Mental Health Friday 2022-11-18
On Mental Health Friday, we post, in alphabetical order, one per week, information on mental health disorders. Mental Health Friday is for informational purposes only, and is in no way meant to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Please do not self diagnose and seek professional help for what ails you.
General Adaptation Syndrome
General Adaptation Syndrome is a term coined by Hans Selye in 1936. It is a set of stages that a person goes through in response to stress. These stages are alarm, resistance and exhaustion.
General Adaptation Syndrome is a condition that affects the body’s ability to react to stress. It is a three-stage process that starts with the alarm stage, then moves into the resistance stage and finally into exhaustion.
The first stage (alarm) of GAS is when the person has been exposed to a high level of stress and their body reacts by activating its fight-or-flight response. This causes an increase in blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing rate as well as an increase in glucose levels. This stage can last from minutes to hours or days depending on how severe the stressor is before it moves into resistance or exhaustion.
The second stage (resistance) is when the person’s body tries to resist or recover from stressors. This can be done by increasing production of cortisol which helps to release glucose into the bloodstream, which will suppress immune responses and reduce inflammation but also have effects on other systems such as digestion or reproduction.
The third stage (exhaustion) is when all resources have been exhausted and there are no more energy stores left in the body to cope with external demands. This can cause death if it persists for long periods of time – this may happen if someone.
If you or someone you love is experiencing stress, please seek a qualified professional to help in dealing with stress.