What processes occur in the body during a period of severe stress?

Question

Can someone who knows this stuff please inform me on the processes that occur in the body during a period of severe stress. I have heard things like stress makes you gain weight, stress makes you lose muscle mass, stress causes increased blood sugar levels, stress causes the breakdown of protein in the body and increased fat storage. However, I am not exactly sure how many of these are true and am interested in finding out the real facts behind stress.

Answer 1

I think that you may be referring to the effects that cortisol, a hormone involved in the physiological response to stress, has on the body. Try this article for a great summary:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortisol

Answer 2

your body releases a hormone called cortisol as a response to stress. It causes weight gain, increased glucose levels, etc. A severe example of too much cortisol/steriod is cushings disease, which is characterized by the symptoms you describe except in cushings it is exogenous steriods rather than steriods made by the body.