Extreme stress can be caused by an ""acute stress episode" which engages the "'fight or flight" response mechanism as termed by Dr. Walter B. Cannon. This response prepares the animal for running or fighting and completely engages the cardiovascular system, the baroreceptor system, the nervous system, and the endocrine system; the body reaches a heightened state of readiness. Changes include increases in blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, and metabolism for the burning of fuel to make quick energy. There is also a marked increase in the flow of blood to the muscles of the arms and legs. Activation of this reaction is vital in the face of life-threatening situations, however, if it occurs at times when the threat comes from our environment, such as driving on the highway, it creates a greater problem because we cannot "act" on the situation.

"We believe that the more often the fight or flight response is activated, the more likely it is that you will develop high blood pressure, especially if circumstances do not allow you to actually give battle or flee" (Benson 67). If this "fight or flight" mechanism is evoked on a regular basis, the ""set point" for these systems including vaso-dilation is changed and the body's capacity to recover (return to a natural state of relaxation) can become impaired. The body uses various minerals and hormones to create this response. Repetitive involvement of these processes, if not replenished, affect the electrolytes and alkaline /acid minerals, and the glands that produce the hormones. If the reserves become depleted, or the regulating systems become exhausted, especially for the baroreceptors, mineral regulation system and the endocrine system, a domino effect will strain the vascular system causing cardiovascular disease. Eventually, over years of stress and strain, the body's ability to recover is impaired and it loses vitality due to loss of reserves and fatigue from over work (Watson 86). These physiological conditions caused by stress, although unique to each person, are very common. One such state, hypoadrenia, is caused due to the strains on the physiology that the fight or flight mechanism places on the adrenal cortex.

Long-term stresses in work, marriage, family or financial difficulties create other issues within the body. These are known as "chronic stress" exposures. Chronic stress impacts all of the body systems, but is especially hard on the immune function. Rather than creating a "hyper" response, chronic stress creates a "draining" effect. Issues that cannot resolve, surrounding family, friends, work etc., all cause a drain on the emotional and immune systems. Repetitive thoughts surrounding fear of failure and lack of success, or constant irritation with others have a browning-out effect on the body's recovery systems. This browning out effect is like carrying an excess load that never completely goes away. Due to the emotional weight, eventually the body cannot keep pace and illness ensues. For example, ulcers can be created by a constant state of worry or anxiety, causing an excess of stomach acid constantly eating away at the stomach lining.

Although the stresses of life may be of common origin, their specific result in each person's body is not the same. Researching the effects of chronic stress is very difficult due to the uniqueness of how each person's physiology deals with it. In fact, increased pressures, acute stress episodes, and chronic stress do not in and of themselves create illness. The results are unique for each person (Brown 167). Yet, in some individuals, lack of relief from chronic stress affects physiology enough to eventually affect the immune, fibrinolytic, blood clotting, and nervous systems and create ill health. Much of the illness related to stress exposure is related to the personality type. The effects of stress are personality dependent (Barasch 96). Many of the stress illnesses have been activated due to increased function of the autonomic nervous system.

The autonomic nervous system is comprised of two counter-balancing regulating nervous systems. One pushes the body into action and sends energy into the muscles, adrenals, cardiovascular system, and brain. This sympathetic system is activated during the fight or flight response. Type A personalities, "go-getters" and "high- drivers," may always be pushing this side of the nervous system. If the body does not have the ability to activate the para-sympathetic (slow down) system focusing on digestion and relaxation, eventually the person's body will not be able to "turn off." Fatigue, insomnia, anxiety, and fears begin to build. The minerals needed to maintain the "on" state can be drained from the vital reserves.

Constant fighting or maintaining constant vigilance also intensify the demands on the body's reserves. If a person has a chronic illness or has been diagnosed with fatigue, fibromyalgia or multiple sclerosis, the "unknown nature" can add to the anxiety. It is the nature of mankind to want to stop the disease that has gone out of control, not wanting to feel powerless--being unable to change things; this loss of control literally becomes a threat to survival, not because of its physiological impact, but because of its psychological impact.

It has been shown that the constant draining effects, perceived loss of control, unknown causes, and conflict directly affect the immune function. The study of psycho-neuro-immunology details the effects of thought, beliefs, and emotions on the immune system. Killer cells, immune cells, and immune activity all are impacted by thoughts and emotions, which directly relate to their overall function (Barasch 98).

Stress has been linked to cancer. Type C (cancer) personalities have been identified as 'illness prone' individuals. Marc Barasch, author of The Healing Path, discusses the natures of Type A ( aggressive) and Type C personalities. Type C personalities seem to be' self -sacrificing. ' Regarding Type A personalities, Barasch quotes Dr. Redford Williams, a medical specialist at Duke University Medical Center, as stating: "Type A people appear to react as if they're always running from a grizzly" (95). The personality type is a style of living; centering on the specific coping mechanisms and belief patterns that the individual believes will aid in their survival, in an attempt to thrive in their world. In some cases, these coping mechanisms have become extreme, with each personality type polarized on each end of the spectrum. Both types might do well to learn how to bring balance back into their lives.

