The Stress Response

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It is tempting to think that mental and physical stress is an ailment only of modern civilization; that our fast-paced urban lifestyles, straining under the relentless pressure of greater competitiveness and automation, has created a culture that lives on its nerves and feeds off crisis. This is a misconception; stress has been part of the human condition since the beginning of time.

Like the air we breath, stress is an integral factor in human survival. Think about any challenge or stimuli, and stress has been a factor in our response. It is an active force that helps us rise to meet whatever everyday life throws at us and we thrive on taking up challenges, meeting that deadline and adapting to difficult situations.

How our bodies respond to stress was first described in the 1930s by two American doctors, Walter B. Cannon and Hans Selye. They found that the first reaction to severe stress is what is known as the 'fight-or-flight' response, which activates the body's protective mechanism either to fight (confront the stressor) or flee (act to avoid the stressor or threat of it). Initially, the fight-or-flight response alerts us to danger and is, in fact, beneficial-providing the strength, speed and stamina necessary for survival.

The stress response is controlled by the endocrine system, which regulates various bodily functions, including the reproductive system, the immune system, growth, metabolism, allergic response and stress tolerance.

Any unusual demand on the body's physical and mental resources stimulates the endocrine glands- mainly the adrenal, pituitary and hypothalamus-to secrete chemical messengers, called hormones, into the blood stream. These stress hormones include powerful stimulants, such as adrenaline, noradrenaline, Cortisol, testosterone and thyroxin, which produce a variety of physical responses. The most common include:

Unfortunately, although this natural physical response would have been invaluable at an earlier stage in human evolution, fighting and running away are rarely appropriate responses to stressful situations in the modern world. Under long term, unrelieved stress our bodies remain in a constant state of arousal, which can result in the gradual onset of various health problems.

Primitive human beings frequently faced life and death situations, when alertness, strength, speed and performance were vital and the primary, instinctive response was to survive. The type of challenges we all meet with today, however, are rather different and, as they rarely require a physical response, the body's reaction to the situation is often inappropriate.

The stresses of modern life are more complex and last over longer periods of time. In the past, challenges were instantaneous and had to be resolved instinctively; today, we are subjected to long-term emotional, occupational and environmental anxieties, which demand that we maintain a certain level of mental and physical health.

We also have to prepare ourselves for times of crisis and events that test us to our fullest, such as divorce, redundancy, bereavement or illness. This means that we have to be poised to 'fight or flight' at another level and in a completely different way from our forebears.

The rapid way in which our society now changes and constantly throws up fresh challenges places an unhealthy strain on a system that may be struggling to keep up. The extra mental exertion we all expend just to keep 'on top of things' can create a bottleneck of energy as pressure builds up with nowhere to go.

If nothing is done to relieve the situation the mechanisms we have for dealing with stress will eventually fail us, causing illness and exhaustion. It is vital, therefore, that we make a priority of finding ways of easing our bodies and minds out of 'fight or flight' mode and put ourselves on a better footing to be able to deal with the ever-changing pressures of the modern world.