First, read this article:
http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/content/art1965.html
I ran upon this article while looking at a link from Dr. Walsh's Drugs & Individual Behavior class, and I thought it would fit with some of the material we are currently covering. The article basically details how our bodies react to stress via natural physiological processes. These responses are why we feel physical symptoms to a perceived stressor. The stressor itself may not be anything that is physically challenging or even mentally challenging, but our perception of it can be manifested in both of these ways. On Tuesday we mentioned cortisol as being a stress hormone that can have negative physical consequences, but it actually does more than that. It helps our bodies deal with the other physiological processes that respond to stress through allostasis, or the process of maintaining homeostasis. If cortisol levels do not respond properly to an acute stressor and are too low, other bodily processes can "run out of control" and cause physical damage (e.g. an autoimmune condition). Conversely, if cortisol levels are higher than they should be in response to stress, this can lead to decreased functioning of other bodily processes (hyperglycemia eventually leading to type 2 diabetes). The article also describes how our own behaviors can affect how our body handles stress. I thought this article would be something that everyone might like to know in terms of staying healthy and a little of the physiology behind dealing with stress. Next time you are feeling stressed out you can just say "man, I have a huge allostatic load that's bothering me right now" and see how people respond.
http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/content/art1965.html
I ran upon this article while looking at a link from Dr. Walsh's Drugs & Individual Behavior class, and I thought it would fit with some of the material we are currently covering. The article basically details how our bodies react to stress via natural physiological processes. These responses are why we feel physical symptoms to a perceived stressor. The stressor itself may not be anything that is physically challenging or even mentally challenging, but our perception of it can be manifested in both of these ways. On Tuesday we mentioned cortisol as being a stress hormone that can have negative physical consequences, but it actually does more than that. It helps our bodies deal with the other physiological processes that respond to stress through allostasis, or the process of maintaining homeostasis. If cortisol levels do not respond properly to an acute stressor and are too low, other bodily processes can "run out of control" and cause physical damage (e.g. an autoimmune condition). Conversely, if cortisol levels are higher than they should be in response to stress, this can lead to decreased functioning of other bodily processes (hyperglycemia eventually leading to type 2 diabetes). The article also describes how our own behaviors can affect how our body handles stress. I thought this article would be something that everyone might like to know in terms of staying healthy and a little of the physiology behind dealing with stress. Next time you are feeling stressed out you can just say "man, I have a huge allostatic load that's bothering me right now" and see how people respond.
The article from this blog was really interesting. The point I found most interesting was when it discussed how the ways we cope with stress can actually make things worse for us. For example, smoking and drinking are obvious bad habits but these are very common behaviors that follow stressful events. I am definitely guilty of wanting to drink when i feel stressed and it turns out that it may not be helping me as much as i thought. The article points out that eating is also another thing many people do when they feel stressed. This can be especially bad if we choose to eat potato chips or if we choose to over eat. This article mentions that exercise is one of the most important things to do when we feel stressed because it can relieve the stress while also providing benefits to our health. The article mentioned that people vary on their level of "allostatic load" which means that people vary on how much stress they can handle and also how they handle stressors. This is very important for motivation becasue people who have a low allostatic load become stressed easily and often times have a hard time coping with stress. As we have learned, stress plays a major roll in our motivation. For me personally, stress decreases my motivation for many activities, especially when it comes to school. Obviously, i need to come up with better ways to cope with my stress instead of exhibiting an avoidance style coping behavior. People who are stressed also have higher levels of cortisol which can cause higher levels of blood sugar which is also bad for our health. I think by taking what we have learned about motivation, the best way to cope with stress is to focus on the goals we have set. Implementation intentions are very important here because stress is a huge factor that often gets in the way of reaching our goals. By planning ahead for stressful events, we can better cope with them by knowing what to do inorder to stay on track.