1. Physiological response

It is normal to feel stress while facing danger or unpleasant situations. In fact, Allah created your body to be highly adaptable; this enables it to deal with normal pressures. Nevertheless, the way your body responds to stress is dependent primarily on the type of stress you are facing, that is, whether it is acute or chronic. The acute stressors trigger the sympathetic nervous system to release adrenalin and noradrenalin whose role is to prepare the body to face the incoming danger. This response is activated within a few seconds of the stress alarm and subsides shortly after the disappearance of the stressor. Other key players in the stress response are the steroid hormones 12 (mainly cortisol) released from the adrenal cortex. This response is slower, but its effect is more persistent. The high levels of cortisol associated with chronic stress have a devastating suppressing effect on the immune system; 13 they reduce the number of white blood cells, interfere with the production of lymphocytes, suppress the production of some other immune system regulators and hence increase vulnerability to illnesses, cellular malfunctions and tumours. Chronic stress also elicits a 'down-regulation' of the immune response. That is, the immune cells are constantly being stimulated with high levels of stress hormones but they are not actually facing any real danger or any threatening pathogen, so they get used to the high level of the stress hormones 11 Santrock, 2003. 12 Ibid. 13 Marieb, 2003 . circulating in the body. When the body is faced with a real threat, the immune cells no longer become stimulated, and lose their ability to deal effectively with the invader. 14 Furthermore, the constant stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system leads to a permanent rise in blood pressure, rapid heart rate, inactive digestion, increased blood sugar levels and increased breakdown and mobilization of stored fat. If you are overweight, you might look at this last effect as beneficial, but this is not the case. The increased mobilization of body fuel reserves entails the rapid release of fatty acids into the bloodstream, which build up on the artery walls, contributing to coronary heart problems. In contrast, in the acute stressful situation response noted above, there can be a short-term increase in adrenalin and noradrenalin levels without necessarily raising the level of cortisol.