and reliable measures of stress are the blood levels of adrenaline, corticoids, ACTH and a drop in blood eosinophils. The latter is a consequence of increased GC secretion and can easily be determined by a doctor. CRF is the chemical factor primarily responsible for the discharge of ACTH and subsequently of adrenal corticoids, rapidly disappears from the blood making its measurement difficult to obtain (Selye, 1956, p. 42).
Blood creatine/creatinine ratio, the elevation in certain
blood lipid substances such as cholesterol and free fatty
acids are relatively simple to estimate and do require chemical testing. Further EEG testing also may give useful indications but require special machinery for detection (Makower, 1981, p. 213).
However, aside from technical observations vis-a-vis chemical testing there are much more immediate signs of stress which the average person can follow throughout the day. Heart-beat is accelerated, blood pressure rises and one begins to per-spire. These manifestations, an inability to eat or keep still, accelerated pulse rate, rise in blood pressure and sweat secre-tion are all characteristic both of
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