What is Stress?

Im so stressed. Everyones felt this way at one point or another– but what is exactly is stress, and how does it affect us?

Stress is caused by stressors: anything that causes an adjustive demand, such as frustration, conflict, pressure, or a need. There are two kinds of stress, eustress, and distress.

It is experienced when individual experiences a stressor that require some kind of biological, physiological, or psychological response in order to meet these adjustive demands (the effect of the stressor).

Coping strategies are the efforts that we exert to deal with these stressors and reduces stress.

So what makes something stressful?

Its nature:

Actual or perceived importance

Being chronic (reoccurring) or temporary

Being cumulative (piling up) versus being punctual (singular)

Proximity (how closely does it affect you personally?)

Its severity: the degree of impairment caused by stressor (ex. a crisis: an overwhelming stressor with acute onset)

Its impact: potential consequences or outcomes (life changes: sudden changes, which can be both positive and negative)

Factors related to the stressed

Stress levels can be reduced or exacerbated due to a variety of factors, such as:

1. The perception of the stressor:

Perceived control and preparedness

Self-efficacy

Perceived benefit/harm

2. Personal stress tolerance levels: your ability to tolerate stress without impairment is affected by…

Physiology

Learning

Any previous trauma

External resources and social support

Effects of Stress

Physical

Behavioral

Cognitive

Psychological/Emotional

To begin, lets look into some of the physical or biological effects of stress.

The main effect is the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system, along with the activation of the parasympathetic/sympathetic nervous systems (fight or flight).

First, the brain perceives danger or a threat to the environment. Then…

Stress triggers a release of cortisol, the stress hormone.

Increased heart rate and blood flow to muscles, dilated pupils, skin constriction, increased blood sugar

Rapid breathing

Up to 400% increase in blood flow

Release of catecholamines like dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine

Activation of the amygdala (responsible for emotional responses like fear or anger)

Decreased frontal lobe activity (responsible for short-term memory, attention, concentration, inhibition, rational thought)

Hippocampus is activated to store experience in long-term memory

Brain releases a protein that decreases need for sleep, increases alertness, and intensifies anxiety

The Side Effects of Fight or Flight: How stress makes you sick

Skin constriction due to rerouted blood flow: cool, clammy, sweaty, goose bumps

Increased blood sugar for energy results in jitteriness, sense of restlessness

Immune response to diverted to areas most likely to be injured

Shutting down of the digestive system can result in nausea, undigested food, vomiting, etc.

Dry mouth, difficulty swallowing

After reading the list of symptoms, its easy to see how chronic stress causes physical wear and tear on the body.

Over time, what can chronic or prolonged stress do to us?

Premature cell death (aging)

Hypertension

Suppression of the immune system (more prone to illness)

Suppression of the digestive system (inflammation, diarrhea, constipation; irritable bowel disease and other GI track problems)

Suppression of the reproductive system (lower sex drive, and during sympathetic nervous system arousal, rational thinking is diminished)

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