Behavioral Science

MODULE-2
Stages of stress

When you are under stress, you experience and pass through three
specific stages. These stages are Alarm, Resistance, and Exhaustion.
However, you may or may not pass through all stages of
stress, depending on the events that triggered the occurrence.
 First Stage: ALARM

When you face any danger, your nervous system immediately sends an
emergency signal to your brain. All the different body parts and their functions
coordinate to either fight or flee away from the danger. You get more energy and
your limbs work faster. This is clearly visible in your facial expressions as fear or
tension.
Normally, this stage of stress can be due to an actual event such as an accident. It
is then primary stress. Otherwise, you could cause your stress like when you are
appearing for an important examination. This is secondary stress.
The general indications of this stage are your fast breathing with sweating and
accelerated heart beat which leads to higher blood pressure and indigestion.
 Second Stage: RESISTANCE

When you do not get any relief from the first stage of stress, you slowly start feeling a
reduction in your energy levels.

However, still you want to keep fighting the danger. Hence, you feel exasperated and
are impatient with trivial matters. You miss your sleep schedules and find your
resistance breaking Your body reacts by releasing the stored sugars and fats into your
system. This leads to defined changes in your physical and mental behavioral patterns.

The normal indications of this level are exhaustion, weariness, anxiousness, and being
forgetful. You start smoking and drinking more to come out of your stress. Being
weak, you are an easy target for colds and flu.
Third Stage: EXHAUSTION
When stress continues beyond the second stage and you do not adhere to
remedial measures, the final stress stage of exhaustion settles in. You are now
totally tired and drained out of all energy.

You do not even have the desire or the drive to do your work or live your life.
This stage symbolizes a breakdown of your system and your basic physical
existence itself. This leads to loss of mental equilibrium and extreme
complications such as heart diseases, blood pressure, and ulcers.
Physiological indicators

Dilated Pupil
Diaphoresis
Increased blood clotting
Bronchodilation
Skin pallor
Dry mouth
Hyper glycaemia
hypertension
Physiologic manifestation of stress

Pupils dilate to increase visual perception when serious threats to the body arise
Sweat production (diaphoresis) increases to control elevated body heat due to increased
metabolism.
Heart rate or pulse rate increases to transport nutrient & byproducts of metabolism more
effectively.
Skin becomes pale (pallor) because of constriction of blood vessels to shunt blood to the vital
organs
BP increases due to vasoconstriction of vessels in blood reservoir (skin, kidneys, lungs), due to
secretion of renin, angiotensin I and II.
Physiologic manifestation of stress

Increased rate of respiration dilation of bronchioles, promoting hyperventilation

and increased oxygen uptake
Mouths may become dry, urine output may decrease. The peristalsis of the
intestines decreases leading to constipation
For serious threats, there is improved mental alertness
Increased muscle tension to prepare for rapid motor activity /defense
Increased blood sugar to supply energy source to the body
Stress as a stimulus

The theory of stress as a stimulus was introduced in the 1960s, and viewed stress
as a significant life event or change that demands response, adjustment, or
adaptation. Holmes and Rahe (1967) created the Social Readjustment Rating
Scale (SRRS) consisting of 42 life events scored according to the estimated degree
of adjustment they would each demand of the person experiencing them
(e.g., marriage, divorce, relocation, change or loss of job, loss of loved one).
Holmes and Rahe theorized that stress was an independent variable in the health-
stress-coping equation the cause of an experience rather than the experience
itself. While some correlations emerged between SRRS scores and illness (Rahe,
Mahan, & Arthur, 1970; Johnson & Sarason, 1979), there were problems with the
stress as stimulus theory.
Stress as a stimulus (Cont.)

The stress as stimulus theory assumes:

Change is inherently stressful.
Life events demand the same levels of adjustment across the
population.
There is a common threshold of adjustment beyond which illness will
result.
Stress as a response

Stress as a response model, initially introduced by Hans Selye

(1956), describes stress as a physiological response pattern and was
captured within his general adaptation syndrome (GAS) model.
This model describes stress as a dependent variable and includes
three concepts:
Stress is a defensive mechanism.
Stress follows the three stages of alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.
If the stress is prolonged or severe, it could result in diseases of adaptation or
even death
Stress as a transactional

Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman suggested in 1984 that stress

can be thought of as resulting from an imbalance between demands
and resources or as occurring when pressure exceeds one's
perceived ability to cope. Stress management was developed and
premised on the idea that stress is not a direct response to a stressor
but rather one's resources and ability to cope mediate the stress
response and are amenable to change, thus allowing stress to be
controllable
Among the many stressors mentioned by employees, these are the most common:
The way employees are treated by their bosses/supervisors or company
Lack of job security
Company policies
Co-workers who don't do their fair share
Unclear expectations
Poor communication
Not enough control over assignments
Inadequate pay or benefits
Urgent deadlines
Too much work
Long hours
Uncomfortable physical conditions
Relationship conflicts
Co-workers making careless mistakes
Dealing with rude customers
Lack of co-operation
How the company treats co-workers
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