Psychology: Stress - SAM and HPA

When you are going through short term (acute) stress, the SAM pathway is activated to deal with the stressor.

One example of an acute stressor is, you slip on ice but manage not to fall down. 

SAM

The hypothalamus activates the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). This then sends neuron messages to the inner-core of the adrenal gland, the adrenal medulla. This results in the secretion of adrenaline and nor-adrenaline. Due to this, bodily changes…