The Body’s Response to Stress
Sometimes stress feels unpleasant—a _______ in the stomach before a big test, for example. Stress can also produce excitement, such as the surge of _______ before a championship game. Your body reacts in specific ways when you encounter situations that seem threatening (for example, standing up to someone who is picking on you). All types of stress can trigger the same bodily responses.
This type of reaction to a _______ experience is called the fight-or-flight response, or stress response. When a person experiences some type of _______ , the body’s immediate response is to mobilize resources for fighting off or escaping from the threat. In the fight-or-flight response, a person may not react by literally fighting or escaping. _______ might take the form of studying hard for a test or confronting a conflict. Flight might take the form of avoiding a task or freezing.
Generally, the body’s response to stress progresses through the following three stages:
1. _______ . When faced with a stressful event, your body mobilizes all of its resources to fight off or escape from a perceived threat. To prepare for fighting or escaping, your body undergoes several changes (Figure 5.18).
2. _______ . Your body continues to devote energy to maintaining its stress response. Heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing are still rapid, which helps deliver oxygen and energy quickly to various parts of your body.
3. _______ . If the threat persists, the body may stay in a state of high alert for a long time. In this case, the body will use up its resources and exhaustion will occur.
The relaxation response occurs after a stressful event is over. This is the opposite of the _______ response. The body gradually returns to its resting state. Blood pressure and heart rate return to normal and muscles relax. If the stressful event does not end, or if the body maintains the stress response for a long time, however, _______ health effects can occur.