General Adaptive Syndrome: A Case Study

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Stress starts in the brain triggering the General Adaptive Syndrome; GAS describes the body's short and long-term emotional and physical effects of stress (Kell, "General Adaptation Syndrome", 2010). Stress, considered positive for the ‘fight or flight’ reactions to dangers, can also have a negative impact of the physicality’s of the body. General Adaptive Syndrome is the stages the body goes through when stressed. Farlex Medical Partners Dictionary (2012) states, “Selye outlined what he considered as three distinctive stages in the syndrome's evolution. He called these stages the alarm reaction (AR), the stage of resistance (SR), and the stage of exhaustion (SE).”
In first stage the nervous systems sympathetic reaction begins. This is called the Alarm stage and initiates when the stressor first is present. Sympathetic is the part of the nervous system that reacts to stressors. The adrenal glands discharge hormones which escalates the heart rate, the blood pressure, and the supply of blood sugar;
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The bodies’ resources begin to fail and the immune system lacks the production of chemicals needed to fight infections. The effects on the immune system functioning can be caused by the suppression for a longer time, even after the stressful situation is resolved. This stage is typically the cause of many diseases related to stress. This is another problem the General Adaptive Syndrome affects the body during a long stressful event. Heart disease, heart attacks, weak immune systems, diabetes, cancer, and many other health issues have been reported greatly related to long-term stress. For example, a person with a stressful job may experience long-term stress that might lead to high blood pressure and an eventual heart attack (The Free Dictionary by Farlex,