A hereditary vulnerability and concerns such as economic or political uncertainties, a decreasing quality of life, looming unemployment, and fear of old age or abandonment has led to a general increase in persons who report stress. Other contributing factors include insufficient regular leisure or physical activity, poor diet, an inadequate family structure and lack of a support network. These personal, social, economical and dietary factors interact with biological factors to make stress a leading cause of ailments, from a simple heartburn to a decrease in immune responsiveness, and from this to cancer and other diseases. In the past few decades a large body of research has confirmed a connection between stress and disease, and between stress management and a reduced risk of, or reduced morbidity and mortality from, certain diseases.

One of the pioneers of modern stress research, the physician/physiologist Hans Selye, was the first to invoke the concept of a physiological response to a wide variety of stressors, both psychological and physical. He coined the term 'general adaptation syndrome' (GAS) to describe the physiological process by which the organism responds to stressors and attempts to re-establish homeostasis. The syndrome consists of three phases: alarm, resistance and exhaustion.

During the alarm stage the organism detects a stressor and responds with activation of the sympathetic nervous system and adrenal medulla, the so-called 'fight or flight reaction' during which the body's defenses are mobilized. The second stage, resistance, recruits the pituitary-adrenocortical axis to permit the organism to achieve optimal adaptation and maintain homeostasis. Exhaustion results when the organism depletes its adaptive resources and may give rise to disease or even death.

Selye identified 'diseases of adaptation' which include, amongst others, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease, peptic ulcer, hyperthyroidism and asthma.

Treatment & Prevention