When watching this documentary, the thing that struck me the most was Dr. Sapolsky’s research on the effect that social hierarchy has on the amount of stress each primate experiences. For the baboons’ case, the dominant males, as shown in the research, had lower stress levels than the subordinate, submissive ones. As Sapolsky observed, the dominant ones could be seen teasing and, at times, hurting the weaker subordinate ones in the troop. Additionally, they did not let the smaller baboons have an equal share of food and mating privileges, which ultimately triggered an increase in the stress. What resonated with me the most in the documentary was that the baboons that were submissive expressed a similar brain activity to clinically depressed humans. The hierarchical theory was also echoed by a similar study called the Whitewall Study, where researchers recorded the prevalence of stress and its related diseases of British civil servants. The individuals picked were between the ages of 20 and 64. Just like Sapolsky's study, Whitewall research also revealed the implications of social hierarchy on stress and its associated risks of heart disease. What is even more resonating is that both studies included species that were accustomed to the same conditions. On the one hand, Sapolsky's study included baboons living in the same area, experiencing the same conditions, and eating the same food. On the other hand, the Whitewall study included individuals who also worked in the same environment and received the same quality of healthcare. Consequently, the implications made by the study can be considered relevant.
Although the study was essential in revealing the connection between hierarchy and stress, there was a mention of the difference between animals and humans and how each species handle the stress. For animals in the jungle, especially the prey, the leading stressor is the element of survival, and it is triggered when being chased by the predator. However, if the animal manages to escape, the animal ceases to be stressed, and the hormones stop being activated as an immediate danger is no longer confronting it. While this is the case, the fight or flight response in humans is non-existent. According to Sapolsky, human beings tend to trigger stress even without any threatening stimulus. At times, all it takes is a little trigger ad all the other stressors unravel. As Sapolsky explains, such artificial triggers keep the body constantly stressed, which in turn becomes extremely taxing on the body's resources. Such a trend is dangerous as it leads to severe and undesirable outcomes later in life. That is an important lesson to note, in that although humans are constantly stressing about one thing or the next, they do not know how to deactivate the stressors and reduce the stress. For example, a working mother who has an adolescent son and a strained relationship has stressors all around her, which could come from her job, her relationship with her husband and the son. Consequently, she needs to find a way to relieve the stress because the stress-related hormones being constantly activated could damage her body. Higher stress levels for her and every individual shortens the lifespan of cells and their ability to reproduce new ones resulting in various effects such as fastened aging.
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Beforehand, I always associated stress with ulcers based on the findings of the first stress-related study that associated the disease to psychological stress. This is because most doctors up to now often associate the two despite a study that revealed that bacteria cause ulcers. The documentary, therefore, serves as an eye-opener to the real cause of stress and how it manifests in every individual.
