Question

Compare the general adaptation syndrome to a group of volunteer firefighters sitting around their station house when a fire call comes in. Describe how the stages might be reflected in the actions or characteristics of the firefighters.

Answer 1

Stress is defined as the individual’s inability to deal with the demanding situations that life throws towards him or her. Stress is, therefore, a perception of what one feels when he or she is not able to do justice in terms of his abilities to counteract the adverse situations. There are many models related to stress, like, stress as an interaction with the environment, stress as a response to the life’s situation and stress as a transaction between the person and the environment. Hans Selye, an eminent researcher in the field of studying stress has given a model that has been widely accepted, General Adaptation Syndrome. This model is used to describe the various stages of stress faced by an individual. It has three specific stages, namely, alarm reaction, resistance and exhaustion.

During the stage of ‘Alarm’ firefighters, in the given example, will be alarmed or will be made aware that there is a fire in their neighborhood. This will stimulate their sympathetic nervous system, where they were feel an adrenaline rush and their body will get prepared to fight with the fire after reaching the site. Their intake of oxygen and the blood flow in the muscles will increase to an optimum level and they will run to reach the place as soon as possible.

This stage will set the pace for second stage which is resistance. During this stage they will use all their power to fight with the stressful situation, fire in the given scenario. They will use all their abilities and fight till the thirds stage of ‘Exhaustion’ ensues. After fighting with the fire and using all of their physical strength they will feel tired and exhausted. If by that time, fire is extinguished, well and good. If not, then fresh fire tenders will be roped in to deal with the fire.

Generally, in General Adaptation Syndrome if the organism is not able to deal with the stress, a lot of other physical and psychological issues may spruce up. This means that stress is not a healthy thing if it escalates to a higher level.