[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Behavioral science](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/) › [Stress, coping and grief](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/areas/stress/) › Stress: the general adaptation syndrome and allostatic load

# Stress: the general adaptation syndrome and allostatic load

- Concept

Stress is the body's and mind's response to a demand. Short bursts help us cope; when it never switches off, it wears the body down.

Updated Nov 5, 2026

## Key points

- General adaptation syndrome (Selye): alarm → resistance → exhaustion.
- Alarm is the fight-or-flight reaction described by Walter Cannon; resistance is sustained, lower-level arousal; exhaustion is when adaptation fails and illness appears.
- Eustress is stress that improves performance; distress is excessive stress that wears performance and health down.
- Allostasis is stability through change; allostatic load is the cumulative wear from repeated, prolonged or poorly ended stress responses.
- The same event is stressful or not depending on how it is appraised (see Coping).

## What it is

Stress is the whole response of a person to a demand that is judged to exceed what can be handled easily. Hans Selye described a fixed three-stage sequence, the general adaptation syndrome, seen with almost any prolonged stressor. Bruce McEwen later reframed it: the body keeps stability through change (allostasis), and the cost of repeated or prolonged activation is allostatic load. The hormones and nerves involved are on the physiology page; this page is about the model and its clinical meaning.

## Key facts

- Four patterns of allostatic load: too many stress hits, failure to adapt to a repeated stressor, a response that does not switch off, and an inadequate response that lets other systems overshoot.
- Chronic stress is linked to hypertension, coronary disease, poorer immune responses, slower wound healing and sleep disruption.
- The stress response follows an inverted-U curve with performance: too little arousal and too much both impair it.
- Selye's model is non-specific (any stressor, the same response); modern models add appraisal and individual differences.

## Selye's three stages and what they look like in a patient

| Stage | What happens | Clinical picture |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Alarm | Fast sympathetic and hormonal mobilization to face the threat | Tachycardia, sweating, alertness right after an accident or bad news |
| Resistance | The body adapts and stays activated at a lower, sustained level | Weeks of caring for a sick relative: functioning, but tense and sleeping poorly |
| [Exhaustion](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/adjustment-disorder/) | Reserves run out and adaptation fails | Fatigue, infections, flare of chronic illness, low mood |

## Clinical notes

- Acute emotional stress can trigger stress cardiomyopathy (takotsubo), a reversible left-ventricular dysfunction that mimics an infarction.
- Asking about stressors and sleep belongs in the history of hypertension, chest pain without obstruction and recurrent infections.

## Memory aid

‘ARE you stressed?’ Alarm, Resistance, Exhaustion: Selye's three stages in order.

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## What are the three stages of Selye's general adaptation syndrome?

Alarm, resistance and exhaustion.

## What is allostatic load?

The cumulative wear on the body from repeated, prolonged or poorly ended stress responses: the price of adapting.

## Which stage of the general adaptation syndrome corresponds to Cannon's fight-or-flight response?

The alarm stage.

## What is the difference between eustress and distress?

Eustress is a level of stress that helps performance; distress is excessive stress that impairs performance and health.

[Add to my cards (4)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/behavioral-science/stress-the-general-adaptation-syndrome-and-allostatic-load/)

## Elsewhere in DurgiPedia

- [The endocrine stress response](https://durgical.com/en/physiology/the-endocrine-stress-response/)
- [The HPA axis and its circadian rhythm](https://durgical.com/en/physiology/the-hpa-axis-and-its-circadian-rhythm/)
- [The adrenal medulla and catecholamines](https://durgical.com/en/physiology/the-adrenal-medulla-and-catecholamines/)
- [The limbic system, emotion and reward](https://durgical.com/en/physiology/the-limbic-system-emotion-and-reward/)

## Connections

## Related 5

- [Coping and resilience](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/coping-and-resilience/)
- [Life events and social support](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/life-events-and-social-support/)
- [Psychological factors in physical illness](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/psychological-factors-in-physical-illness/)
- [Burnout in health workers](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/burnout-in-health-workers/)
- [Habituation, extinction, learned helplessness and modelling](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/habituation-extinction-learned-helplessness-and-modelling/)

## Related conditions 4

- [Adjustment disorder](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/adjustment-disorder/)
- [Takotsubo (stress) cardiomyopathy](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/takotsubo-cardiomyopathy/)
- [Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-and-acute-stress-disorder/)
- [Peptic ulcer disease](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/peptic-ulcer-disease/)

[← All of behavioral science](https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/)

Educational content on behavior and the clinical relationship; not a diagnostic or treatment guide and no substitute for assessment by a health professional. If you or someone near you is at risk, seek help now from an emergency service or a mental-health helpline.

Sources: [Stress and the “extended” autonomic system](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10699409/) (Autonomic Neuroscience, via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine), 2021); [Critical Biological Pathways for Chronic Psychosocial Stress and Research Opportunities to Advance the Consideration of Stress in Chemical Risk Assessment](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3222511/) (American Journal of Public Health, via PubMed Central (US National Library of Medicine), 2011).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.

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Source: https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/stress-the-general-adaptation-syndrome-and-allostatic-load/
License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/behavioral-science/stress-the-general-adaptation-syndrome-and-allostatic-load/