3.1.4 (3A) - stress Flashcards
Stress
A psychological + physiological experience that occurs when an individual encounters something of significance that requires their attention and/or efforts to cope.
Internal stressors
Stimulus from within the body that prompts the stress response (eg. negative attitude, sickness, fears/phobias, NS dysfunctions).
- Imbalance of GABA more likely to stress.
External stressors
Stimulus from outside the body that prompts the stress response (eg. exam, relationship, meeting people, financial difficulties.)
Psychological stress response
Relates to how we think or feel about a stressor + differs between different people.
- Eustress + distress
Eustress
A form of stress characterised by a positive psychological state.
Distress
A form of stress characterised by a negative psychological state.
Physiological stress response
Relates to how the body reacts to a stressor.
Acute stress
A form of stress characterised by intense psychological + physiological symptoms but are brief in duration.
- FFF response.
The fight-flight-freeze response
An involuntary + automatic response to a threat that takes the form of either escaping it, confronting it, or freezing in the face of it.
Flight
Activation of sympathetic NS prompts the release of adrenaline + allows the body to quickly flee from the threat.
Fight
Activation of sympathetic NS responses that energise the body + make it better able to deal with danger.
Freeze
Brief activation of parasympathetic NS (some bodily reactions drop below normal levels) and almost simultaneous activation of sympathetic NS (freeze response only lasts seconds).
Chronic stress
A form of stress that endures for several months or longer.
Cortisol
A hormone that is released in times of stress to aid the body in initiating + maintaining heightened arousal.
- Released from adrenal glands + can suppress the immune systems during chronic stress.
