Hans Selye proposed the general adaptation syndrome in a short 1936 paper describing how organisms respond to a wide range of different stressors with a common, non-specific pattern, rather than a response tailored to each particular threat. The model became foundational to modern stress research and to the idea of stress as a distinct field of biological study.
Facts
Core ClaimThe body responds to any sustained demand through three sequential stages: an alarm reaction that mobilizes fight-or-flight resources, a resistance stage of heightened hormonal response as the body works to cope, and, if the stressor continues, an exhaustion stage in which physiological resources become depleted. 1 Cross-Tradition Connections
Sources
1. Wikipedia: General Adaptation Syndrome
Wikimedia FoundationSelye's modelQuote, Selye's model
GAS is characterized by three phases: a nonspecific alarm mobilization phase, which promotes sympathetic nervous system activity; a resistance phase, during which the organism makes efforts to cope with the threat; and an exhaustion phase, which occurs if the organism fails to overcome the threat and depletes its physiological resources.
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