Manifestations of stress vary per person, and it is affected by many different factors, such as age, status, lifestyle, and the like. However, personally, the most common sign for me that I’m experiencing stress is severe headaches that are often accompanied by fatigue and insomnia. These symptoms occur as a result of my body’s endocrine system trying to combat the stress itself.
During times of stress, the amygdala signals the hypothalamus, a collection of nuclei that connects the brain and the endocrine system, which then signals the pituitary gland to produce a hormone. It stimulates the adrenal glands, located above the kidneys, to increase the production of cortisol. Cortisol helps give the body the energy it needs to stay on high alert for a bit longer by signaling several organs in the body to make changes impacting blood glucose levels.
The adrenal medulla produces epinephrine/adrenaline and norepinephrine/noradrenaline. Epinephrine is the principal hormone that interacts with the sympathetic nervous system in the initial part of the fight-or-flight response. The bronchioles in the lungs expand, and the rate of respiration increases, allowing for greater oxygen intake. The heart beats faster, causing a rise in pulse and blood pressure. All this is so that the muscles and the brain can get all the blood and oxygen they need to function optimally.
This means that the more immense the stressor is, the more the intense the signals are given to the different organs, leading to the clinical manifestations mentioned earlier. These symptoms often occur because of chronic stress, which is a kind of stress that happens when the body is constantly responding to stress and is not able to fully recover.
REFERENCES:
American Psychological Association. (2018). Stress effects on the body. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/body
Snider, L. (2020). The Endocrine System: The Adrenal Glands and Stress Response. Retrieved from https://www.visiblebody.com/blog/the-endocrine-system-the-adrenal-glands-and-the-stress-response