Relating to biology, What is stress and how does it affect the body??

Question

Relating to biology, What is stress and how does it affect the body??

Answer 1

Well . . . I know there are several types of stress.  :-)  There's Eustress (good stress - the kind that makes you do well at things e.g. an adreneline rush that makes you run full-speed toward the finish line), there's Distress (um, bad stress, the kind that makes you not be able to think properly when you've got a long line of whiney customers, someone who wants to take their sweet old time, a full bladder, and a bus you need to catch so you don't have to walk home six miles in the dark . . . ), and one other that just flew out of my mind (I suppose that put me in 'distress'.)

Stress itself raises blood pressure (heart beats faster), makes you want to take in more oxygen (so you're either taking deeper breaths or shorter, faster breaths), and sends all sorts of hormones moving around your body.

This also has to do with the flight/fight syndrome, they're linked.  You've probably heard of epinephrine - that's similar to adreneline.  It may even be the same word.  At any rate, if you're flight/fight mode, your body forgets about the 'minor' things and takes care of the 'basic' survival mode.  If you culd normally not run really fast or lift much, your body focuses all it's energy so you can.  If you're in a house that's on fire and you're trapped ina  room, sometimes your body focuses all it's attention on your muscles so you can throw a couch througha  window to get out.  Even if you usually cannot even lift much more than the end to your waist!  Or, in 'flight' mode, it caues you to run really fast to get away from the tiger that is chasing you.  

That has to do with your sympathetic nervous system.  Of course, in normal every-day situations, you only experience that to a degree - like when your boss points out a mistake that may/ay not cost you your job but at least makes you lok stupid in front of clients.  Your face gets red (blood pressure goes uip, blood goes to your veins), your heart pounds (more blood - duh), your breathing gets quicker (trying to take in more Oxygen), and you shake b/c of the amount of energies.