What is the name of the syndrome after a long period of stress

November 21, 2008 6:58 PM

What is the name of the syndrome after a long period of stress ...either good or bad. It's not PTSD. I've had two years of horrendous stress, it's mostly over but I quickly got sick with the flu and am having immediate reversal of my cancer and fibromyalgia remission. I know there is a name for this but cannot tweak it from my brain fog! C'mon MetaHive, help an old woman out here. :-)
posted by ~Sushma~ to health & fitness (7 comments total)

adrenal insufficiency?
posted by bunnytricks at 6:59 PM on November 21, 2008

This is from some notes I was just printing out:


General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

• Alarm stage: Fight-or-flight response
• If stressor continues, stage of resistance: Body uses resources at above average rate, even though fight-or-flight response subsided
• If stressor is constant, the person enters the stage of exhaustion: More susceptible to illness, because physiological resources are depleted

posted by amtho at 7:14 PM on November 21, 2008

Could it be chronic fatigue?
posted by t0astie at 7:50 PM on November 21, 2008

I don't know the name, but I remember years and years ago one of my professors talking about this-it had to do with the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 7:57 PM on November 21, 2008

Possibly Stress-Induced Immune Dysfunction/Dysregulation.
posted by terranova at 8:17 PM on November 21, 2008

The "let-down effect"?
posted by dhartung at 10:26 PM on November 21, 2008 [2 favorites]

Thank you all, great answers. Oddly enough, prolonged stress probably caused all of my autoimmune diseases.
posted by ~Sushma~ at 7:02 AM on November 22, 2008