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STRESS - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Stage 2 (Resistance): If the threat does not subside, the body tries to cope. Hormones are released to provide the body with the energy needed to deal with the stressor. If the stressor persists and becomes chronic the elevated levels of hormones could be damaging the cardiovascular system. However, the individual appears to be coping.
        
        Stage 3 (Exhaustion): The resources needed are becoming drained; the individual is experiencing the same symptoms as in the alarm stage e.g. fast heart rate. The immune system is weakened and diseases are likely to develop e.g. infections and cardiovascular disorders such as raised blood pressure.
    - - Selye’s model was the first to accurately describe the physiological changes that occur during the stress response. This later led to further research in the negative effects of stress on health.
      - Another difference is that animals are also more passive in the way they respond to stress; humans are likely to take measures to escape the stressor or at least reduce its impact whereas animals are unlikely to do so.
      - Furthermore, gender influences the physiological response to stress so do individual characteristics such as personality type and locus of control. rmal/desirable.
      - Selye assumes that the response remains the same to all stressors, which was supported by his research with rats. However, when the experiments were replicated on monkeys by Mason (1971) he found that the response varied with the type of stressors e.g. cold temperatures lead to an increase in cortisol but the heat did not.
        This challenges the GAS model. Furthermore, these experiments were carried out on animals who are different from humans cognitively and emotionally. According to the transactional model, in humans the individual’s perception of the stressor and their perception of their ability to cope with it influence the stress response. This is unlikely to be the same in animals.
  - - - When a stressor is perceived, the hypothalamus activates the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system.
        
        This, in turn, causes the adrenal medulla to release adrenaline into the bloodstream. This prepares the body for “fight or flight”.
        
        The adrenaline and noradrenaline increase the heart rate and the breathing rate, the blood circulation is redirected to the skeletal muscles and the digestion stops.
        
        When the stressor subsides the parasympathetic branch of the nervous system is activated and the heart and breathing rate decrease, the digestion restarts and all other functions go back to their normal level.
  - - - PITUITARY GLAND: detects the CRF which responds by releasing a hormone called the Andrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) into the bloodstream
        
        ADRENAL GLAND: the outside of the glands called the adrenal cortex releases cortisol
        
        CORTISOL mobilises glucose stored in the liver, this provides a constant supply of energy for the body to deal with the stressor.