acute stress
Immediate mental strain
Acute stress is the body's immediate response to a perceived threat or demand—the classic fight-or-flight reaction.
Unlike chronic stress, which grinds on for weeks or months, acute stress is short-lived: a near-miss on the highway, a job interview, a sudden argument.
The symptoms—racing heart, shallow breathing, heightened alertness—typically fade once the situation passes.
The acute stress of the presentation left her exhausted but relieved.
- adrenalineEmergency response hormone
- cortisolAdrenal steroid regulating stress
- fight-or-flightAcute threat reaction
- deadlinesSubmission cutoff times
- accidentsUnintended harmful occurrences
near miss · anxiety · stage fright · emergencies · panic · hyperfocus · gut feeling · startle response · fear · racing heart · tachycardia · cold sweat · glucocorticoids · irritability · hyperventilation · shaky hands · arguments · public speaking
- Anxietyanxiety, nervousness, panic, worry, generalized anxiety
- stressstrain, stressor, overload, overwhelm, stressors
- stress typesdistress
- traumaabuse, abandonment, abandonment trauma, amnesia, attachment disorder
- mental crisesnervous breakdown, mental breakdown, mental collapse, mental break, emotional collapse
- escape responsesfleeing, flight, running away, escaping, escape
acute stresschronic stress
Sustained psychological and physiological pressure
acute stressrelaxation
State of being unwound
calm · tranquility · serenity · peace of mind · ease