Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/books Saylor.org
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Stress refers to the physiological responses that occur when an organism fails to respond appropriately to emotional
or physical threats. - The general adaptation syndrome refers to the three distinct phases of physiological change that occur in response to
long-term stress: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion. - Stress is normally adaptive because it helps us respond to potentially dangerous events by activating the sympathetic
division of the autonomic nervous system. But the experience of prolonged stress has a direct negative influence on
our physical health. - Chronic stress is a major contributor to heart disease. It also decreases our ability to fight off colds and infections.
- Stressors can occur as a result of both major and minor everyday events.
- Men tend to respond to stress with the fight-or-flight response, whereas women are more likely to take a tend-and-
befriend response.
EXERCISES AND CRITICAL THINKING
- Consider a time when you experienced stress, and how you responded to it. Do you now have a better understanding
of the dangers of stress? How will you change your coping mechanisms based on what you have learned? - Are you good at emotion regulation? Can you think of a time that your emotions got the better of you? How might
you make better use of your emotions?
[1] Selye, H. (1956). The stress of life. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
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[3] Pulcino, T., Galea, S., Ahern, J., Resnick, H., Foley, M., & Vlahov, D. (2003). Posttraumatic stress in women after the
September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.Journal of Women’s Health, 12(8), 809–820.
[4] Seyle, Hans (1936). A syndrome produced by diverse nocuous agents. Nature, 138, 32. Retrieved
from http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/reprint/10/2/230a.pdf; Seyle, H. (1974). Forty years of stress research: Principal
remaining problems and misconceptions.Canadian Medical Association Journal, 115(1), 53–56; Seyle, H. (1982). The nature of
stress. Retrieved from http://www.icnr.com/articles/thenatureofstress.html
[5] Rodrigues, S. M., LeDoux, J. E., & Sapolsky, R. M. (2009). The influence of stress hormones on fear circuitry. Annual Review
of Neuroscience, 32, 289–313.