Last Updated on February 23, 2023 by Mike Robinson
According to the work of Hans Selye in 1936, there are three phases of stress through which the organism passes after encountering real or perceived threats: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion, as well as the phase absent in the stress response.
Throughout the evolution of human beings, our survival has depended on the ability to overcome threatening situations for our lives, from being persecuted by predatory animals to recovering from diseases. But how do we become aware that a situation is so dangerous that we must adapt and survive it?
General Adaptation Syndrome
Often, we realize that a situation is threatening because our heart rate increases, one of the side effects of stress. An endocrine born in Vienna named Hans Selye (1907-1982) was the first scientist to point out these side effects and collectively identify them as the results of stress, a term we routinely use today but has only existed a hundred years ago.
The scientist Hans Selye introduced the model of the General Adaptation Syndrome in 1936, showing in three phases the effects of stress on the body. In his work, Selye, the father of stress research, developed the theory that stress is the leading cause of many diseases since chronic stress causes permanent chemical changes in the long term.
Selye observed that the body responds to any biological source of external stress with a predictable biological pattern to restore the body’s internal homeostasis. This initial hormonal reaction is the “fight or flight” response, which aims to deal with the source of stress very quickly, almost automatically.
The process by which our organism strives to maintain balance is what Selye called the General Adaptation Syndrome.
Pressures, strains, and other stressors can significantly influence our metabolism. Selye determined that we use limited energy supplies to deal with stress. This amount decreases with continuous exposure to the elements that cause us stress.
Stress Phases According to Hans Selye
Going through a series of stages, our body works to recover the stability the source of stress has taken from us. According to the model of the General Adaptation Syndrome, the adaptive response we humans have to stress develops in three distinct phases:
1- The Alarm Phase
Our first reaction to stress is recognizing danger and preparing to deal with the threat, a reaction known as “the fight or flight response.” The body “decides” quickly if it is more viable to flee or fight with the stimulus that the threat supposes, a reaction recorded in our organism from the beginning of the species.
Activation occurs in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, a part of the endocrine system that controls stress reactions and regulates various body functions such as digestion and the immune system. The central nervous system and the adrenal glands also undergo activation.
During this phase, the primary stress hormones, cortisol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline, are released to provide energy immediately. This energy can have harmful effects in the long term if, repeatedly, we don’t use it to carry out the physical activity that requires fighting or fleeing.
An excess of adrenaline results, in the long term, in an increase in blood pressure that can damage the blood vessels of the heart and brain. This is a risk factor that predisposes to heart attacks and strokes.
Also, the excessive production of the hormone cortisol, which occurs in this phase, can cause damage to the cells and muscle tissues. Some stress-related disorders resulting from this excessive production of cortisol include cardiovascular conditions, gastric ulcers, and high blood sugar levels.
In this phase, everything works as it should: you detect a stressful stimulus, your organism alarms you with a sudden shock of hormonal changes, and you immediately acquire the energy necessary to manage the threat.
2- The Resistance Phase
The organism changes to the second phase after eliminating the source of stress. The homeostasis processes begin to restore balance, leading to a period of recovery and repair.
Stress hormones often return to their initial levels, but a reduction of defenses occurs, and the adaptive energy supplies we use to deal with stress decrease. If the stressful situation persists, the body adapts with a continuous effort of resistance and remains in a state of activation.
The problems begin to manifest themselves when you find yourself repeating this process too often without getting a full recovery. Ultimately, this process evolves towards the final phase.
3- The Exhaustion Phase
In this last phase, stress has been present for some time. Your body loses its ability to resist because the energy supplies for adaptation have been exhausted. Known as overload, burnout, adrenal fatigue, or dysfunction, this is the phase in which stress levels rise and remain high.
The adaptation process has ended, and, as expected, this stage of the General Adaptation Syndrome is the most dangerous for your health. Chronic stress can cause damage to nerve cells in the tissues and organs of the body.
The hypothalamus section in the brain is particularly vulnerable to these processes. It is very likely that, under chronic stress conditions, thinking and memory will deteriorate, developing a tendency towards depressive and anxious symptoms.
There may also be negative influences on the autonomic nervous system, which contributes to producing higher blood pressure, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and other stress-related diseases.
The phase absent in response to stress
Recovery is the key element of this stress response missing in our stress paradigm today.
There is usually a recovery time after being persecuted by some predatory animal. Still, it is more infrequent that we have a period of compensation after recurring events in our daily lives, such as traffic jams, relationship problems, inadequate sleep patterns, problems at work, and economic problems.
This type of stressor can be linked daily, making the stress response “on” continuously.
In 2007, the American Psychological Association (APA) conducted its annual national survey to examine the country’s stress state. The main discoveries were named “Portrait of a national pressure cooker,” with almost 80% of the people surveyed reporting experiences of physical symptoms due to stress.
The stress of the modern days is the culprit of many complaints you don’t see in day-to-day psychological consultations.
Conclusion
The progressive stages of the General Adaptation Syndrome clearly show where it can take us to be under chronic and excessive stress conditions. However, we can keep these processes under control through, for example, some relaxation techniques or herbal supplements.
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