Chronic stress

Chronic stress is the physiological or psychological response induced by a long-term internal or external stressor.[1] The stressor, either physically present or recollected, will produce the same effect and trigger a chronic stress response.[1] There is a wide range of chronic stressors, but most entail relatively prolonged problems, conflicts and threats that people encounter on a daily basis.[2] Several chronic stressors have been identified as associated with disease and mortality including "neighbourhood environment, financial strain, interpersonal stress, work stress and caregiving."[3]

Stress responses, such as the fight or flight response, are fundamental. The complexity of the environment means that it is constantly changing. To navigate the surroundings, we, therefore, need a system that is capable of responding to perceived threatening and harmful situations.[4] The stress response system thus has its role as an adaptive process to restore homeostasis in the body by actively making changes.[4][5] For instance, the body will involve in an endocrine system response in which corticosteroids are released. This process is known as allostasis, first proposed by Sterling and Eyer (1988).[6] Research has provided considerable evidence to illustrate the stress response as a short-term adaptive system.[4] The immediate effects of stress hormones are beneficial in a particular short-term situation. The system is arguably a protective defense against threats[5] and usually does not pose a health risk.[7]

However, the problem arises when there is a persistent threat. First-time exposure to a stressor will trigger an acute stress response in the body; however, repeated and continuous exposure causes the stressor to become chronic.[4] McEwen and Stellar (1993) argued there is a "hidden cost of chronic stress to the body over long time periods".[8] That is often known as allostatic load. Chronic stress can cause the allostasis system to overstimulate in response to the persistent threat.[7] And such overstimulation can lead to an adverse impact. To illustrate, the long-term exposure to stress creates a high level of these hormones. This may lead to high blood pressure (and subsequently heart disease), damage to muscle tissue, inhibition of growth,[9] and damage to mental health. Chronic stress also relates directly to the functionality and structure of the nervous system, thereby influencing affective and physiological responses to stress.[3] These subsequently can result in damage to the body.

  1. ^ a b "APA Dictionary of Psychology". dictionary.apa.org. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  2. ^ Pearlin LI (1989). "The Sociological Study of Stress". Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 30 (3): 241–256. doi:10.2307/2136956. ISSN 0022-1465. JSTOR 2136956. PMID 2674272.
  3. ^ a b Epel ES, Crosswell AD, Mayer SE, Prather AA, Slavich GM, Puterman E, Mendes WB (April 2018). "More than a feeling: A unified view of stress measurement for population science". Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology. 49: 146–169. doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2018.03.001. PMC 6345505. PMID 29551356.
  4. ^ a b c d Rohleder N (July 2019). "Stress and inflammation - The need to address the gap in the transition between acute and chronic stress effects". Psychoneuroendocrinology. 105: 164–171. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.02.021. PMID 30826163. S2CID 72332925.
  5. ^ a b McEwen BS (July 2007). "Physiology and neurobiology of stress and adaptation: central role of the brain". Physiological Reviews. 87 (3): 873–904. doi:10.1152/physrev.00041.2006. PMID 17615391.
  6. ^ Fisher S, Reason JT (1988). Handbook of life stress, cognition, and health. Chichester: Wiley. ISBN 0-471-91269-7. OCLC 17234042.
  7. ^ a b Schneiderman N, Ironson G, Siegel SD (1 April 2005). "Stress and health: psychological, behavioral, and biological determinants". Annual Review of Clinical Psychology. 1 (1): 607–628. doi:10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.144141. PMC 2568977. PMID 17716101.
  8. ^ McEwen BS, Stellar E (September 1993). "Stress and the individual. Mechanisms leading to disease". Archives of Internal Medicine. 153 (18): 2093–2101. doi:10.1001/archinte.1993.00410180039004. PMID 8379800.
  9. ^ Carlson NR (2013). Physiology of Behavior (11th ed.). Boston: Pearson. pp. 602–6. ISBN 978-0-205-23939-9. OCLC 879099798.