Stress

“Everyone knows what stress is, but nobody really knows.”

-Hans Selye

What is Stress?

• “The non-specific response of the body to any demand for change” – Coined by Dr. Hans Selye

The Study

• Lab animals subjected to acute ( short duration ) but different noxious and emotional stimuli ; – blaring(loud) light,– deafening noise, – temperature extremes,– Perpetual frustration (never ending )

Results

• All exhibited the same results;– Stomach ulcerations – shrinkage of lymphoid tissue – & enlargement of adrenal glands

Conclusion

• “Persistent stress could cause these animals to develop various diseases similar to those seen in humans.”

• i.e. heart attacks, strokes , kidney disease , and rheumatoid arthritis .

• Stressors – stress producing factors

• Stress Response – the physiological & emotional

alterations (changes)

Types

• Eustress – Moderate or normal physiological stress

interpreted as beneficial & pleasant

– Exercise– +ive emotional stress

Types

• Distress– unpleasant and\or unbeneficial

– Negative effects – rejection -discrimination– failure -persecution (hostility)– loss -ridicule (mockery) – apprehension (anxiety & fear)– pain -helplessness

• The point is.....

• Selye identifies the two kinds of stress......

• “The emotional component can have a profound effect on what is otherwise the same physiological function.”

Adaptive Response

• Physical signs ;– Pounding heart – Tremor ( shivering )– Dry mouth – Asthma– Excessive perspiration (sweating)– Gastrointestinal problems

And..

• Demeanour & emotional signs ;– Depression– Fatigue– Disorientation – Inability to concentrate– Feebleness – Floating anxiety , – Jumpy– Nervous high-pitched laughter

Thus;

• Response to stress can be counter productive;– Drinking– Smoking – Withdrawal– Drugs – Denial – Suicide

Control Mechanism

• Response is under control of – Autonomic Nervous System

– Independent of conscious thought– Controls organs & glands

ANS

– Sympathetic - mobilizes body for action

– Parasympathetic – calms & restores

 

– Constantly interacting to maintain Homeostasis

Know the short and long term responses.

Kidney

Adrenal gland

General Adaptation Syndrome

• Hans Selye discovered that there are 3 stages of stress and coined this the General Adaptation Syndrome or (GAS): Alarm, resistance and exhaustion.

Allostatic Load

• Allostasis “ process by which the body responds to stressors to regain homestasis.

• The long-term wear and tear of the stress response is called allostatic load.

• This is actually your body’s response to long-term over-exposure to cortisol.

• High levels of cortisol have been associated with CUSHING’s Disease.

Cortisol

• Cortisol is another term for Hydrocortisone• Produced from the progesterone hormone

precursors. It is synthesized in the cortex of adrenal glands .– Bone formation is lowered by cortisol.– Suppresses Immune system– Increases blood Pressure

Acute Vs. Chronic stress

• Acute ; (Primal )– Short term ; 5 -100 min

• WBCs redistributed + enhancement of the immune system

– Stressful event ;• Personal trauma – getting a cold• TSST

Acute VS. Chronic Stress

• Chronic ; long term stressors –(Modern)– Unemployment, caregiving to ill-patients– Causes prolonged secretion of cortisol– May accelerate course of diseases that involve

inflammation.– Can lead to death…

Coping

• Stress Relief Techniques…. Progressive Relaxation • Deep muscle relaxation• Imagery• Meditation

Exercise• Weight reduction• Cardio vascular health• Endorphins

• Selye struggled unsuccessfully all his life to find a satisfactory definition of stress. In attempting to extrapolate his animal studies to humans so that people would understand what he meant, he redefined stress as

“The rate of wear and tear on the body”.

• Resource Dr.Hans Selye –

• A Syndrome Produced by Nocuous Agents ( 1936 )

Collected & presented – by yours truly Mohammed Khalifa