Stress

Question 1

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Selye

Answer 1

Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome = physiological reactions to stress and concluded that people respond to all types of stressful situations in the same manner!

1. Alarm Reaction: with stress the hypothatlamus activates the adrenal medulla to increase its release of epinephrine (adrenaline).
   
   1. glucose level goes up, heart/respiration increases, thus increases body enery level
2. Resistance: stress persists, breathing/HR return to normal but the hypothalamus signals the pituitary gland to release ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hrm). ACTH activates adrenal cortex to give cortisol to maintain high blood glucose, increases metabolism of fats and proteins.
3. Exhaustion: prolonged stress, pituitary and adrenal cortex lose their ability to maintain elevated hrm levels and produces fatigue, depression, and illness (ulcers, hypertension) and death!

Question 2

Chronic Stress

Answer 2

Chronic Stress research:

1. lowers body’s resistance to disease
2. susceptible to common colds.
3. psychoneuroimmunology: impact on health due to stress due to increased corticosteroids in blood like cortisol.
   
   1. compromise immune system by decreasing the production of lymphocytes (T-cells) and antibodies which are our main defences against viruses, bacteria and other antigens.

• Type A behavior pattern = early emotion to illness link research.
  
  • competitive, achievement oriented, time urgency, hostile, irritable, impatient.
  • cycnical/antagonistic hositlity most strongly associated with helth problems and coronary heart disease in males.