Stress clinic

1. Gastroepato
2. Psichiatria
3. Stress clinic
4. Depression and dysthymia

Reaction of attack or flight

The attack or flight reaction "includes all the physiological responses that occur in our body and prepare us for the efforts necessary to fight or escape when we are facing a danger. Even today, compared to the past, nothing has changed. We are constantly anxious, for work, to face everyday problems, moving in the jungle of our times, with the anxiety of attacks, of thieves who can come to kill us in their homes, with the concern to pay bills, to be subjected to foreclosure, to be subjected to mobbing, to face tests and exams. The result is a modern condition which is that of an anxious state. But we know that anxiety also comes from this mechanism, a condition of alert! In fact, reacting to the danger through the very rapid activation of all the neurovegetative functions necessary for an escape or an attack. It is characterized by cardiac acceleration, increased breathing rhythm, muscle tension, increased attention and alertness.
 In a few moments our body is ready to attack or flee: this physiological mechanism has developed in the course of evolution to help us survive. So we can overcome every stress condition. But what is stress? Stress means a tension or physical pressure, applied to any material object, in 1968 also an overload of an organ or a mental pressure; in 1971 the term adaptation syndrome was also recorded. Jokingly Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times highlights the inhumane condition of a worker forced to bolter gears and experience new times at work, until he too goes crazy and swaps by bolts to screw the buttons of a secretary's skirt! So it can not adapt and overcome the stress of the assembly line.
 

But is stress always deleterious?

Purpose of stress
Each stressor (stressor) immediately calls for neuropsychological, emotional, locomotor, hormonal and immunological regulatory reactions that form a general framework known as SGA (General Adaptation Syndrome). Even daily life events can be considered stressors and trigger a general adaptation syndrome. .
Adaptation is a complex activity that is articulated in the implementation of finalistic actions aimed at:
-Change the body's internal balance (homeostasis) by:
- the generation of a subjective emotional response;
- putting the body in defense against the stress factor;
-the implementation of strategies to be developed in case of future exposure to stressors;
It thus happens that the balance external to the organism (environment) has changed to adapt it to the needs of the subject. These two aspects can vary based on multiple factors, but in general the response in vertebrates is based on a model of constant and stereotypical action.

So a stress stimulates a subject to overcome it, so that the subject can adapt to the new condition. Stress is a general adaptation syndrome (EMS) which implements a new internal balance (homeostasis) following stress factors (stressors). The alterations of the internal balance can occur at the endocrine, humoral, organic, biological levels. The term stress was introduced for the first time in biology by Walter Cannon in 1935; the syndrome was defined in this way by Hans Selye in 1936. The syndrome may be physiological, but may also have pathological implications, even chronic, which fall into the field of psychosomatics. In general, we usually distinguish between eustress and distress, respectively "good" stress and "bad" stress. In general, the responses following the exposure of stressors can be grouped in two ways:
- instantaneous responses, due to the nature and physiology of the nervous system (eg sympathetic nervous system using already synthesized and stored neurotransmitters);
- delayed responses, due to the nature and physiology of the endocrine and neuroendocrine system (eg reception of the stressor, activation of the transcription of proteins synthesizing hormones, synthesis of hormones and release of these in the humoral circle).

But does each of us adapt to stress?

Factors that determine the ability to adapt
The greater or lesser success of the adaptive processes (adaptability) is given by the balance between the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the events that arouse them and the personal resources of the subject involved. The body attempts to combat and counteract the negative effects of prolonged fatigue, producing specific hormonal responses from various endocrine glands, e.g. the adrenal glands. The delayed response is predominantly present and its duration is related to the duration of exposure to the stressor and the amount of energy reserves of the organism.

Regarding the qualitative characteristics are considered:
- temperamental and personality characteristics;
- cultural level;
- socio-economic conditions;
- subjective resonance of the event.

As regards the quantitative characteristics, a time axis is considered and therefore:
- the age of the subject;
- its reaction time;
- the time required by the event to obtain an effective adaptation;
- duration of exposure to the stressor
In fact, a young child will not be able to use fully and with the same speed the same adaptive capacity of the adult. On the other hand, it will be more difficult to avoid a bullet project than a ball. A third factor that involves both qualitative and quantitative characteristics is given by the subject's intellectual abilities: predictability, knowledge and the severity of events play a fundamental role in the possibility of establishing adaptive strategies to manage them (feed-forward mechanism).

Stress and anxiety, are they good or bad?

A prolonged stress is certainly not a good event. An individual always under stress, goes towards the so-called candle burned or burn out syndrome. It runs out, basically like a worn candle! Exhaustion, if the stressors continue to act, the subject can be overwhelmed and permanent adverse effects may occur on the psychic and / or somatic structure. The subject recovers, if the body has managed to eliminate the effects of the stressor (modification of the internal environment, or of the homeostatic set-point) or the stressor as such (modification of the external environment). An example of a simple and stereotyped answer is the following:
-Exposure to stressors or prediction of a stressor in the future (feed-forward mechanism)
- Receipt of the stressor and possible processing of the message;
Implementation of the syndrome of adaptation and modification of the normal values ​​("set point") of different homeostatic systems;
Adaptation or resolution of the problem.
For example, to adapt to a rigid climate (stressor), you can decide to light a fire, or wear heavier clothes: adaptation depends on the ability to solve a problem, but also by the presence of appropriate environmental elements, economic or relational. But if we can not overcome the stressor, then anxiety will not help us and will affect us, causing us to fall into depressive pathology. Therefore not anxiety understood as a constructive moment, but anxiety understood as a destructive moment for the individual.


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