Stress helps you meet your daily challenges and motivates you to reach your goals, ultimately making you a smarter, happier, and healthier person. However, when you are stressed, what body reactions or clinical manifestations do you often experience? After studying the endocrine system and the stress response, can you explain how these clinical manifestations occur?
In times of stress, I frequently experience weariness, headaches, a faster heartbeat, and tense muscles. Additionally, I struggle to control my emotions, which is why I could become more irritable and dejected.
These clinical manifestations occur as part of the stress response that consists of three stages: the fight-or-flight response, resistance reaction, and exhaustion.
A. Fight-or-Flight Response
At this stage, the body quickly mobilizes its resources in preparation for physical action. Non-essential bodily processes including digestion, urination, and reproduction are hindered during the fight-or-flight reaction. Moreover, huge quantities of glucose and oxygen are delivered to the organs that are most involved in fending off potential threat: the heart, which must work hard to pump adequate blood to the brain and muscles; the skeletal muscles, which may need to fight off an adversary or retreat; and the brain, which must become extremely alert.
This phase of the stress response explains why my heart rate rises and my muscles tense up. I become more alert and may eventually have a headache.
B. Resistance Reaction
Long after the fight-or-flight reaction has worn off, the resistance stage enables the body to keep up the struggle against a stressor. This is why even when the stressor is gone, our hearts still beat fast for a few minutes. In most cases, it is effective in getting us through a stressful situation, and after that, our bodies return to normal.
However, when certain stressors remain present and our bodies are unable to cope with them, our bodies may become exhausted. This depletion may account for our experiences of extreme emotions as well as weariness or fatigue.
C. Exhaustion
During the exhaustion stage, the body's resources are so completely drained that they are unable to operate the resistance stage. Long-term exposure to elevated cortisol and other hormones involved in the resistance reaction leads to muscle atrophy, immune system suppression, gastrointestinal tract ulcers, and pancreatic beta cell failure. Additionally, because resistance reactions continue even after the stressor has been eliminated, pathological changes could take place.
This stage develops when stress is ongoing or persistent, causing our bodies to malfunction and seriously impairing our physical, emotional, and cognitive states. Severe problems like depression and anxiety may be brought on by this stage.
In general, these stages take place during times of either distress (negative stress) or even eustress (positive stress). In the end, it is critical to remember that we should always pay attention to how our bodies handle stress. We can also look for things to do or activities to engage in to cope with it.
Finally, with World Mental Health Month happening, let us all remember to constantly strive to be gentle with ourselves and others in order to avoid becoming exhausted from extreme stress, which could seriously harm both our mental and physical health.
References:
Tortora, G. J., & Derrickson, B. (2014). Principles of Anatomy and Physiology (14th ed.). Wiley.