Stress: A 21st Century Health Epidemic

Stress: A 21st Century Health Epidemic

• The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies stress as a major health concern in the 21st century.

Defining Stress

• Stress is a multifaceted concept studied from different perspectives.
• Some researchers define stress as situations threatening well-being or the responses to those situations.
• Others view stress as a process of evaluating and coping with threatening situations.
• Stress can also refer to the experience of being threatened by challenging circumstances.

Understanding Stressors

• Stressors: Various external and internal stimuli that trigger stress.
• Types of Stressors:
  • Cataclysmic events: Extreme stressors like earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornados, causing fear, injury, and unpredictable outcomes.
  • Personal stressors: Negative life events such as death, job loss, divorce, and academic transitions.
  • Daily hassles: Chronic, low-intensity events and frustrations, including losing things, traffic jams, etc.

Stress: A Necessary Part of Life

• Stress is an inherent part of life.
• Moderate stress can be beneficial, motivating learning, growth, and goal achievement.

The Two Pathways of Stress

• Physiological Pathway: This pathway involves the nervous and endocrine systems.
• Psychological Pathway: This pathway involves psychological processes like thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

Your Nervous System and Stress

• Nervous system: Controls vital functions like vision, hearing, smell, temperature regulation, and responses to danger.
• Nervous & endocrine systems: Work together to maintain homeostasis (balance) for survival and well-being.
• Central Nervous System (CNS): Main control center.
• Somatic Nervous System: Responsible for external environmental changes, including sensory input and voluntary movements.
• Autonomic Nervous System: Regulates internal environment and involuntary functions.

The Autonomic Nervous System

• Autonomic nervous system: Governs automatic bodily responses.
• Responsible for “fight or flight” response:
  • Sympathetic Nervous system: activates the body in response to stress, mobilizing energy and preparing for action.
• Responsible for “rest and digest” response:
  • Parasympathetic Nervous System: Calms the body after stress, conserving and restoring energy.

The Stress Response: A Sympathetic Dominance

• In today's society, stressors are often chronic and prolonged.
• This can lead to prolonged activation of the sympathetic nervous system which often overrides the parasympathetic nervous system.

The Body's Stress Response: A Physical Description

• Physical symptoms of stress:
  • Clammy hands
  • Rapid heartbeat
  • Feeling keyed up
  • Fast breathing
  • Muscle tension
  • Hair standing on end

Biological Components of the Stress Response

• The hypothalamus is the central command center for the stress response, activating the pituitary gland.
• The senses sharpen in response to stress.
• Blood pressure rises.
• Breathing quickens, and the lungs take in more oxygen.
• Heart beats faster.
• Glucose and fats are released into the bloodstream for energy.
• The adrenal glands release cortisol, adrenaline (epinephrine), and noradrenaline (norepinephrine), further amplifying the stress response.