Stacy

Brittany Stacy

Waggoner

Lit Review

Week 8

How Stress Affects Our Emotional and Physical State

Stress is a part of every human being's daily lives. There is good stress, which can be anything

from receiving a promotion at work to starting a family. And the bad stressors such as losing a

job, not having enough money to feed your family, or even not yet knowing your purpose in life.

I am researching how and why stress can be harmful to us and what we can do to better respond

to it. Stress has a significant impact on our minds and bodies. It affects our motivation, our

physical selves, and our mental state.

What is stress? According to Webster’s Dictionary, Stress is: one of bodily or mental tension

resulting from factors that tend to alter an existent equilibrium. Spielberger said, “Stress is an

integral part of the natural fabric of life, and coping with stress is an everyday requirement for

normal human growth and development” (qtd in Franks 1). Stress varies from individual to

individual. How well we are equipped internally by experience and biology and how well we

were raised and shown by example of how to cope. In other words, stress is in the eye of the

beholder. Stress reactions are a function of an individual’s perceptions, expectations,

experiences, and moods. (Franks 1994).

What is the science behind motivation? The regulation of motivated behaviors is achieved by the

coordinated action of molecules (peptides, hormones, neurotransmitters) acting within specific

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circuits that integrate multiple signals in order for complex decisions to be made (Simpson

2016). Because I am not a neuroscience student, it would be out of my league to dissect this

finding. But it goes to show how incredibly complex our biology is and how the brain functions

with the body by the release of hormones such as cortisol (the body’s main stress hormone), and

that there is no body exactly alike. So naturally, our stress responses vary from person to person.

Many different factors influence motivation including the organisms internal physiological state

(deprivation, stress, time of day, health), the current environmental conditions, as well as the

organisms past history and experiences (Simpson 2016).

What causes depression? Not all people are equally exposed to depression. Multiple factors are

at play such as environment, family, history of abuse, drugs and alcohol, gender differences in

hormones, and genetics. Depression can be chronic and it can be situational. Those who suffer

from chronic depression often have it from an early age. It can be inherited through genes, it can

be formed by trauma such as physical and emotional abuse, and biologically stress hormones

contribute to serotonin deficiency. Situational or short-term depression could result from a loss

in a job or a loved one, or perhaps a break up or divorce. The following is a scientific study of

what causes depression in adults published in Polish Public Health. Scientists conducted studies

of the nervous tissue in deceased people who had suffered from depression before death. The

results had shown that depression contributes to the formation of a gene MKP-1 (Mitogen-

activated protein kinase phosphase-1) which was two-times more active in patients than in the

healthy group. An increased expression of MKP-1 located in the hippocampus, as a result of

stress, initiated depressive behaviors (Bembnowska et al 2015). This seems to prove the genetic

formation of stress-induced depression that can be passed down generationally.

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Recently, we have experienced trauma together globally through a virus. Some of us have been

traumatized, displaced and left hung out to dry, while others have been minorly inconvenienced.

Studies have found increased levels of stress, depression, and anxiety among several groups such

as singles, females, and people who have lost their job (Andersen et al 2021). The pandemic is an

example of an outside force out of our control, yet we are forced to deal with no matter who or

where we are. Will we see a generation of youth grow up to be more or less resilient? Have we

ourselves woken up to the imbalance of power in our own country? There are many questions I

think we all have, but I believe there’s no doubt to the impact it has had on each of us personally

and how we choose to cope and move forward from it.

Hans Seyle in 1936 coined the term general adaptation syndrome, later coined ‘stress.’ And

Walter Bradford Cannon in 1932 brought to us the idea of homeostasis, the natural stable state

that needs to exist in order for our bodies to survive. He is also responsible for ‘Fight or Flight.’

The documentary Stressed expresses the ‘triad of health’: Biochemical/nutritional stress,

physical stress, and emotional stress (ONE Research Found. 2021). Nutritional stress refers to

our food intake. We are what we eat so if we are filing up on processed foods and refined sugars,

we are subject to inflammation, not only in the joints and tissue, but in our brain. We are not

performing at optimal levels when we feed our cells anything other than whole, nutrient-dense

foods. What we eat directly contributes to brain and hormone function. Thus resulting in poor or

proper stress responses. The autonomic nervous system (not central nervous system) has two

major branches: Sympathetic-fight or flight and Parasympathetic-relaxation, restoration where

healing occurs (ONE Research Found 2021). The parasympathetic refers to our digestive system

and nutritional intake. When it’s in balance, healing occurs and stress is lower. The sympathetic

is in correlation to the anxiety we get when stressed, the digestive issues, the back pain and
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headaches. Practitioners who were interviewed in this documentary practice and treat their

patients with encouragement of a healthy diet of whole foods, regular exercise, and mindfulness

practices such as meditation or yoga.

In conclusion, the scientific studies conducted on stress, depression, and motivation is wildly

complex and cannot be concluded in totality due to the nature of our biological make-up. We

learned that depending on our genes, background, experiences, and environment that our

physiological responses can vary greatly from person to person, but no matter who we are stress

impacts the chemicals within our brains, and therefore our overall mental and physical health.

The differences are in how we respond and the steps we take to prevent poor health and to

achieve greater gut and brain health with food, exercise and meditation.

Works Cited

Andersen, Lars H., et al. “Risk of Stress/Depression and Functional Impairment in Denmark
Immediately Following a COVID-19 Shutdown.” BMC Public Health, vol. 21, no. 1,
June 2021, pp. 1–11. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1186/s12889-021-11020-3.
BEMBNOWSKA, MARTA, and JADWIGA JOŚKO-OCHOJSKA. “What Causes Depression in
Adults?” Polish Journal of Public Health, vol. 125, no. 2, June 2015, pp. 116–120.
EBSCOhost, doi:10.1515/pjph-2015-0037.
Franks, B.Don. “What Is Stress?” Quest (00336297), vol. 46, no. 1, Feb. 1994, pp. 1–7.
EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00336297.1994.10484106.
Simpson EH, Balsam PD. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Bethesda, MD: US
National Library of Medicine; 2016 Dec. 1st; Accessed July 3rd, 2021.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4864984/#idm140120822491664aff-info
Stressed-A Documentary Film. ONE Research Foundation. 2020 April 18, 1:02:30. Accessed
2021 July 5th. Stressed-A Documentary Film. ONE Research Foundation. 2020 April 18,
1:02:30. Accessed 2021 July 5th. Stressed - A Documentary Film | 4K OFFICIAL