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Stress as we know it, is a mental or physical tension brought about by internal or external pressures. With our understanding through research we have found significant biochemical changes that take place in the body during stress. For instance, the body will at time increase cortisol production to aid with managing the amount of stress. As explained by Selye in his stress model, when an individual’s well-being is disrupt from being stress it activates the bodily response--general adaptation syndrome which includes the three ordinal stages; alarm, resistance and exhaustion. Prolong long experience of the three stage syndrome can lead to posttraumatic stress disorder(PTSD)
Post Traumatic stress disorder is a psychiatric disorder that is
Adrenaline and glucocorticoids are critical to survival. Animals’ stress responses turn off after escaping from life-threatening situations. However, humans’ stress response come from a psychological state of fear or threat. We are often stressed out due to traffic, increasing taxes, instead of actual life-or-death situations. What’s worse, we are stressed constantly. Since we cannot
The Stress Model we have chosen is the Double ABCX Model. This model is suitable for our movie family because we are able to see the problems that the family has faced. The model encompasses the major variables of interest in the movie, including our pre-crises, crises, and post crises. We can see this in the first marriage, the divorce, and the second marriage; as well as everything in between. Many of the stressors are found in many categories. This is because they were not resolved by the crisis- divorce. Resources fall into many categories as well, because how they are used changes how they affect the family system.
What is stress? Physiological stress represents a wide range of physical responses that occur as a direct result of a stressor causing an interruption in the natural balance of a human body. When such a disruption occurs, either psychological or physical, the equilibrium in the body responds by stimulating the central nervous system, the endocrine system, and the human immune system. The reaction of these systems causes a number of physical changes that have both short and long term effects on the body. Members of the healthcare and Allied Helping Professions have devoted the last three decades to researching the specific short and long term effects of stress and the effects on the human body. This has led to highly specialized stress appraisals and the development of sophisticated coping techniques in all disciplines of the healthcare industry. Recent innovations have focused on the fact that stress impacts everyone in different ways, and that individual differences must be factored into the treatment milieu. Research continues to explore the correlati...
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.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 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). Recently, studies of stress have shifted from demonstrating relationships between psychological factors and somatic outcomes, to investigations of the mediational pathways involved in these associations. For example, (Cohen and Williamson, 1991) have built on the work of Lazarus’ model by suggesting that once an environmental event is encountered, it is appraised, and an affective response is made.
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.
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.
Physical manifestations of PTSD are a result of the body’s natural response mechanisms becoming overwhelmed. This mechanism is commonly referred as the fight or flight mechanism a part of the nervous system. In the unaffected person, when triggered this mechanism cause changes in the body. Changes such as increased heart rate, increased musc...
The stress not only causes physiological, but also psychological problems. How does our body react when the stress comes? That will be “hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal”, which is called ATP , the system regulate the stress. When facing stressors, our mouth becomes dry, as it is conserving fluids because our HPA axis sensing danger. It’s used to escape predators or fighting with beasts. But this system isn’t designed for today’s diverse stressors because in modern world, most people need to worry about mortgages, relationships and promotions more than the fight for food. If we continur to let our body work under these stressful conditions, it will break down the strain. This process is called ”allostatic load”. HPA axis also produce serious and long-lasting negative effects, like physical and psychological in our
Stressors initiate a response within the organism and causes changes in the body, specifically responses in the body’s autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system has two branches: the sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic nervous system. The sympathetic autonomic nervous system helps the body deal with the stress it encounters, initiating the ‘fight or flight’ response. Once the threat has passed, the parasympathetic autonomic nervous system will take over, relaxing the body. There is a balance between these two in a healthy person. However, when someone stays on guard, using the sympathetic autonomic nervous system, all sorts of physical effects can
Stress means different things to different people and stress effects people in different ways. Some people think stress is something that happens to them such as an injury or a promotion and others think that stress is what happens to our mind, body and behaviors in response to an event. While stress does involve events and how one responds to them these are not the critical factors, but our thoughts about the situation in which we are involved are the critical factors. Essentially, stress exists whenever homeostasis is disturbed or cannot be maintained (Stress and the Social System Course Guide, 2013). Homeostasis refers to the body's ability to keep the internal chemical and physical environments constant. As your body begins to react to stress several changes occur. These changes include increased heart rate, blood pressure and secretion of stimulatory hormones. Ones body prepares itself in stressful situations to either stand ground and fight or to flee from the situation. Walter Cannon called this stressful reaction the fight-or-flight response (Greenberg, 2012).
To fully understand stress management, one must understand the natural stress response. When a person encounters a perceived threat, the hypothalamus, a tiny region located at the base of the brain, sets off an alarm in their body. Through a combination of both nerve and hormonal signals, the system prompts their adrenal glands, located at the top of the kidneys, to release a surge of hormones which include adrenaline and cortisol. The adrenaline causes an increase in the heart rate, thus causing an increase in the blood pressure and energy supplies of the individual. Cortisol, which is the primary stress hormone, creates an increase in sugars which are known as glucose in the bloodstream. This enhances the brain’s use of glucose and decreases the availability of substances that help repair tissues. This alarm system also communicates with regions of the brain that control moods, motivation, and fear. Once the perceived threat has p...
Selye's study of stress and the body's natural responses to factors which cause “stress” or “stressors”, led to his establishment of the theory of “general adaptation syndrome” due to an observed pattern of responses common to exposure to any form of stress (Selye, 1950). Within Selye's idea of general adaptation syndrome he differentiates three stages of response undergone when encountering a stressor (alarm, resistance and exhaustion) as well as some of the physical symptoms which have come to be associated with experiencing general adaptation syndrome (Selye, 1950). The physiological changes occurring in the body are due to the effects of sympathetic nervous system activation and the release of hormones which prepare the body to take action, or to “fight or flight”. This process occurs regardless of the stressor encountered. Since the effects of general adaptation syndrome are so widespread in the body, they can be responsible for many different degrees of illness.
Kumar, Anil, Puneet Rinwa, Gurleen Kaur, and Lalit Machawal. "Stress: Neurobiology, consequences, and management." Journal of Pharmacy and Bioallied Sciences, 2013: 1-7.
The term “stress” has multiple meanings. As Richard Lazarus stated in his 1966 book “Psycho...