Stress and Physical Adaptation Flashcards
Define stress
The body’s reaction to harmful forces capable of disturbing homeostasis
What is routine stress? Give an example
Everyday issues for example work, family or responsibilities
What is episodic acute stress? Ex?
Transient, out of the ordinary event Ex: loss of job, death in family, major illness, or finals week
What is traumatic stress?
A life-threatening event. EX: major accident, war, assault, natural disaster
Define anxiety
A vague, uneasy feeling of discomfort or dread that is often accompanied by an autonomic response
What is a stressor?
Any physical, physiological, or psychological force that disturbs homeostasis
What is homeostasis?
A state of dynamic equilibrium of the body’s internal environment
What is adaptation?
The response of an organism to stress to restore homeostasis and equilibrium
What is the difference between fear and anxiety?
Fear is a stress response from an immediate danger, anxiety is a stress response from just your thoughts
What are factors that can impact the response to stress?
Age, general health, social support, genetic influences, nurture influences, type of stressor, persistence of stressor, and perception of stressor
Give an example of how age could impact the response to stress
If a child’s parent dies, they are unable to take care of themselves and may feel much more helpless
Give an example of how nurture influences can influence response to stress
If your mom always stress ate when she was stressed you are more likely to respond in a similar way
What does it mean for a stressor to be endogenous? What is an example?
The stressor comes from within EX: illness or injury
What does it mean for a stressor to be exogenous?
The stressor is outside the body. EX: social
Are stress responses always the same?
No, a stress response can be similar in different people, different in different people, or similar or different in the same person at different times
What is the correlation between arousal and performance?
Increased arousal is helpful to a certain point and can increase focus and productivity and performance. After that point, you get burned out and performance decreases
What does stress do to the sympathetic and parasympathetic?
Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system and suppresses the parasympathetic nervous system
What does the brainstem do in response to stress
Coordinates our response
What does the autonomic nervous system do in response to stress?
Increases HR, BP, RR, pupil dilation, sweating, blood flow to skeletal muscles/heart/lungs, decreased gastric function/blood flow to viscer
What does the cerebral cortex do for the stress response?
Regulates cognitive activities. It is responsible for focus, planning, attention, and persistence
What does the limbic system do for the stress response?
Regulates emotional activities and is part of the reticular activating system. It is responsible for fear, anxiety, anger, and excitement and the RAS increases alertness, muscle tension, and stimulates ANS
What does the thalamus do in the body’s stress response?
regulates and intensifies sensory input
What does the hypothalamus do in the stress response?
Regulates stress hormones and acts on the ANS
What are the four major hormones involved in stress response?
Cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopamine
What is the process of releasing cortisol?
Corticotropin releasing hormone is released from the hypothalamus, adrenocorticotropic hormone is released from the pituitary gland, and cortisol is released from the adrenal glands
What is the function of cortisol?
Alters metabolism and increases blood glucose levels for energy
What are the 3 catecholamines?
Epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine
What is the function of catecholamines in the stress response
Increase blood flow to heart, brain, lungs, and skeletal muscles, decrease blood flow to non vital organs such as the skin and stomach
What does prolonged stress do to growth hormone?
It suppresses growth hormon
What does prolonged stress do to thyroid hormone?
It decreases TSH and inhibits the conversion of T4 to T3
What does stress do to reproductive hormones?
It impacts female hormones to cause anovulation and amenorrhea in females and can decrease spermatogenesis and testosterone in males
What is the impact of stress on oxytocin
More oxytocin is released to encourage social contact
What does cortisol do to the inflammatory response?
Cortisol is anti-inflammatory and inhibits the body’s natural response to immunologic or inflammatory insults. Cortisol also inhibits replication of T cells and produces negative feedback to IL-1
What can prolonged stress do to inflammatory mediators?
Prolonged stress causes the body to produce increase inflammatory mediators and can cause illness-like symptoms and increased susceptibility to infections
What are the stages of the stress response?
General adaptation syndrome, alarm stage, resistance stage, and exhaustion stage
What are the components of the alarm stage of the stress response?
This is the fight or flight stage where catecholamines and cortisol is released. GH, thyroid hormone, and reproductive hormones are suppressed. Antidiuretic hormone is released.
What are the components of the resistance stage?
The resistance stage occurs if the stressor persists. The parasympathetic nervous system returns many physiologic functions to normal. Cortisol and catecholamines partially or totally decrease. Thyroid hormone, GH, and reproductive hormones continue to be suppressed. Blood glucose remains high and the immune system is still suppressed.
What are the characteristics of the exhaustion stage of the stress response?
This stage is reached with chronic or overwhelming stress. The stress can be repeated acute stressors or persistent ones. Energy is depleted and tissue degeneration occurs. The hippocampus is impaired and thinking/memory is impaired. There is an increased tendency for anxiety/depression and disease/death (HTN, heart disease, immunologic dysfunction)
What are the symptoms of acute stress?
Emotional distress (anger, irritability, depression, anxiety), muscular (tension headache, back pain, jaw pain, strains/sprains), GI (heartburn, dyspepsia, flatulence, diarrhea, constipation, acid reflux/GERD, IBS), CV (HTN, tachycardia, palpitations, cold hands or feet, edema, chest pain), Pulm (shortness of breath), Neuro (migraines, dizziness, insomnia)
What are the differences in symptoms between the acute and chronic stress response?
The chronic stress response includes all of the symptoms of acute stress with:
Immunologic (immunosuppression), GI (increased susceptibility to stress ulcers), Endocrine (increased DM and weight gain), Reproductive (decreased libido, infertility, irregular menses), Psych (long term mood disorders, eating disorders, substance abuse), Neuro (loss of focus and memory)
What is the definition of adaptation?
The response of an organism to stress to restore homeostasis and equilibrium
How do individuals usually adapt to threats to the normal physiologic environment?
The body can react with moment-by-moment feedback mechanisms that are specific to the individual threat
What is different between adaptation to threats to the physiologic environment vs psychosocial environment
Threats to the psychosocial environment are not regulated with the same specificity and intrinsic feedback mechanisms, the response is more likely to be inappropriate and sustained
Give an example of a harmful adaptation
Substances (smoking, drinking, illegal drugs), diet (over or under eating), sleep (hypersomnia or hyposomnia), behaviors (risk-taking, self-harm, over exercising, procrastination), relationships (redirecting negative feelings to co-workers, loved ones, etc)
What are the 10 factors affecting adaptation
Physiologic reserve, previous experience/learning, time, genetics, age, health status, nutrition, sleep-wake cycles, hardiness, and psychosocial factors
What are some healthy ways to manage stress?
Regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, avoiding excess alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco, getting adequate time for sleep, listen to music, taking breaks
What occurs in CBT?
Identify sources of stress, question sources of stress, restructure priorities, keep perspective, discuss feelings, look for positive
What are some examples of non pharmaceutical stress treatments?
Deep breathing, muscle relaxation, meditation/mindfulness, biofeedback, massage therapy, spiritual support, acupuncture, and hypnosis
