Stress has been with us just as long as baldness. Picture on cave Walls show us that the early Caveman went bald the same as modern day man. Everyday we take tasks at home, in Work even at play. Usual demands are put on our minds and bodies. Stress has never really been defined satisfactorily. Stress is a mental, emotional and physical strain. It is a state of arousal with which the body responds to such demands. We cannot live without stress, since We face these challenges all the time and no matter how diverse the sources and variable the levels of stress We experience, the mechanism that registers arousal and helps us cope with all the Challenges that We face is shared by the entire human race. Our response to Challenge is prompt, speedy and efficient. When we first become aware of a challenge a chain of automatic bodily processes provide an instant surge of energy and strength, effectively preparing us to fight or flee.
Earlier in our evolutionary history our ability to make use of this tight or flight response meant the difference between life or death.
Stress may be generated by a number of things, death of a spouse, divorce, imprisonment, marriage, getting the sack, diet, iii health, financial insecurity as well as through many major life events.
The Fight or Flight Response
The body’s answer to challenge or danger consists of a complex chain of bodily and biochemical changes involving the interaction of the brain, nervous system and a variety of different hormones. As a result of this the body goes on full alert. Whether We are faced with a life threatening situation or Whether We are about to run a race. We all have available energy to respond to the challenge. In response to stress chemicals such as adrenalin, increased blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen intake and blood flow diverted to the muscles, combine to provide us with the strength and energy and clear thinking if we are to give our best.
Other parts of the body are also affected by the response. The digestive system shuts down. The skin sweats and the muscles tense up in preparation for action.
The heart and blood vessel play a major role in arousal, so the arousal level can be gauged by measuring the heart beat. A tit man With a healthy resting heart rate of around 62 to 76 beats per minute Could find his maximum heart rate rapidly rising and levelling out at 200 to 220 beats per minute. When the sympathetic branch of his nervous system takes over allowing all organs to relax and regenerate, and the heart rate returns to normal. The lower the heart's resting rate the more efficiently it can cope with the extra demands. The body’s response, arousal, is triggered initially in the hypothalamus (a tiny cluster of cells at the base of the brain) which controls all' automatic body functions.
