Explain the nature of stress and its effects on the body-mind.Identify approaches to stress management that incorporate advances in the science of mind-body medicine.

Stressors engage the body's autonomic nervous system,activating the HPA axis,causing the release of hormones into the bloodstream,and preparing the body to respond to the perceived attack.Although this process serves us well in emergency situations or in relatively short hormonal bursts,there are costs associated with chronic activation of the system (McEwen et al,2015;Sapolsky,1992).For example,during the acute phase of the body's stress response,immune system functioning is depressed.Energy reserves need to be devoted to the immediate fight-flight-freeze response and any alternative expenditure of energy,such as that required for reproductive system functions,is suppressed in service of the more immediate need.If homeostasis does not resume following the acute stress-response phase,the ill effects of chronic stress result.Chronically increased levels of cortisol,the body's primary stress hormone,are linked to cardiovascular decline in middle-aged and older adults .High levels of cortisol can also dysregulate immune functions and reduce the body's capacity to protect itself against disease.
Another immune system process,inflammation,is also affected when the body confronts chronic stressors (Kiecolt-Glaser,Derry,& Fagundes,2015;Stein,Naudé,& Berk,2018).Chronic stress exposure increases cortisol production,but also desensitizes the immune cells' ability to respond to cortisol's instructions to inhibit inflammatory processes.Consequently,high concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines,which are related to maladaptive inflammation,go unchecked.Many disease conditions,such as cardiovascular disease,allergies,rheumatoid arthritis,and other autoimmune disorders,have been associated with unregulated inflammatory processes (Kemeny,2003;Steptoe,Willemsen,Owen,Flower,& Mohamed-Ali,2001).
Maier and Watkins (1998)conclude from their review of research that psychological stressors,such as traumatic environmental events,operate on the body in much the same way as infectious agents.The effects on the body can include some combination of fever,increased sleep,reduction in eating and drinking,reduced exploration and activity,reduced aggression,reduction in social interaction,cognitive alterations,increased pain sensitivity,increased HPA activity,and depressed mood.Certain types of depression are likely associated with hyperactivation of the immune response,even though the precise direction of these effects is still unclear.The important point in this discussion is the establishment of the connection between emotional experiences and the dysregulation of body mechanisms (like immune system functioning).
Evidence has clearly supported the existence of bidirectional communication processes between the brain and the immune systems in relation to stressors,be they psychological or physical (Pert,1997;Sternberg,2001).What may be most important to remember in all this is that the brain is the central organ of stress management.
A general sense of self-efficacy (Bandura,1989),optimism (Schier & Carver,1985),self-esteem (Rosenberg,1979),personal control over important goals (Seligman,1975),and social support (Sarason & Sarason,1985)are among the characteristics that are associated with greater physical and emotional health and effective coping.
In general,strengthening emotion regulation,reducing the anxiety induced by threats,and cultivating positive emotions are increasingly viewed as antidotes to stress and health-compromising emotional states like anger and hostility .
One of the most promising approaches to cultivating the skills of emotion regulation and wellbeing is meditation.Meditation is a means of mental training and refers to a "family of complex emotional and attentional regulatory training regimes developed for various ends,including the cultivation of well-being and emotional balance" (Lutz,Slagter,Dunne,& Davidson,2008,p.163).While there are many ways to train the mind,through yoga,Qigong,reflection,prayer,etc.mindfulness meditation is a form of training that has been researched extensively in recent years.
Because the brain is our gatekeeper for stress,improving its ability to respond to events in a more regulated,less reactive way could reduce the harmful impact of a stress-system on overdrive.It is also reasonable to conclude that practicing a positive emotional style may serve as an antidote,buffering the effects of stress.Mindfulness and positive emotions,states of mind that can be practiced,promote recovery from stress.