THE PHYSIOLOGY OF STRESS

Scientists have known for some time that stress can aggravate physical or mental illnesses. We also know that stress is also associated with an increased risk for such mental and physical illnesses such as:

  • Depression
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
  • Breast Cancer
  • Headache

During the normal stress response, the nervous system and endocrine systems respond. Chronic stress can result in continued response of these systems, especially in regard to hormone release, which can impact other body systems.

Case Assignment

Choose one of the disorders below to research.**** Please write on Breast Cancer*****

  • Depression
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
  • Breast Cancer
  • Headache

Describe the current research that supports how stress contributes to the effects of the disorder (3 or 4 well-developed paragraphs).

How does your chosen stress-related disorder affect short- and long-term health? Consider impact on endocrine, nervous and other body systems (3 or 4 well-developed paragraphs).

What can be done to prevent and/or treat your chosen stress-related disorder? (2 or 3 well-developed paragraphs).

Draw conclusions about how to avoid these stress-related disorders (1 well-developed paragraph).

Assignment Expectations

Be sure to use APA formatting throughout your essay with 1-inch margins, 12-pt font, and double spacing throughout. Include a title page, introduction, answers to the questions with subtitles, and concluding paragraph. Remember to include in-text citations within the body of the essay referencing your resources (i.e., Murray, 2014). Also, be sure to include a reference section at the end of your assignment listing all required readings and any additional resources you used to complete your essay. See the Trident guide to .

REQUIRED READING:

K. (2014, April 02). Physical effects of stress. Processing the Environment. MCAT. Khan Academy. Retrieved September 26, 2017, from