Stress and Adjustment Disorder

Abstract

Selye H. (1936) called the body’s non-specific systemic responses to protracted stressors, “general adaptation syndrome”, and argued that in patients with this condition, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical system is impaired and excessive cortisol secretion causes structural damage to various organ tissues. Since humans are social creatures, many of the diseases that humans suffer from can be influenced by psychological factors. In the first half of this paper, two common stress-related disorders: adjustment disorder (manifesting as psychological aspects) and psychosomatic disorders (manifesting as physical symptoms) will be outlined. In the second half, we provide an overview of neurodevelopmental disorders which are often associated with co-morbid mental and physical issues including dizziness (such patient may see an otolaryngologist instead of a psychiatrist) when he or she is exposed to workplace stress. For managing such cases, collaboration between psychiatrists and occupational physicians appears to be essential.