What is a stress factor? There can be many different definitions of stressor, but the type that appears in the stress response is physiological. Keeping this in mind, a stressor is anything that causes physical or psychological stress in a person. It is something inflicted on us by an external force or something we perceive in our mind. Stressors can take the form of an external agent, an event or an environmental condition. Anything that happens in a person's daily life can be a stressor, whether it's losing your job, arguing with a friend, or misplacing your car keys. Stressors can have many effects on the body. It is responsible for a reduction in performance and mental abilities. A stressor is one of the most important elements because it initiates the stress response. What is stress? Physiologically speaking, stress is the reaction that occurs in our body when a stressor throws it out of homeostasis. For our body to function normally, it must be in constant balance. When our body perceives a stressor, it unbalances it, whether physically or psychologically. This perceived stressor causes the body to react and this reaction is called stress. Stress can be a good or a bad thing. This is good because it can be the extra push a person needs to achieve a goal. However, chronic stress is not healthy. Stress causes many different physiological effects on the body that, in the long term, can be extremely harmful to health. What parts of the body are involved in the stress response? Stress is primarily the function of the nervous system and the endocrine system. Once the body perceives the stressor, it stimulates the nervous and endocrine systems. ...... middle of paper ...... pore storage sites in the body and these nutrients flood the bloodstream, providing energy to all parts of the body. If the stressor persists, the hypothalamus activates the HPA axis. The process is very similar to the one I described previously. The main difference is that the amount of cortisol released is increased and continues to allow the stress response to continue for a longer period of time. When the stressor decreases, cortisol levels begin to decrease and the parasympathetic nervous system dampens the stress response back to homeostasis. This whole process is done in order to give our body the energy it needs to overcome a stressor. . This is why we are able to stay up all night to finish a report due the next day or why we feel a rush of adrenaline when we perceive that our life is in danger...