Stress Case Study

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Stress is defined by Mark Krause (Krause & Corts, 2012) as, “a psychological and physiological reaction that occurs when perceived demands exceed existing resources to meet those demands.” This refers to stressors, any event that happens to us can be stressors, but so can our response to the events. There is stress that is more of a one-time event called acute stress which would be like giving a speech in front of the class. Then there is also chronic stress which results from continual exposure to situations that lead to the release of stress hormones. Chronic stress can result in wear and tear on your mind and body. An example of chronic stress events would be financial problems and constant response to these events would have an effect on …show more content…

Studies have shown that stress can actually change the levels of specific biochemical markers in the body which plays a major role in the human immune system. According to (Drayson& Ring, 2006). “Long-term or chronic stress, through too much wear and tear, can ravage the immune system.” This relationship between the immune system and stress has been the topic of study in many experiments for example one study suggests that students are more likely to get sick during final exams because of the prolonged high periods of stress. As reported by (Robles & Glaser 2002), “stress can lessen a person 's immune response and that change can make them more susceptible to infectious diseases.” This is because the body loses its ability to regulate the inflammatory response. Inflammation is partially regulated by the hormone cortisol and when cortisol is not allowed to serve this purpose, inflammation can get out of control. The immune system 's ability to regulate inflammation predicts if a cold will develop, so it also shows how stress can encourage disease. When under constant stress, the cells of the immune system are not able to respond to hormonal control, and this causes the body to produce levels of inflammation that stimulate …show more content…

Research proves a strong connection between psychological stress and health, including poor surgical results, and a decrease in the immune system functioning. This is vital regarding wound healing especially on the skin because the skin is the largest organ of the human body and has many responsibilities including regulating temperature, vitamin D production, and protection. With the skin being such a vital organ, timely wound healing is extremely important. Psychological stress has been shown to negatively impact wound healing, both directly and indirectly. It has been found that psychological stress can spike the levels of some hormones in the blood, which directly impacts the wound healing. These hormones can slow the delivery of certain compounds like cytokines to the location of the injury to start the healing process. This will ultimately slow the healing process. It also indirectly impacts wound healing through people who are experiencing anxiety, who could possibly have trouble sleeping at night. This can further exaggerate the weakening of the immune system, which could lead to a wound infection when the body can’t fight off damaging bacteria and

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