...NOT!A number of medical terms have been appropriated by the vernacular, to the detriment of effective communication.
"Stress" is one of those terms.
Biologically, stress means that the
body's homeostatic mechanisms are being challenged by environmental factors; it is manifested by PHYSIOLOGIC changes, such as increased heart rate, sweating, and GI distress. These changes are mediated by the autonomic nervous system, which acts in large part through endocrine organs such as the adrenals, the pancreas, and the thyroid.
Simply being upset is not being stressed; it is the physiologic syndrome of stress that is dangerous to one's homeostasis (health). Emotions--mediated by neurotransmitters--can produce stress, yes, but if someone says he or she is "freaked out" from stress and has a normal heart rate and blood pressure, they aren't. Stressed, that is--emotions are real and should be taken seriously but if they have not been translated into physiologic parameters they are not harmful to the body!
"Stress" is one of those terms.
Biologically, stress means that the
body's homeostatic mechanisms are being challenged by environmental factors; it is manifested by PHYSIOLOGIC changes, such as increased heart rate, sweating, and GI distress. These changes are mediated by the autonomic nervous system, which acts in large part through endocrine organs such as the adrenals, the pancreas, and the thyroid.
Simply being upset is not being stressed; it is the physiologic syndrome of stress that is dangerous to one's homeostasis (health). Emotions--mediated by neurotransmitters--can produce stress, yes, but if someone says he or she is "freaked out" from stress and has a normal heart rate and blood pressure, they aren't. Stressed, that is--emotions are real and should be taken seriously but if they have not been translated into physiologic parameters they are not harmful to the body!
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