Psychological and Physiological Effects of Stress-induced Stimuli Essay

Psychological and Physiological Effects of Stress-induced Stimuli - Essay Example Stress and human health often go hand-in-hand as much clinical research supports that each individual's response to stress has immediate, and sometimes long-term, effects on mental and biological health. The stress reponse is the reaction to stressors, or the events and circumstances that trigger sensations of pressure, frustration or anxiety. There are distinct biological and psychological changes that occur in an individual when exposed to stressful situations and, depending on the nature of the stressful event, the body's stress response can become more intense. Each individual maintains a variety of potential stressful stimuli, including life changes, work-related pressure or even self-induced stress brought on by psychological irrationality in which the individual maintains a self-defeating attitude towards their self value. There are any number of situations in which a person might feel overwhelmed by life situations, however, the response to the stress (whether catastrophic or perceived) varies in intensity based on each individual's ability to cope with the stressors. It is often the cognitive approach to coping with stress that makes the distinct difference between a healthy or a rather unhealthy stress response. Almost immediately after being exposed to a stressful si... Almost immediately after being exposed to a stressful situation, the brain's hypothalamus stimulates the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system and the adrenal glands to release stress hormones such as adrenaline and norepinephrine into the blood - leading to increases in heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, and perspiration (Morris & Maisto, 2005). From a physiological standpoint, the stress Stress Response 4 response can be related to the physical, chemical effects on the body and the severity of long-term health effects vary by individual. A well-adjusted person, who purposefully recognises these physical changes when confronting stress, might begin a regimen of stress-relieving practices, such as meditation or breathing exercises, to bring the physiological effects down to a more controlled level. A person who is easily overwhelmed by stress may act inappropriately to these hormonal changes or become, in the long-term, a maladaptive person based on an inability to mentally cope with the stress. This indicates the relationship between the physical stress response and the psychological effects of long-term exposure to stress stimuli. Physiological Effects of Stress When the body recognises stress-related environments, the stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system affords the body an opportunity to perform vigorous muscle activity, suggesting that the biology of this stimulation is to prepare the body for increased activity; sometimes viewing stress as a perceived threat. The sympathetic nervous system increases arterial pressure and increases blood flow to active muscles, thus increasing glycolysis and increasing muscle strength (Loomis, 2005). Glycolysis, by simple definition, is a metabolic process that

Samulnori (Korean percussions) practice experience Lab Report

Samulnori (Korean percussions) practice experience - Lab Report Example The subsequent paragraphs give a detailed account of how the genre originated, more about the four mentioned instruments including their respective symbols and the material they (instruments) were made off, the pioneers of this genre and finally, the repertoire that existed for Samulnori. Samulnori is not only a development but also a revival of a music tradition that went by the name Pungmul (also called the Framer’s music). Samulnori came in to being when the two Kims (Kim Doksu and Kim YogBe) first performed at a concert, a shrunk form of Pungmul, which was initially characterized by a large number of actors, at times, an entire village would be urged to take up various roles for the success of the same. The name that the genre bears was given after a short while just after the concert by U-Song (Hesselink, 41). The name was used to connote both the reduced number of performers and instruments used in the playing of Pungmul. The number of instruments (as mentioned earlier) was reduced to four, while that of performers on some occasions was also four but during some performances, the number went up by one person. Despite the changes seen, Samulnori performers retained the dress code which was being used by the Pungmul performers. As mentioned earlier, the performance of Samulnori was characterized by the use of four instruments. However, each one of them had both its own distinctive symbol and the role it played (each instrument had something it represented and also, something was compared to). For instance, kkwenggwari, which was a small hand-held gong often made of either silver or gold trace, was played by the person leading a given group (all groups were led by a kkwenggwari player). The leader played the instrument by the use of the bamboo mallet. This instrument represented a star but in terms of comparison, it was compared