Proposal for a Four-Phase Stress Model

Abstract

Stress has been identified as a major risk factor for mental illness and its prevalence is rising globally, not only harming the workforce but also translating into an enormous cost to the labor organizations. To prevent and treat stress-related consequences, it is necessary to learn how to identify its symptoms and their severity. The present paper constitutes a proposal for a four-stage model of the stress process, adding a phase to Selye's three-phase model. The model identifies an intermediary phase between the resistance and exhaustion stages of the Selye model, possessing characteristics distinct from the other stages. This newly identified stage has been named the Nearexhaustion phase. Stress symptoms from a sample of 37,454 adult subjects were grouped according to the four proposed phases, which may be used as an aid for the diagnosis of stress. It is suggested that a four-phase stress process should replace Selye's three-phase model.

The effect of organizational musical therapy on reducing the stress level of health care professionals in a public hospital

“…dissatisfaction, absenteeism, and early retirement, among others, which tend to undermine the performance at work, as well as the workers' personal, social, and economic life (Hatwar & Gawande, 2020;Lipp & Lipp, 2019).…”

“…The term stressor is related to a condition that causes fear, anguish, anxiety, or threat, which can either be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term refers to a psychological type of reaction with physical, mental, and chemical characteristics, determined by stimuli, or stressors, which irritate, frighten, excite, or confuse the individual and which have been affecting several workers nowadays (Lipp & Lipp, 2019).…”

“…Distress, however, refers to the responses that are required from a demand of intense and prolonged stimuli, which can be either pleasant or unpleasant, and surpass the body's capability to resist and adapt as a whole, which happens by stages and through dimensions. It is believed that the stages and dimensions that make up stress are expressed through physical and/or psychological signs and symptoms, and they are divided into four stages: alarm, or fight-or-flight, resistance or adaptation, near-exhaustion, and exhaustion (Lipp & Lipp, 2019).…”

“…During this stage, the immune system is suppressed because the body starts to react against the stressful agent, which causes neurophysiological changes that are related to such exposition. Due to the fact that the immune system is weakened, the individual is more susceptible to physical or somatic and psychological illnesses (Lipp, 2000;Lipp & Lipp, 2019).…”

“…During the resistance stage, the body starts the response process against the stressful agents. In this phase, there is an excessive loss of energy and this is the reason why intense signs and symptoms come up, such as fatigue, forgetfulness, fear, nervousness, anguish, oscillating appetite, social isolation, and self-doubts, among other physical and psychological symptoms (Lipp, 2000;Lipp & Lipp, 2019).…”