Biological and Psychological Perspective of
Health and Illness
An Individual Major by Jessica Winslow
Basic Background on Study
I completed my independent study on Stress and Health under the advisement of Professor Shelly Dickinson of the psychology department. The course allowed me to gather a background on the body's stress response system and how at times this response can lead to adverse health consequences.
What is the stress response? The stress response system is a normally adaptive process that allows the body to respond to stressors. It is especially enables a person to respond to physical stressors since it readies the body for action or the “fight or flight” response. The stress response system does this by quickening heart rate, increasing respiration, and providing muscles with energy. At the same time the system temporarily shuts down bodily functions that are not immediately necessary for survival. Growth, digestion, and immune processes are some of the hindered functions.
The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic nervous system are the two branches of the stress response system. I have focused on the HPA axis which is somewhat slower than the instantaneous sympathetic nervous system branch. A series of hormones signal the hypothalamus, pituitary, and adrenal cortex. The adrenal cortex releases cortisol, which is the main stress hormone in humans that can be used as an indicator of the physiological stress response. Cortisol goes through the bloodstream reacting with receptors throughout the body effectively activating and inhibiting various systems as described before. Because this bodily response to a stressor involves activation of the cardiac, respiratory, and muscular systems it is most adaptive for physical, acute (short-lasting) stressors.
How does the stress response become harmful? Humans are often faced with chronic psychological stress, which does not benefit from activation of the stress response. Though it is not helpful to do so, activation of the stress response system still occurs when faced with psychological stressors. Thus chronic inactivation of processes like growth, digestion, and immune due to the stress response occurs unnecessarily and to the detriment of the individual. There are many illnesses that have been linked to the stress response including increased susceptibility to infectious disease, hypertension, digestive problems, tissue damage (i.e. hippocampus), and depression. Consequently chronic psychological stress can be seen as a risk factor for illness.
[examples of adverse health effects of stress]
My independent study on stress and health presented me with the idea to study long-term academic stress as a form of a chronic psychological stress that would theoretically cause detrimental health consequences.
For a more thorough background on stress and health see my paper, linked below.