Selye also modeled stress as G.A.S or General Adaptation Syndrome and split it into three parts. The initial, acute reaction is called the “flight or fight” impulse, so the heart rate rises, the blood pressure rises, the autonomic nervous system shuts off digestion because of the release of hormones called adrenaline and noradrenaline from the adrenal gland. If the stress continued through this phase, which cannot be maintained long, the body goes into the resistance phase. Here the body learns to cope with the stress and the outward signs of arousal disappear, while internally there is a steady increased hormonal production. If the stress does not go away over a long period of time the final stage of the body is exhaustion. Selye argued that this is reached when the body’s resources are depleted which results in sickness or death. Autopsies in animals put under stress over a long period of time showed an enlarged adrenal gland, ulcers on the lining of the stomach and shrinkage in the hypothalamus gland and lymph nodes, which shows permanent physiological changes.
A way of deducing the amount of stress that one is under was put forward by Homes & Rahe (1948) as the Homes-Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale. The scale, in the form of a questionnaire with a point system, has limits which tell you the % chance of stress in one’s life causing actual sickness. They examined case studies of over 5000 patients before developing a stress barometer for life. This barometer was used as a basis for a study on 2,500 navy men in 1972, where it showed that the participants undergoing the greatest amount of stress also suffered twice as many ailments as those with a very low levels of stress.
In conclusion, it can be seen from the Homes & Rahe questionnaire and the navy study that stress is a clear case of mind over body, in humans, where a psychological process has, sometimes major, physiological responses.
