The 3 phases of stress (and the frog) Tutorial

Discover the enlightening "The 3 Phases of Stress (and the Frog)" as we explore the alarm, resistance, and exhaustion phases of stress. Dive deep into how our perception shapes our responses and learn strategies to combat stress effectively. Don't become like the boiled frog—jump to solutions and reclaim your well-being!

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More than 80% of doctors' visits are related to stress.

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A recent IPSOS survey says 23% of OECD members feel stressed every day,

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and 52% experience sleep and fatigue issues that they believe are stress related.

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But what is stress?

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The word stress originates from the Latin word stringaray,

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which means to compress and to squeeze.

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Stress arises when there is an imbalance between a person's perception

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of the constraints imposed by their environment

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and their perceptions of their own resources to cope with them.

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Here is the description of the three phases in the stress response

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the alarm phase,

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the resistance phase,

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and the exhaustion phase.

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Hans Seeley described these three phases in the 1940s.

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The alarm reaction is the first phase of the process when faced with the aggression

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during which the first manifestations appear

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the throat or stomach knots,

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short and Accelerated breathing,

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increased heartbeat,

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increased blood pressure,

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increased tension in certain muscles,

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anxiety and anguish.

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These reactions are caused by the release of hormones such as adrenaline,

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which take a few minutes to act.

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Their purpose is normally to prepare the body

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for rapid action such as fleeing or attacking.

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These instinctive physiological alert responses can

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be very helpful in survival situations.

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If you find yourself in traffic jams when an important meeting is scheduled,

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you will no doubt experience all these

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so-called alert physical manifestations in you.

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Without that tension being really useful to you,

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resistance is the second phase of the stress adaptation process.

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When the uncomfortable situation continues,

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when the aggression continues,

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and you have found no acceptable solution,

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then a process of resistance through adaptation automatically sets in.

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This step will help preserve the body from exhaustion by

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offsetting the energy costs used to cope with stress.

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Other hormones glucocorticoids are secreted during this stage,

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allowing an increase in the level of blood sugar

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necessary for the body,

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heart,

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brain,

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and muscles.

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To be in a state of alarm indeed burns a lot of energy.

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In this second phase,

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the body seeks to nourish itself to compensate for the burnt energy.

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It strives to keep the body healthy under stress.

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It finds the physiological strategies to hold on

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and hold out in the storm.

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If the weather quickly becomes calm again after

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the person has gone through the stressful situation,

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we can speak of so-called positive stress.

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The stress will have been managed.

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Boosted

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more than overwhelmed by stress,

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stress will have mobilized its energy for a short period of time

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to face an emergency,

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for example,

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or the time of challenging public speaking.

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Then the body can rest

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and recharge its batteries.

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Depending on the person and the level of stress,

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this adaptation phase may last longer or shorter before breaking down.

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1 hour,

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1 month,

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10 years.

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Some are more resilient than others because they adapt

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more easily than others to a stressful situation.

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They take it upon themselves.

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This ability to resist,

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to adapt to stress,

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is an advantage and a disadvantage.

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It is an advantage because as you cope for longer,

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you can face bigger challenges without collapsing.

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We have what is called a resilience capacity.

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However,

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the ability to resist,

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to adapt for a very long time,

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can also be a downside.

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We cope with stress.

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We accept back pain and other symptoms that we try to mute with medication.

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We take it upon ourselves.

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There is no longer any real urgency in finding solutions to a stressful situation

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when you know how to deal with it,

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when you cope with it by.

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In your teeth.

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Phase 3,

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exhaustion.

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From the adaptation resistance phase,

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we come to the exhaustion phase if the stress continues.

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If,

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for example,

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the work overload is permanent,

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if the conflict with the customer is renewed from day to day,

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if changes to the organization follow one after another.

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In these cases there is not enough nervous and physical recovery time.

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Weekends are not even enough to recharge your batteries.

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At worst,

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even the long awaited vacation is no longer enough to rebalance us.

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It is stress exhaustion.

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The resistance armies of the previous phase collapsed,

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defeated by the intensity of the stress,

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by days of staunch resistance,

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or by years of painstaking adaptation to a stressful life.

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The body overwhelmed and constantly called upon by the stressful situation,

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no longer succeeds in mobilizing its resources.

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It is exhausted.

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It can no longer cope with assaults because of their duration and their intensity.

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It cracks.

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Psychological and biological reserves are exhausted.

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It is during this phase of exhaustion that certain illnesses or burnout can appear.

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We have therefore seen the three phases of stress alarm,

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adaptation,

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or resistance phase,

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and exhaustion.

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If you are feeling exhausted,

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it is urgent to react,

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to ease off and get help.

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If you are in the resistance phase,

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it is essential to ask yourself three questions.

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Has this phase lasted a long time?

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Is the stressful element temporary,

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for example,

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a deadline on a big project,

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a colleague on holiday,

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or a takeover of the company?

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Or is the stressful element permanent,

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a problem of work organization,

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lack of recognition,

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difficult relationships,

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or permanent changes,

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in which case it is essential to find a strategy

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either so that the pressure decreases or to be less affected by it.

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Do you know the fable of the boiled frog by Olivier Clerk?

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If you throw a frog into a pot of boiling water,

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it will immediately jump out and run away.

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If you put a frog in a pot of cold water and heat it gently,

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it will eventually die when it boils.

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The fable is based on an actual physical law which says

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if the rate of heating the water is less than 0.02

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°C per minute,

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the frog does not move and will eventually die after cooking is complete.

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At a higher rate of heating,

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the frog jumps and escapes.

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When the pot is warmed gently,

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the frog will gradually adjust its body temperature.

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At the boil,

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the frog can no longer adjust its temperature.

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It also can't jump any more because it has no more energy.

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It has used it to constantly adjust to the temperature.

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It will die cooked.

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The frog preferred to adapt and adapt and

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still adapt to the stressful rise in temperature,

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and it was cooked.

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Too weak to jump when its survival was at stake.

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When stress leads us to illness,

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exhaustion,

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burnout,

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or depression,

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it is often that like the frog we have gritted our teeth and thought we had to hold on,

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adapt instead of quickly jumping out of the pot.

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To jump out of the pot is to quickly

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find solutions to stressful problems from the alert phase.

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It may also consist of a change of environment,

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sometimes radically.

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