RESULTS OF EMOTIONAL STRESS 



453 



physiological equilibrium of the oiganism 

 may suffer from excessive emotional stress. 

 The literature in this field is extensive and 

 well-documented (cf. 25, 53, 60, 80, 96), and 

 there is substantial evidence that more or 

 less specific emotional syndromes are fre- 

 quently associated with disruptions of the 

 following physiological systems: circulatory 

 (essential hypertension, cardiac neurosis, 

 Raynaud's syndrome, neurocirculatory as- 

 thenia, effort syndrome) ; respiratory (bron- 

 chial asthma, vasomotor rhinitis); gastroin- 

 testinal (anorexia nervosa, nervous vomiting, 

 bulimia, visceroptosis, nervous diarrhea, 

 chronic psychogenic constipation, duodenal 

 and peptic ulcers, spastic colitis, mucous 

 colitis, ulcerative colitis) ; genitourinary (noc- 

 turnal enuresis, frequency of urination; dif- 

 ficulty in voiding, impotence); endocrine 

 (hyperthyroidism, hyper- and hypoglycemia, 

 exophthalmic goiter, obesity); locomotor 

 (neuritis, lumbago, fibrositis); the skin (ec- 

 zema, pruritus, psoriasis, urticaria, rosacea 

 complex); the central nervous system (head- 

 ache, migraine, chorea, insomnia, weakness 

 and f aintness, epilepsy) ; and various special 

 senses {eye: asthenopia, glaucoma, miners' 

 nystagmus, conjunctivitis; ear: vertigo, and 

 hypersensitivity to all forms of stimuli. 



Similarly, emotional tensions resulting 

 from stress may effect a wide range of overt 

 behavior disturbances. The causes under- 

 lying the various symptoms, as well as their 

 nature, extent, and duration, have a common 

 denominator, regardless of the level of ad- 

 justment on which they appear. In each 

 case, they result from inadequate mastery 

 and utilization of mobilized energies to 

 attack or escape from some form of threat 

 to the well-being of the organism. The ap- 

 parent difference between the psychosomatic 

 and the behavioral symptoms is that the 

 energies or impulses are inhibited in the 

 former, whereas they are expressed overtly 

 in the latter (26, 87). 



Under the impact of sufficient stress, the 

 customary integrated, flexible, adaptive re- 

 sponses of the individual tend to become 



fragmented, inflexible, and nonadaptive in 

 terms of the requirements of the reality 

 situation. Although the possible number of 

 such overt behavior disturbances is legion, 

 they tend to fall into patterns, such as ; the 

 loss of precise, integrated, coordinated re- 

 sponses (e.g., tremor, tenseness); disorgan- 

 ized behavior (e.g. , panic) ; irrelevant activities 

 (e.g., excessive smoking) ; inappropriate re- 

 actions (e.g., phobic responses in an objec- 

 tively safe situation); misdirected expression 

 of aroused impulses (e.g., displaced aggres- 

 sion) ; impulsive or compulsive behavior (e.g., 

 accident proneness, tics); inhibition or repres- 

 sion of overt expression (e.g., catatonia, hys- 

 terical paralysis); stereotyped, constricted, 

 rigid behavior, which is generally non-adap- 

 tive (e.g., fixations); and a return to pre- 

 viously adequate and adaptive behavior 

 patterns (e.g., regression, primitivation of 

 action). Such means of responding in a 

 stress-producing situation are to some extent 

 adaptive. They provide the individual with 

 at least some form of expression of his aroused 

 energies, and hence partially relieve inner 

 tensions. 



Certain findings from studies of the phe- 

 nomena of fixation and regression may be 

 utilized to advantage in preparing men to 

 act effectively in a potentially stress-produc- 

 ing situation. Fixated behavior, which is 

 highly stable, rigid, and resistant to modifi- 

 cation, characteristically occurs under con- 

 ditions of strong motivation or emotional 

 stress. The strength of fixation is also a 

 function of how often the particular act has 

 been performed, and the immediacy and 

 degree of resultant satisfaction gained by the 

 individual (cf. 84). That is to say, response 

 patterns previously employed in a stress- 

 producing situation recur persistently on 

 subsequent occasions. Fixations are highly 

 adaptive if the required performance of the 

 individual remains unchanged, but are 

 equally nonadaptive if he must modify his 

 behavior under conditions of stress, since he 

 will very likely do again just what he did on 

 the previous occasions. 



