Stress is a normal response to any challenging or threatening situation. The physical manifestations I experience whenever I am under stress includes fast heartbeat, muscle tension, and nausea. All of these happens because our body attempts to maintain homeostasis.
The human body’s stress response is controlled mainly by the hypothalamus. In the fight-or-flight stage, stressors stimulate the hypothalamus to initiate the stress response by activating the sympathetic nervous system. The adrenal glands release epinephrine hormone which creates several physiological changes. The heart beats faster than normal, blood pressure goes up, and utilization of glucose and oxygen increases alertness and supplies energy to all parts of the body. The resistance reaction is the continuation of the body’s stress response, involving the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), growth hormone (GH) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) to generate ATP. This may explain why the body manifests the mentioned physiological changes for several minutes even after the stressor is gone. Exhaustion happens when the body resources are depleted after an extended period of stress.
I now deeply understand how stress can greatly affect our mental and physical wellness when our stress response is activated repeatedly. For example, frequent adrenaline release may over time cause hypertension. Elevated cortisol levels which increase appetite causes weight gain, and persistent epinephrine surges increase the risk of heart attacks. That is why it is not right to say “stress lang yan”, or regard stress merely as a negative emotion.
Reference:
Harvard Health Publishing (2020, July 6). Understanding the stress response. Staying Healthy. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response