General Adaptation Syndrome Analysis

General Adaptation Syndrome The body has its way of responding to external reactions. It can be through adapting or preparing to respond to a situation effectively. General adaption syndrome refers to a collection of these responses. In the event of a dangerous situation, the body is altered by the side effects of stress; therefore, responding to restore balance. Han Selye was the first scientist to discover these side effects and identified them as stress (Cooper, 2017). He further described that general adaptation develops in three stages. The first stage is referred to as the alarm reaction stage. At this stage the sympathetic branch of autonomic nervous system (ANS) is activated, there is secretion of cortisol stress hormones by the adrenal gland. Hans observed that during this experiment, the subject’s experienced significant physical changes (Seaward, 2014). The body organs of the subject’s shrunk, and body fats reduced. The body temperatures lowered thus conserving energy. It is at this stage when animals prepared the respond. Walter Canon referred to the reaction as a fight-flight response (Seaward, 2014). …show more content…
The body tries to restore normality through a process called homeostasis. At this stage, the body attempts to adapt to the new environment. Hans found out that resistance occurred about 48 hours after the stressful event. At this phase, results of the hormones from the alarm stage are still present. This reaction increases glucose levels and blood pressure then stress hormones levels normalize. If the resistance stage persists for too long without responses to alleviate the effects of stress, some signs experienced include: poor concentration, frustration, and