What is a general adaptation syndrome?

General adaptation syndrome is a three -stage reaction to stress, which is considered universal. Dr. Hans Selye, a well -known Canadian endocrinologist from the 20th century, first described it. Initially, he studied animal populations to determine how the animals reacted when they faced constant stress, and these studies were then extrapolated to humans.

Selye there are three phases of general adaptation syndrome. The first stage is called alarm, and this is the common reaction of the "fight or flight" that most people experience when a stressor appears. Stress can be emotional or physical and only an individual can perceive it as a stressor. A person who is worried about heights could intervene an alarm phase when it goes up the stairs, although in most cases it is not considered a dangerous practice. Whether the danger or pain is real or presented, people in the alarm phase will increase hormonal epinephrine (adrenaline) and some cortisol increase.

Some stress is situtional and immediately decideIn this case, people will proceed from the first phase of the general adaptation syndrome to an unstressed state. However, stress can continue, and when it keeps it, the body goes to the second phase, which is resistance. This is actually part of the "adaptation" of the syndrome. People try to adapt to the chronic source of stress and the body can physically try to change to deal with further stress.

For example, a person who is anorexic, gradually begins to lose interest in food (hunger). The body can also adapt by trying to gain as much nutritional benefits of food and slow down the digestive system. Because the person is in constant state of starvation, it may take so long. But the body's ability to "resist" the ongoing stressor starvation, explains why anorexics can spend years exposing this unhealthy behavior without dying.

However, stressors are resistance and physical exhaustion occurs. This tThe chain of the general adaptation syndrome is caused by exhaustion. If stress is constant and extremely serious, it can lead to death. A person who is a workaholic in high stress work may have the body flooded with hormonal cortisol, which can cause early development of heart disease and a possible risk of heart attack at a very early age. Obviously, there are many attempts to cope with stressors or to treat diseases that are based on stress before the exhaustion stage cause death. Yet people can mentally or physically "disintegrate" when stressors are huge and last for a long time.

Not all stress according to Selye is perceived the same people. He invented the terms eustress and distress to distinguish between the stress he helped or damage. Eustress could make people more functional in the second phase and to be received positively, or it would not have an alarming effect on physicality, because one had good resources of management. Suffering, on the other hand, can seriously affect behavior and eventuallyReduce functionality instead of improving it. More precisely, people in Eustress have a greater ability to stay in the resistance phase, while people in need can quickly penetrate the phase of exhaustion.

General adaptation syndrome suggests very real physical results of stress exposure, especially long -term types. Fortunately, people have many ways and can learn many new methods of stress management. There may be interventions that help people in all kinds of stressful situations, and given the physical response to long -term stressors, it is good to find help when there is physical or emotional stress for a long time.