• Question: Why do we feel stressed during certain situations? and what exactly is going on inside our brain and body during it?

    Asked by 886strk46 to Chris, Georgina, Kristi, Laura, Livia on 7 Nov 2017. This question was also asked by aimee, 492strk47.
    • Photo: Kristi Sawyer

      Kristi Sawyer answered on 7 Nov 2017:

      Thank you for your question! From the moment we are born, we are gathering information on our environment, and learning what to perceive as stressful, and what is safe. So, when we encounter a new situation in our lives now, our brains try to associate it with something we have previously learned to work out if it should feel stressed or scared.

      If we do perceive the situation as stressful, then our bodies release a hormone called cortisol, which prepares our body to conquer the stressful situation. It makes us more alert and makes more energy available in our bodies. This is an evolutionary trait, because in the past stressors would have been things such as wild animals, so alertness and energy were required to run away! The amygdala, a part of the brain associated with fear, will also be activated to help us process information from all our senses to deal with the stressful situation. Hopefully, the stressful situation will resolve quickly, then our body will calm down, but if the stressful situation prolongs, then this is where stress can become a problem and make us feel unwell.

    • Photo: Livia Carvalho

      Livia Carvalho answered on 7 Nov 2017:

      We feel stress when we perceive it as a threat to our self-steam, or when we feel out of control. Even if the stress is not real, like the presence of a ghost, if we perceive it as real, or as a threat our body will produce molecules (i.e adrenaline and cortisol) that will make our body and brain change so that we can deal or adapt to the problem. This is important to guarantee survival. When the stress goes away, it is also fundamental that our body goes back to normal again. Diseases may occur when these stresses are chronic, and in some people the body gets so “tired” of adapting to stress that it no longer gets back to normal again.

    • Photo: Laura Ginesi

      Laura Ginesi answered on 7 Nov 2017:

      Our brains are taking in an extraordinary amount of information about the world around us and we are designed to learn and make sense of what it all means. The curious thing is that we can all feel stressed – but different things will make me feel stressed from the ones that make you feel stressed.

      if we come across something new, or strange, or frightening, or exciting, our brain triggers a set of responses that prepare us to face the challenge and pressure and help us to survive. We pay attention to what’s happening, our brain processes information quickly. Physically, muscles like the heart pump more blood around and lungs take in more oxygen to help us deal physically with the situation – muscles tense up ready for action.

      Hopefully the situation resolves itself, or we realise that it’s not so frightening, or we feel calmer, and we relax again.

      sometimes, situations can’t be so easily changed and things feel more difficult – that’s when stress can make us unwell.

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