Intelligent Signal Analysis Using Case-Based Reasoning for Decision Support in Stress Management - Computational Intelligence in Healthcare: Advanced Methodologies - page 154

External and internal events trigger stress
Activate Flight-or-fight response
Release Adrenaline , Non-adrenaline hormone and
Cortisol
Stress symptoms: e.g. increased heart rate, increased
breathing, suppressed immune-system, blood-flow
diverted to brain and muscles from non-essential parts of
the body, release of fat and glucose to get extra energy
etc.
Stress is over
Release Acetylcholine
Adrenaline , non-Adrenaline hormone and Cortisol go
back to normal levels
Body returns to the normal state
Fig. 2. General overview of the stress response
release the stored energy. On the other hand, the parasympathetic nervous system
performs the opposite function i.e. returns the body to its normal state. So, due to a
stress response the body releases large amount of energy immediately and this reac-
tion to stress can affect many physiological mechanisms. To diagnose psychophysi-
ological dysfunctions such as stress, clinicians often consider the balance between the
activities in the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. A general over-
view of stress activity to our body is given in Fig. 2.
A small amount of stress is good for us. It can prepare us to meet difficult chal-
lenges in life. On the other hand, long-term exposure to stress i.e. when the emer-
gency stress response is prolonged i.e. out of its functional context for most of the
time, it may in the worst case cause severe mental and physical problems that are
often related to psychosomatic disorders, coronary heart disease etc. Symptoms of
stress can be experienced in different ways such as anxiety, muscle tensions/cramp,
depression and other bodily symptoms which in turn can further influence our sympa-
thetic nervous system. There are several stress management techniques, such as re-
laxation, exercise, and cognitive-behavioural stress management etc.
Psychophysiology. Psychophysiology is a branch of psychology. It addresses
the relation between 'Psychology' and 'Physiology'. Andreassi [19] defined
Psychophysiology as “the study of relations between psychological manipulations and