Stress is everywhere. From taking a test to dealing with a cranky customer service representative, dealing with
loss of a loved one, stress is impossible to avoid. It can be acute, such as stress that occurs in face of immediate danger, or it can be chronic when a person is dealing with a long-term stressful situation. The Three Stages of Stress
An endocrinologist named Dr. Hans Selye outlined a three stage model of body's response to stress. He called his model General Adaptation Syndrome. Understanding these three stages will give you a better idea as to symptoms that occur with stress and how to manage them.
General Adaptation Syndrome: 1. Alarm 2. Resistance or Adaptation 3. Exhaustion
The Alarm Stage: This is "fight or flight" reaction to a particular stress. It may occur as a response to imminent danger, or it may be first stressful reaction you feel upon hearing stressful news, such as loss of a loved one. In this stage, your body physical reacts to stress by releasing adrenaline to increase your heat and breathing rate and help you move quicker in a dangerous situation. A hormone called corticotropin is also released by anterior pituitary gland to help body prepare for danger. Other physical responses to stress include butterflies in your stomach, a rise in blood pressure, dilation in eyes, dry mouth, tensing of muscles, and difficulty concentrating.
The Resistance or Adaptation Stage: During this stage, your body is still on alert for imminent danger. If this stage of stress becomes prolonged, such as when dealing with a long-term stressful situation, your body will become taxed by physical responses. Over time, your immune system may become compromised, leaving you more susceptible to illness. It only takes a few days in resistance and adaptation stage for immune system to become weakened.
The Exhaustion Stage: The final stage in General Adaptation Syndrome is exhaustion stage where your body readjusts to normal. Additional hormones, called cortisols, are released to help relieve damaging effects of stress. They are continually released until your body's chemistry comes back into balance. These hormones ultimately suppress immune system and have potential to worsen biological and psychological diseases and disorders.
Diseases and Stress
Scientists have found a direct link between stress and development of many physical illnesses and diseases. Emotional stress can weaken immune and in same regard, reduction of stress can help to strengthen immune system.
Clinical studies have shown that body's response to stress can produce same arteriosclerosis risk that results from smoking or high cholesterol levels. This drastically increases risk for heart disease and stroke. Stress has also been linked to development and progression of cancer as it reduces body's natural ability to seek out and destroy malignant cells. Mental stress also makes it more difficult to withstand exhausting treatments often required to treat cancer, such as chemotherapy and radiation. Other diseases that have are associated with stress include type II diabetes, ulcers, respiratory dysfunction, infections, and depression.
