STRESS AND FUNCTION

Each body system performs specific function to sustain optimal life for an organism. Mechanism for adjusting internal conditions promote the normal steady state of the organism and ultimately its survival. These mechanisms are compensatory in nature and work to restore balance in the body. An example of this restorative effort is the development of rapid breathing (hyperpnea) after intensive exercise in an attempt to compensate for an oxygen deficit and excess lactic acid accumulate in the muscle tissue.

Pathophysiologic processes result when cellular injury occurs at such a rapid rate that the body’s compensatory essary to remain healthy. An example of pathophysiologic change is the development of heart failure; the body reacts by retaining sodium and water and increasing venous pressure, which worsens the condition. These pathophysiologic responses give rise to symptoms that are reported by patients or signs that are observed by patients or nurses or other health care providers.

STRESS AND ADAPTATION
Stress is a state produced by a change in the environment that is perceived as challenging, threatening, or damaging to a person’s dynamic balance or equilibrium. The person is, or feels, unable to meet the demands of the new situation. The change of stimulus that evokes this state is the stressor. The nature of the stressor is variable; an event or change that is stressful for one person may not be stressful for another, and an event that produces stress at one time and place may not do so at another time and place. A person appraises and copes with changing solutions. The desired goal is adaptation, or adjustment to the change so that the person is again in equilibrium and has the energy and the ability to meet new demands. This is the process of coping with the stress, a compensatory process with physiologic and psychological components.

People typically experience distress related to alternations in their physical and emotional health status, changes in their level of daily functioning, and decreases social support or the loss of significant others. Fears of immobilization, isolation, loneliness, sensory changes, financial problems and death or disability increase a person’s anxiety level. Loss of one’s role or perceived purpose in life can cause intense discomfort. Any of these identified variables, plus a myriad of other conditions or overwhelming demands, are likely to cause ineffective coping, and a lack of necessary coping skills is often a source of additional distress for the person. When a person endures prolonged or unrelenting suffering, the outcome is frequently the development of a stress-related illness.