HEALTH REPORT
What’s making you STRESSED? GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME
W e all experience stress from time- to-time, so here we explain why it occurs. The word ‘stress’ is used so frequently that we all have a general awareness of what it means, but to really understand how it occurs and what you can do about it, it’s worth digging into it a little more deeply. What is stress anyway? At a physiological level, it’s generally accepted that the stress response is the body’s way of reacting to threats. It’s an interaction between yourself and the situations and environments you find yourself in, and tends to arise whenever you feel unsafe or that you lack the resources to enable you to cope with whatever you’re facing. The sequence of events that occurs is sometimes explained using a model called the General Adaptation Syndrome, which is based on the theory that one of the body’s goals is to maintain a state of homeostasis (balance). Although every individual’s reactions to stress is different (and may change according to circumstances), in simplified terms, it can be summed up in these stages:
General adaptation syndrome
You’re travelling along nicely, in a normal state of balance (homeostasis) Something stressful occurs, triggering a state of alarm, accompanied by a temporary decline in physical and mental function Quickly afterwards, you move into stress resistance, in which your body aims to operate at peak efficiency in order to deal with the crisis. This is the fight-or-flight response: a time when you become alert, energised and ready for action, physically and mentally
Stage 2 Resistance
Stage 3 Exhaustion
Homeostasis (Normal balance)
Stage 1 Alarm stage
Time
However, peak efficiency can only be sustained for so long before your reserves become depleted and you enter the overload or exhaustion phase of the stress response. This is when you need to rest, recover and replenish your capacity to fight another day.
Healthy adaptation to stress
HEALTHY ADAPTATION TO STRESS
How we adapt to cope with stress: When it occurs in short, sharp bursts, stress adaptation is designed to help make you increasingly capable of coping with stress over time. An example of a healthy adaptation to stress occurs when you embark on a fitness regime in which you repeatedly put your body under stress, take time to recover afterwards, and gradually increase your aerobic capacity or muscular fitness.
Positive adaptation
Stress (e.g. exercise)
Time
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ISSUE 57 • 2020
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