PSYC1024 · Anxiety, Mood and Stress
All Stressed Out! Stress, the HPA Axis & Coping
Week 10 is the capstone: it explains the stress response end to end — the acute fight-or-flight reaction and the slower endocrine HPA axis (hypothalamus → CRH → pituitary → ACTH → adrenal cortex → cortisol) with its negative-feedback loop — then contrasts acute vs chronic stress and its health toll and covers coping. The 40% Inspera final draws on all of it, and this content ties the biological strand (Week 4) to the appraisal ideas (Week 2). (Week 10's own lecture slides were not among the materials this guide was built from, so the mechanisms below are discipline-standard first-year canon — confirm against your Moodle notes.)
What this chapter covers
- 01Stress and stressor: the response to demands appraised as taxing or exceeding one's resources
- 02The transactional model (Lazarus & Folkman): primary appraisal (threat/harm/challenge?) and secondary appraisal (do I have the resources?)
- 03Acute fight-or-flight (Cannon): sympathetic + adrenal-medullary activation (adrenaline)
- 04The HPA axis cascade: hypothalamus → CRH → anterior pituitary → ACTH → adrenal cortex → cortisol
- 05Cortisol's negative-feedback loop switching the axis off; the primary stress hormone
- 06General Adaptation Syndrome (Selye): alarm → resistance → exhaustion
- 07Chronic stress and allostatic load: immune suppression, cardiovascular disease, links to anxiety and depression
- 08Coping: problem-focused (controllable stressors) vs emotion-focused (uncontrollable stressors); social support and other buffers
Order the HPA cascade and match coping to controllability
- +1HPA cascade in order: the hypothalamus releases CRH → the anterior pituitary releases ACTH → the adrenal cortex releases cortisol, the primary stress hormone that mobilises energy. Cortisol then acts back on the hypothalamus and pituitary as negative feedback, switching the axis off once the demand passes.
- +1Distinguish this slow endocrine arm from the fast fight-or-flight arm (Cannon): the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary route releases adrenaline within seconds, while the HPA/cortisol route is slower. Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome frames sustained stress as alarm → resistance → exhaustion.
- +1(b) Controllable workload → problem-focused coping: act on the stressor itself with planning, time-tabling and problem-solving. Problem-focused coping is most effective when the stressor can actually be changed.
- +1Uncontrollable family illness → emotion-focused coping: manage the emotional response through reappraisal, seeking social support and relaxation, since the stressor itself cannot be changed. Name the transactional model (Lazarus & Folkman): stress arises when demands from primary appraisal exceed the resources judged in secondary appraisal.
Key terms
- HPA axis
- The Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal endocrine stress pathway: hypothalamus → CRH → anterior pituitary → ACTH → adrenal cortex → cortisol. The slower endocrine arm of the stress response, complementing the fast sympathetic fight-or-flight arm.
- Cortisol & negative feedback
- Cortisol is the primary stress hormone; it mobilises energy and then acts back on the hypothalamus and pituitary to inhibit further CRH/ACTH release — a negative-feedback loop that shuts the axis off. Chronic elevation is implicated in anxiety and depression.
- Transactional model (Lazarus & Folkman)
- Stress arises from the transaction between person and environment via appraisal: primary appraisal asks "is this a threat, harm/loss or challenge?" and secondary appraisal asks "do I have the resources to cope?". Stress results when demands exceed perceived resources.
- General Adaptation Syndrome (Selye)
- A three-stage model of the response to prolonged stress: alarm (mobilisation, fight-or-flight), resistance (sustained coping, high cortisol) and exhaustion (resources depleted, illness risk rises).
- Allostatic load
- The cumulative "wear and tear" on the body from chronic activation of the stress systems. High allostatic load is linked to immune suppression, cardiovascular disease and mental-health problems.
- Problem- vs emotion-focused coping
- Problem-focused coping acts on the stressor itself (planning, problem-solving) and suits controllable stressors; emotion-focused coping manages the emotional response (reappraisal, social support, relaxation) and suits uncontrollable stressors. Avoidance and rumination are maladaptive.
All Stressed Out! Stress, the HPA Axis & Coping FAQ
What is the HPA axis?
The Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal axis — the slower, endocrine arm of the stress response. The hypothalamus releases CRH, which prompts the anterior pituitary to release ACTH, which drives the adrenal cortex to release cortisol, the primary stress hormone. Cortisol mobilises energy and then feeds back to switch the axis off. It complements the fast sympathetic fight-or-flight reaction that releases adrenaline within seconds.
What is the difference between problem-focused and emotion-focused coping?
Problem-focused coping acts on the stressor itself — planning, problem-solving, changing the situation — and works best when the stressor is controllable. Emotion-focused coping manages your emotional reaction instead — reappraisal, seeking social support, relaxation — and is more useful when the stressor cannot be changed. Matching the strategy to the controllability of the stressor is the key exam point; avoidance and rumination are maladaptive.
Why is chronic stress bad for health?
Because the stress systems are built for short bursts, not constant activation. Sustained cortisol and repeated fight-or-flight raise allostatic load — cumulative wear and tear — which suppresses immune function (studied in psychoneuroimmunology) and is linked to cardiovascular disease, anxiety and depression. Buffers such as social support, exercise, sleep and a sense of control reduce the stress-to-illness effect.
Can AI help me with the stress material?
Yes. Sia can drill you on the HPA cascade order and its feedback loop, quiz you on acute vs chronic stress and allostatic load, and check your problem- vs emotion-focused coping matches against the transactional model — step by step. It mirrors how the content is assessed at UNSW; it does not sit the final for you, and UNSW academic-integrity rules apply.
Exam move
Week 10 is the capstone and it draws together the whole course, so make sure the mechanism is watertight: be able to write the HPA cascade in order (hypothalamus → CRH → pituitary → ACTH → adrenal cortex → cortisol) and to describe cortisol's negative feedback, keeping this slow endocrine arm distinct from the fast sympathetic fight-or-flight arm you met in Week 4. Learn Selye's three GAS stages and the idea of allostatic load as the bridge to chronic-stress health effects. For coping, drill the single decision rule — problem-focused for controllable stressors, emotion-focused for uncontrollable ones — and frame it with Lazarus & Folkman's primary/secondary appraisal, which extends the Week 2 appraisal theory. Because this is the final's capstone, connect stress back to fear/anxiety and to mood so you can answer cross-topic items. Since Week 10's own lecture materials were not among the materials this guide was built from, confirm specifics on Moodle. Ask Sia to test your cascade order and coping matches.
Working through All Stressed Out! Stress, the HPA Axis & Coping in PSYC1024? Sia is AskSia’s AI Psychology tutor — ask any PSYC1024 All Stressed Out! Stress, the HPA Axis & Coping question and get a clear, step-by-step explanation grounded in how PSYC1024 is taught and assessed. Read this chapter free, then take your hardest questions to Sia.