Barasch continues: Cardiologist Dean Ornish [ ...] first noticed how many coronary by-pass patients were coming back for second and third operations. Subsequent studies have shown, he says, that within five years, half of the patients who have had a bypass surgery return: Their arteries simply clog up again. "The real issue lies further back in the , causal chain' that leads to chronic stress and then to heart disease," Ornish said [ ...] among heart patients he treated, he told me, was a tendency to develop a "pretended self that played itself out in arenas as money, power, fame, sexual conquests, possessions, where no victory could ever be sufficient. "They feel unlovable [. ..]."

Ornish, who obtained the first documented regressions in coronary heart disease patients using only diet, exercise, meditation and group therapy, offers a poignant example [ ...] .Certainly, an increasing number of psychological linkages have been suggested' Candace Pert speculates that AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's, and even schizophrenia may include similar immune system anomalies. Others have suggested [ emotional] patterns in the etiology of rheumatoid arthritis, lupus erthmatosis, and Hodgkin's lymphoma. Dr Arthur Samtiels, a UCLA hematologist and cancer specialist, has noted that similar mechanisms seem to produce both cancer and heart disease: "chronic stress, a predisposed personality type and chronic hyperactivation of neural, endocrine, immune, blood clotting and fibrinolytic systems.  Prolonged stress creates excessive clotting, which can lead to heart attack and strokes. This same clotting can also create "fibrin cocoons," which can shield cancer metastases from T -cells and other body defenders.

The stress response hormone cortisol, which figures in both cancer (by weakening the immune system) and heart disease (by beefing up the production of adrenaline), also has been linked with depression and feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. (96-97) .

Adding to the burden of stress, repetitive stress disorders, office ergonomics, computer screen radiation, microwave frequencies, 60 Hz cycles in the walls and fluorescent lights each can impact the health of the body, becoming components in a , causal chain' leading to such disorders as headaches, nausea, confusion, lack of mental acuity or memory , carpal tunnel syndrome, "sick building" syndrome, or muscle and eye strain or fatigue--these types of illness account for a major portion of all work-related sick days in the business world.

Seventy-two percent of American workers experience frequent, stress-related physical or mental conditions that greatly increase health care costs. Forty percent of employee turnover is due to stress. One million employees per day are absent from work due to stress related disorders (Childre 11).

Long-term exposure to radiation, pesticides, chemicals or petro chemicals can cause an undue burden on the body increasing difficulty in returning to homeostasis. If left un-addressed, or if due to mal-adaption symptoms appear from an unknown source, a person may then more easily develop anxiety stress disorder while just trying to accomplish daily routines such as shopping and driving.

Highly concentrated or de-natured processed foods do not replace the reserves necessary for the production of vitality within the organism. Malnutrition is more of a problem in the United States than is commonly believed. In the book The Empty Harvest, the authors explain that proper nutrition has been lost from the soil. Nutrition is a key to health and vitality of the immune system. In the book, Nutrition and Your Mind, Dr. George Watson states: While it is true that proper nutrition and freedom from chemical interference with the operation of the nervous system are essential to normal mental and emotional health [ adaption ] they alone do not guarantee it. Overcommittment and lack of sleep contribute as well [. ..]. The nervous system cannot function optimally when the body is deprived of sleep [ ...] .Whenever increased physical and mental demands are imposed upon us, both our nutritional needs and our requirements for tissue repair (sleep) also increase proportionately. Energy output must be balanced by biochemical input, accompanied by the allowance for sufficient amount of time during which the body can restore itself to its best level of functioning. (63-68) Learning how to identify and manage stress, supporting the immune system and developing successful lifestyle, nutritional, and coping strategies will be the most critical areas to address as we enter the 21 st century. It is a given that stress won't lessen, but maybe with a little concerted effort it can be managed well enough to avoid physiological distress which may eventually lead toward disease.

Works Cited .

Barasch, Marc. The Healing Path. New York: Penguin Books, 1995.

Benson, Herbert. The Relaxation response. NewYork: Avon, 1975.

Brown, Barbara. Between Health and illness. New York: Bantam, 1984.

Childre, Doc L. Freeze Frame, Boulder Creek, CA. : Planetary Publications, 1994.

Jensen, Bernard, Mark Anderson. The Empty Harvest. New York: Avery Publishing, 1990.

Watson, George. Nutrition and Your Mind. New York: Bantam, 1980.

Stress Today copyright 2000 Lee Wooley