The Stress Response
The Biology of Stress
Stress Resilience
101

This instant sequence of hormonal and physiological changes evolved as a survival mechanism, enabling humans and other mammals to react quickly to life-threatening situations.

What is the 'fight or flight' response?

101


This tiny part of the brain, that contributes to emotional processing, reacts to stressful events by sending out a distress signal that initiates a response involving the entire body.



What is the amygdala?



101


This practice is a free and effective way to impact the nervous system directly and calm the body/mind.




What is deep breathing?



200

This way of working, that involves switching attention between two or more activities simultaneously, is not time-saving or effective and results in lower test scores.

What is multitasking?

200

This part of your nervous system controls bodily functions in response to stress providing a burst of energy to respond quickly to perceived danger.

The sympathetic nervous system

200


Those who learned this technique at work, and practiced it as part of a scientific study, experienced an improvement in their immune function, proven by a test of flu antibodies in their blood.




What is mindfulness?



300
Describe a positive life experience that could be perceived as stressful.

What is...

300

This part of your nervous system controls the ability to rest and recover, supports healthy digestion and promotes feelings of closeness to others.

What is the parasympathetic nervous system?

300

These kinds of comments allows the listener to hear how we feel without being blamed or criticized.

What are "I statements"?

400

Describe a common, everyday life experience that could be perceived as stressful.

What is...

400

This area of the brain is like a command center, it communicates with the rest of the body through the nervous system.

What is the hypothalamus?

400

These kinds of comments can guide our thoughts and actions in the direction of our choosing when used as constant reminders.

What are positive affirmations?

500

This 'sub personality' is the voice we hear in our heads when we speak harshly to ourselves.

What is the 'inner critic'?

500

This hormone causes your heart to beat rate to increase in stressful situations.

What is epinephrine/adrenaline?

500

This hormone helps your brain grow stronger from stressful experiences and counters some of the negative effects of other stress hormones like cortisol.

What is DHEA?