The Bio-psychosocial Effects of Stress
Using an integrated bio-psychosocial approach discuss how stress can affect health, well-being and the maintenance of homeostasis.
Word count
1,894
This essay will discuss the effects and implications of stress on health, wellbeing and the maintenance of homeostasis using a bio-psychosocial approach. To do this, it will focus on the biological, psychological and sociological aspects separately with health, wellbeing and homeostasis effects running all the way through and attempt to link them all together at the end. The causes of stress and the positive and negative ramifications will be analysed with a view to examine ways to reduce stress.
Homeostasis as described in the Hutchinson dictionary (2004) is the maintenance of environment around a living cell within set parameters with specific regard to pH, salt concentration, temperature and blood sugar levels. This is done via a series of processes such as blood pressure, blood pH body temperature, gastric function, calcium levels, urinary, endocrine, testosterone, labour, blood clotting and ovulation; these are controlled by feedback systems, negative or positive. Change is perceived by sensory neurons that monitor base line conditions, information of changes are sent to the hypothalamus in the medulla and Pons region of the brain. The hypothalamus then secretes hormones via the blood which then attach themselves to cell membrane receptor cells to invoke the effectors to bring the body back into homeostasis (Sarafino, 2006a.). Homeostasis, literally meaning steady state, can be likened to a central heating system in a house; the sensory neurons would be the thermostat reading temperature, when the temperature goes below a set limit it communicates with the control centre in the boiler which starts the effectors being the radiators and their heating device. In the home measures can be taken to increase efficiency of the heating system as can a nurse become an external homeostatic mechanism. When the
Word count
1,894
This essay will discuss the effects and implications of stress on health, wellbeing and the maintenance of homeostasis using a bio-psychosocial approach. To do this, it will focus on the biological, psychological and sociological aspects separately with health, wellbeing and homeostasis effects running all the way through and attempt to link them all together at the end. The causes of stress and the positive and negative ramifications will be analysed with a view to examine ways to reduce stress.
Homeostasis as described in the Hutchinson dictionary (2004) is the maintenance of environment around a living cell within set parameters with specific regard to pH, salt concentration, temperature and blood sugar levels. This is done via a series of processes such as blood pressure, blood pH body temperature, gastric function, calcium levels, urinary, endocrine, testosterone, labour, blood clotting and ovulation; these are controlled by feedback systems, negative or positive. Change is perceived by sensory neurons that monitor base line conditions, information of changes are sent to the hypothalamus in the medulla and Pons region of the brain. The hypothalamus then secretes hormones via the blood which then attach themselves to cell membrane receptor cells to invoke the effectors to bring the body back into homeostasis (Sarafino, 2006a.). Homeostasis, literally meaning steady state, can be likened to a central heating system in a house; the sensory neurons would be the thermostat reading temperature, when the temperature goes below a set limit it communicates with the control centre in the boiler which starts the effectors being the radiators and their heating device. In the home measures can be taken to increase efficiency of the heating system as can a nurse become an external homeostatic mechanism. When the