Describe Stressful Event: The Phases of Stress Response

STRESSFUL EVENT
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Introduction
Two major stressful events that have happened to me in the recent past are financial constraints and heavy work schedule. This was during my freshman year when I had faced too much financial pressure at a time when I needed money most. This made me look for a job at factory outlets near my university; I would then wake up at 4:30 a.m. in order to report to work on time; my day’s shift began at 5:00 a.m. and ended at 12:30 p.m. Afterwards, I would join my colleagues for the afternoon classes which mostly ended at around 6:30 p.m. From there onwards, I had the choice to either join the night shift or retire to bed; however, I always took the night shifts since I was in dire need of money to sustain myself at the campus as well as outside the campus.
It was really hectic trying to adjust to the newly found lifestyle; it was even more stressful waking up at the wee hours of the night to prepare myself so that I would make it to the factory on time. My work involved lifting loads and loads of corn oil onto trucks waiting outside the factory outlet; this was also stressful and was even more tiring than waking up at 4:30 a.m.
The Phases of Stress Response
The Alarm Stage
During the initial stage, I felt great bursts of energy and carried more and more cartons of corn oil each day. I was indeed motivated by the need for more money at the end of the day. At times, though, I would feel energy drains and even lose focus. Just like in Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome, this initial reaction stage involved intensive release of “stress” hormones adrenaline, cortisol, and noradrenaline into the bloodstream. These hormones were the main reason behind my frequent “bursts” of energy and overworking”. During the times when I felt low, the fight and flight hormones could actually have hit low levels in the body. Additionally, I felt excruciating pain especially from the biceps and triceps because of the heavy cartons I carried every day. At this stage, I had a tense facial expression and frequently argued with coworkers. The hormone adrenaline is particularly the main reason why I felt the frequent energy “outbursts” which in turn made me perform activities that I was not accustomed to. On the oth...