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Stressor
A stressful stimulus or situation demanding adaptation.
Stress reaction
A physical and emotional response to a stressor.
Stress
A physical and mental response to a challenging or threatening situation.
Acute stress
A temporary pattern of a stressor that activates arousal with a distinct onset and limited duration.
Chronic stress
A continuous state of stressful arousal, persisting over time without a clear endpoint.
Psychophysiological illness
Any stress-related illness, such as hypertension or headaches.
Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)
The study of how stress affects our resistance to disease and how physiological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect the immune system.
Lymphocytes
White blood cells that are essential for the immune response.
B lymphocytes
White blood cells that form in the bone marrow and fight bacterial infections.
T lymphocytes
White blood cells that form in lymphatic tissue and fight cancer cells.
Macrophage
Cells that identify, pursue, and ingest harmful invaders.
Natural killer cells (NK cells)
Cells that attack disease cells invaded by cancer or virus.
Type A personality
Competitive, hard-driven, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone individuals.
Type B personality
Easygoing and relaxed individuals.
Emotion focused coping
A stress management strategy where a person attempts to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring the stressor and focusing on emotional needs.
Problem focused coping
A stress management strategy where a person directly confronts a stressor to decrease or eliminate it.
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
A pattern of general physical responses that take the same form in responding to any serious chronic stressor, consisting of alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.
Alarm reaction
The body mobilizes its resources to cope with a stressor.
Resistance stage
The body attempts to adapt to the presence of the stressor.
Exhaustion stage
The body depletes its resources, resulting in a decrease in immune system effectiveness.
Tend-and-befriend phenomenon
The behavior where people, especially women, provide support to others and seek support from them under stress.
Cortisol
A glucocorticoid stress hormone secreted by the outer part of the adrenal glands.
Epinephrine
Adrenal stress hormone that reacts to emotionally arousing events.
Norepinephrine
A non-adrenal hormone that is a reactant of brain pathways.
Oxytocin
The love hormone that promotes social interaction and reduces anxiety.
Health effects of stress
Stress can suppress the immune system, leading to increased susceptibility to diseases.
Chronic stress effects on children
Children's physiological responses to severe child abuse can increase their risk for chronic stress.
PTSD
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder experienced by individuals who have undergone severe ordeals, with delayed stress symptoms appearing years after the event.
