Effects of Stress
Our
Body's Reaction to Stress
Stress has developed from
a survival reaction to perceived
danger. In
the past when our ancestors were being
hunted (we've not always been the head of
the food chain) the ones that survived
were the ones with quicker automatic
reactions & reflexes.
The fastest cheetah's
caught more prey
and passed their genes on to the next
generation.
To
illustrate what happens in the body we'll
create a scenario where, whilst out
hunting, a man is stalked by a tiger.
The man can hear the tiger in the
undergrowth, but can't see it. He perceives a
threat and straight away his
body changes, putting him on a high state
of alert. His brain and body react to his perception by initiating 1,400
different responses including the dumping
of a variety of chemicals to his blood
stream. This includes the release of
adrenalin, the depositing of cholesterol
in the arteries and temporarily shutting
down the digestion system. (Afterall
there's little point digesting your food
if you may get eaten! lol) The eyes
dilate, the muscles tense, the heart
beats faster. Breathing &
perspiration increase and the brain
receives more oxygen sharpening the
senses and co-ordination.
All this heightened arousal gives a
momentary boost to do whatever needs to
be done to survive. This is called the fight or flight (F or F) response or the first
stage (alarm
reaction) of
the three stage General Adaptation
Syndrome (GAS).
Suddenly,
the tiger appears from the undergrowth
and runs towards our man. He see's it,
and because of his heightened state of
readiness, is able to run up the nearest
tree.
I do hope they can't
climb trees !
Once the cause of the stress is removed,
(ie the Tiger goes away) the body will go
back to normal. However, If the cause for
the stress is not removed, (our intrepid
hunter is stuck up a tree while the tiger
paces below) the GAS goes to a second
stage called resistance
or adaptation.
This is the body's response to long term
protection. It secretes further hormones
that increase blood sugar levels to
sustain energy and raise blood pressure.
The adrenal cortex produces hormones
called corticolsteroids for this
resistance reaction.
Overuse by the body's defence mechanism
in this phase eventually leads to
disease. If this adaptation phase
continues for a prolonged period of time
without periods of relaxation and rest to
counterbalance the stress response,
sufferers become prone to fatigue,
concentration lapses, irritability and
lethargy as the effort to sustain arousal
slides into negative stress.
Modern
day 'stressors'
Although there aren't many tigers lurking
in deepest Surrey these days, we still
have the same automatic reaction to Perceived danger. So stress can
often originate in situations and from
sources we hardly ever associate with it.
Misunderstandings ?
Shocks !
When others don't see
the problem !
A
modern day scenario might be that the
same man is a salesman driving to a
meeting / appointment. He may have
already spent time thinking about the
meeting he's about to attend. Making it a
very important meeting, where 'this' must
happen and 'that' must be avoided etc.
Because of this he is already at a higher
arousal state, where his muscles are
starting to tense.
As he's driving he's unaware of his
muscles tensing, but instead becomes very
aware of the time passing
by........thinking to himself 'I've got
to get there on time', 'I can't be late'.
His shoulder muscles tighten some more.
The traffic in front of him slows and
stops...... His worst fear materialised -
He's stuck in a traffic jam and will
probably be late ! .............but he
feels he's still in with a
chance............if he can DO
something about it. So he takes the next
turning in an attempt to gain control,
avoid the hold-up and GET TO THE MEETING
ON TIME.
It's worked..........there are other cars
in front, but they're moving at least.
........'come on, come on, a bit faster,
a bit faster. Don't they know it's a
sixty zone? Why are they doing forty
mph?'
In an attempt to control the situation
again & avoid being late he starts
tailgating the car in front, trying to
force them to go faster. Then
suddenly.....BRAKE LIGHTS !!!!!!!!!
His body, already at a high state of
alert for a long period of time, goes
into overdrive. The fight or flight
response kicks in even stronger.
Oh dear !
His
foot slams on the brakes, his grip
tightens on the steering wheel, the loud
screeches are deafening. Time seems to
slow down as his mind races faster. He
feels helpless as he can't DO anything
about it !!!!
Sometimes it feels like
we have no control !
After
many such experiences (not always ending
in accidents!) on an almost daily basis,
our driver will experience the third
stage of GPS called exhaustion or burnout. In this stage, the body
has run out of its reserve of body energy
and immunity. Mental, physical and
emotional resources suffer heavily. The
body experiences "adrenal
exhaustion". The blood sugar levels
decrease as the adrenals become depleted,
leading to decreased stress tolerance,
progressive mental and physical
exhaustion, illness and collapse.
The main symptoms associated with burnout
are:
1. Chronic fatigue.
2. Anger at those making demands on you.
3. Self-criticism for putting up with the
demands.
4. Cynicism, negativity and irritability.
5. A sense of being besieged.
6. Hair-trigger display of emotions.
A combination of all of these symptoms
indicates that stress is becoming burnout
and now is the time to take action.
Illness
from stress
The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)
chain of command has served humans well
as a means of survival for thousands of
years. However, for those suffering from
chronic anxiety and depression this
process malfunctions. Instead of shutting
off once the crisis is over, the process
continues, with the hypothalamus
continuing to signal the adrenals to
produce cortisol.
This increased cortisol production
exhausts the stress mechanism, leading to
fatigue and depression. Cortisol also
interferes with serotonin activity,
furthering the depressive effect.
Continually high cortisol levels lead to
suppression of the immune system through
increased production of interleukin-6, an
immune-system messenger. This coincides
with research findings indicating that
stress and depression have a negative
effect on the immune system. Reduced
immunity (immunodeficiency) makes the
body more susceptible to many diseases
including colds & flu, heart
problems, strokes, infections and cancer.
For example, the incidence of serious
illness, including cancer, is
significantly higher among people who
have suffered the death of a spouse in
the previous year.
The
good news !
Fortunately, this immuno-suppression
process can be corrected with Stress
Management. This includes relaxation,
psychotherapy & re-evaluations (NLP),
as a positive influence, that restore
hope and a feeling of self-esteem.
So, it is very beneficial to recognise
the causes for stress and remove them to
maintain a healthy lifestyle. Stress can
also manifest itself into a number of
other diseases - depression, headaches,
insomnia, ulcers, asthma, and more.
To Continue the story
click on Next Page
(E-mail us if
you want to do something about stress)
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