that the individual generally examines the effectiveness of the coping on the situation; if it is not having the desired effect, s/he will generally try different strategies.
Neurochemistry and physiology
The neurochemistry of the stress response is now believed to be well understood, although much remains to be discovered about how the components of this system interact with one another, in the brain and throughout in the body. In response to a stressor, corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and arginine-vasopressin (AVP) are secreted into the hypophyseal portal system and activate neurons of the paraventricular nuclei (PVN) of the hypothalamus.
The locus ceruleus and other noradrenergic cell groups of the adrenal medulla and pons, collectively known as the LC/NE system, also become active and use brain epinephrine to execute autonomic and neuroendocrine responses, serving as a global alarm system.
The autonomic nervous system provides the rapid response to stress commonly known as the fight-or-flight response, engaging the sympathetic nervous system and withdrawing the parasympathetic nervous system, thereby enacting cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, renal, and endocrine changes. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), a major part of the neuroendocrine system involving the interactions of the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands, is also activated by release of CRH and AVP.
This results in release of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) from the pituitary into the general bloodstream, which results in secretion of cortisol and other glucocorticoids from the adrenal cortex. These corticoids involve the whole body in the organism's response to stress and ultimately contribute to the termination of the response via inhibitory feedback.
Impact on disease
Stress can significantly affect many of the body's immune systems, as can an individual's perceptions of, and reactions to, stress. The term psychoneuroimmunology is used to describe the interactions between the mental state, nervous and immune systems, as well as research on the interconnections of these systems. Immune system changes can create more vulnerability to infection, and have been observed to increase the potential for an outbreak of psoriasis for people with that skin disorder.
Chronic stress has also been shown to impair developmental growth in children by lowering the pituitary gland's production of growth hormone, as in children associated with a home environment involving serious marital discord, alcoholism, or child abuse.
Studies of female monkeys at Wake Forest University (2009) discovered that individuals suffering from higher stress have higher levels of visceral fat in their bodies. This suggests a possible cause-and-effect link between the two, wherein stress promotes the accumulation of visceral fat, which in turn causes hormonal and metabolic changes that contribute to heart disease and other health problems.
Common sources
Both negative and positive stressors can lead to stress. Some common categories and examples of stressors include: sensory input such as pain, bright light, or environmental issues such as a lack of control over environmental circumstances, such as food, housing, health, freedom, or mobility.
Social issues can also cause stress, such as struggles with conspecific or difficult individuals and social defeat, or relationship conflict, deception, or break ups, and major events such as birth and deaths, marriage, and divorce.
Life experiences such as poverty, unemployment, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, heavy drinking , or insufficient sleep can also cause stress. Students and workers may face stress from exams, project deadlines, and group projects.
Adverse experiences during development (e.g. prenatal exposure to maternal stress, poor attachment histories, sexual abuse) are thought to contribute to deficits in the maturity of an individual's stress response systems. One evaluation of the different stresses in people's lives is the Holmes and Rahe stress scale.
<
Stress Relief Strategies You Can Use - Your Source for Relieving ...
Stress Reducing Tips ... e-Mail Privacy: We hate SPAM...and will respect your e-mail privacy...period!
Try Three Strategies to Reduce Stress over Economy - eXtension News
Try Three Strategies to Reduce Stress over Economy. Last Updated: February 23, 2009 Related ... Expressing gratitude is a tried and true way to deal with stress. When we are able to ...
Stress Management: How to Reduce, Prevent, and Cope with Stress
These coping strategies may temporarily reduce stress, but they cause more damage in the ... Don’t avoid or mask the issue at hand; deal with problems head on and ...
How to Deal with Stress
Reduce the number of events going on in ... They don't help deal with the problems: Begin to manage the effects of stress This is a long range strategy of adapting ...
Stress Management in the Workplace: Three Strategies to Reduce Stress
Three Strategies to Reduce Stress. Whether its serving the customer, training employees or working ... Having to create new menu items, deal with investors, and stay ...
Reduce Stress To Conquer Cancer
Cancer Strategies; Zeolite; Oxygenation; pH ... you psychologically learn to deal with the issue so that it no longer is causing stress. ... their energy will subtly reduce your stress at ...
Reduce your stress using these stress reducing strategies.
Here are some stress strategies to help you reduce your stress. ... why, you can't trust your memory when you're ready to develop a strategy to deal ...
Strategies to Reduce Caregiver Stress
Strategies to Reduce Caregiver Stress . THE EFFECTS OF CHRONIC STRESS. Last month, we discussed ... exercise you get from walking your pet helps you to deal with the physical stress ...
Try three strategies to reduce stress over economy
Expressing gratitude is a tried and true way to deal with stress. When we are able to ... URL: http:// www.extension.umn.edu/extensionnews/2009/strategies-reduce-stress.html This ...
Strategies to deal with employee stress
... not have a strategy to deal with the problem. For more details on the respondents from each table and graph, please refer to the sample. Is a strategy in place to reduce stress in ...