It is good to clarify immediately that stress, in itself, is neither good nor bad for the human organism. Indeed, without stress the human race would not exist. In fact, even if today it has become a negative term, in itself stress is a normal physiological response and, in the history of the evolution of the species and in the individual, positive. In fact, the best of life, characterized by moments of joy, love, sexual activity, enthusiasm, euphoria, inspiration, creation, etc., are often very stressful or the source and consumption of a "huge amount of stress energy." What happens in the organism in those moments is a natural process identical to that of the worst circumstances, when one is in danger, upset, depressed, sick, etc.
What essentially distinguishes positive from negative stress is the degree of insecurity. In simpler words, as Selye and others have pointed out, stress is positive when it is desired, it gives us the feeling of dominating our environment and consequently and vitality grows to the maximum. Conversely, stress is negative when it is unwanted, unpleasant and accompanied by feelings of insecurity, discomfort, awe, etc. Negative stress is unpleasant, like when you don't know how to act and regret not being able to master the situation by becoming anxious, clumsy, clumsy. This type of stress always causes extra stress that increases the duration and intensity of the stress reaction: when you are particularly tired or bored, any little further adversity can suddenly bring you to the limits of the possibility of endurance.
In other words, what differentiates positive from negative stress is the ability to invest the stress energy in a productive way, with high yield, obtaining what you want through the amount of useful energy, without waste potentially harmful to health. Selye he called distress negative stress, or the unpleasant feeling of malaise associated with a waste of energy due to stress, ed eustress the positive one synonymous with vitality associated with the maximum efficacy of stress energy.
or adaptation and exhaustion, which occur in the organism during each stress reaction and called the whole sequence General Adaptation Syndrome (G.A.S.) or "general adaptation syndrome". Along with the three-phase scheme, this definition still forms the basis of modern stress research.G.A.S. It is therefore a defensive mechanism by which the organism strives to overcome difficulties and then return, as soon as possible, to its normal operating equilibrium (homeostasis). It can develop in two ways:
- acute stress reaction, of short duration, consisting of a rapid phase of resistance followed by an almost immediate and well-defined return to normality (for example, when you sprint to reach the bus and, as soon as you get on, you relax);
- prolonged stress reaction, with a resistance phase that can last from many minutes to days, weeks, years and, for some, a lifetime.
Dr. Selye often recalled that the main cause of the bad stress of modern humanity is frustration as a result of the annoyances and annoyances of everyday life. For this reason most of us live, almost always, in a phase of prolonged stress resistance to which, from time to time, episodes of acute stress reaction are added (as in the case of an argument with one's partner or superior).
The stress response is therefore a set of chain reactions that first of all involve the nervous system, the endocrine system and the immune system, acting consequently on the whole organism. These are systems that operate in close interdependence, as the psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology has shown , under the control of the central nervous system The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) seems to be the determining factor; while in conditions of non-stress the activity of the HPA axis is organized in regular periodic oscillations, in conditions of stress there is a further activation of the system.
The purpose of all these changes is only one: to put the individual in the best "fight or flight" condition.
Obviously, this stress response mechanism affects all animals and is very useful: without stress you would not be able to react effectively, whether it is to face or flee a beast (a rare situation today) or to provide the correct answer to an exam ( more frequent situation).
Research by Dr. Selye and other scientists has elucidated the complex physiology of the three phases of the general adaptation syndrome. The following explanations capture the essential aspects, in order to demonstrate the great importance of stress as a mind-body intermediary.
Edited by Dr. Giovanni Chetta
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