Stress Review & The Stress Response

Vocab Review STRESS: Your body and mind’s reaction to a challenging event or everyday demand STRESSOR: Anything that causes stress EUSTRESS: Positive stress that helps you accomplish and achieve things, can be exciting DISTRESS: Negative stress because it hinders achievement

3 STAGES OF STRESS RESPONSE The Alarm Stage: Fight or flight Adrenaline The Resistance Stage: Homeostasis: The body tries to return to normal. The Exhaustion Stage: Impaired judgment and serious illness Weakened immune system

A series of physiological changes that occur in the body. Stress Response A series of physiological changes that occur in the body.

The Stress Response When you encounter perceived threats — a large dog barks at you during your morning walk, your hypothalamus, a tiny region at the base of your brain, sets off an alarm system in your body. Through a combination of nerve and hormonal signals, this system prompts your adrenal glands, located atop your kidneys, to release a surge of hormones, including adrenaline and cortisol.   * Adrenaline increases your heart rate, elevates your blood pressure and boosts energy supplies. * Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, increases sugars (glucose) in the bloodstream, enhances your brain's use of glucose and increases the availability of substances that repair tissues.

Fight or Flight

But when the stressors of your life are always present, leaving you constantly feeling stressed, tense, nervous or on edge, that fight-or-flight reaction stays turned on. The less control you have over potentially stress-inducing events and the more uncertainty they create, the more likely you are to feel stressed. Even the typical day-to-day demands of living can contribute to your body's stress response. The long-term activation of the stress-response system — and the subsequent overexposure to cortisol and other stress hormones — can disrupt almost all your body's processes…

© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Symptoms of Stress Researchers have concluded that every system in the body can be damaged by stress. Stress can affect several of the major body systems: Immune System Both brief and long-term stressors impact the immune system. Cardiovascular System Long term stress response can cause various forms of heart diseases. Gastrointestinal System Common forms of stomach ailments can be related to stress. Psychological Wellness Forms of acute and chronic stress can contribute to the development of psychological illnesses. © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Mediators of the Stress Response Different people respond differently to stressors Factors that affect these responses could be past experiences and overall level of wellness Other critical areas include: Personality traits Habitual ways of thinking Inborn or acquired attitudes toward the demands of life © Stockbyte/PunchStock © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. Sources of Stress Life Events Daily Hassles College Stress Job Pressure Money and Financial Worries Family and Interpersonal Issues Time Pressure Overload Technology Anger Trauma Societal Issues © Punchstock/Image Source © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

Stress Reduction Strategies Time Management Social Support Healthy Lifestyle (nutritious diet, sleep, and exercise) Deep Breathing Progressive Relaxation Visualization (Yoga, T’ai Chi, Biofeedback, Affirmations) © 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.