Stress as a bodily response

  • the body's response to stressors
  • stress and cardivalascular disorders
  • stress and the immune sustem
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The body's response to stressors

Key Terms

Stress- A lack of fit between a person and his or her environment

Stressor- event that causes a stress reaction in the body, e.g environmental stressors, such as workplace or life events such as illness or divorce.

General Adaptation Syndrome- Seyle's GAS model describes how through physiological changes in the body, an organism copes with stress in an adaptive way.There are3stages that are a part of the adaptive process: alarm, resistance and exhaustion.

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Acute stress and the SAM system

Stress 1: acute stress and the SAM system

Immediate (acute) stressors arouse the autonomic (automatic)nervous system.

The ANS governs the release of hormones. these are chemical substances that circulate in your body. one of these is called adrenaline. at such times of arousal the sympathetic branch of the ANS (autonomic nervous system) is activated, and causes the hormone adrenaline to be released by the adrenal medulla in the adrenal glands. adrenaline creates sensations such as sweating and increased heart rate. it stopsyou wanting to go to the lavatory and slows down indigestion. Tripple A- ANS, Adrenal medula, adrenaline.

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Chronic stress and the HPA axis

Stress response 2: Chronic stress and the HPA axis

if stress continues it becomes chronic, then the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is increasingly activated. the himathalamus stimulates the pituitary to secrete ahormone called adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) which stimulates the adrenal glands to produce ahormone called cortisol. Hiper (hypothalamus)people (pituitary)attrack (ACTH)average (adrenal cortex) children (cortisol)

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