--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Selye discovered that the biology of…" description: "\"“Selye discovered that the biology of stress predominantly affected three types of tissues or organs in the body: in the hormonal system, visible chang..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b3/gabor-mat-1410_adrenal-glands_selye-discovered-that-the-biology-of-str_3178807.png" --- # Selye discovered that the biology of stress predominantly… ![“Selye discovered that the biology of stress predominantly affected three types of tissues or organs in the body: in the hormonal system, visible changes occurred in the adrenal glands; in the immune system, stress affected the spleen, the thymus and the lymph glands; and the intestinal lining of…” quote by Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b3/gabor-mat-1410_adrenal-glands_selye-discovered-that-the-biology-of-str_3178807.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b3/gabor-mat-1410_adrenal-glands_selye-discovered-that-the-biology-of-str_3178807.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b3/gabor-mat-1410_adrenal-glands_selye-discovered-that-the-biology-of-str_3178807.png) > ““Selye discovered that the biology of stress predominantly affected three types of tissues or organs in the body: in the hormonal system, visible changes occurred in the adrenal glands; in the immune system, stress affected the spleen, the thymus and the lymph glands; and the intestinal lining of the digestive system. Rats autopsied after stress had enlarged adrenals, shrunken lymph organs and ulcerated intestines. All”” [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Chronic stress damages multiple organ systems, affecting hormones, immunity, and digestion, leading to serious health problems. **In simple terms:** Stress harms body organs and health. Key Takeaway Manage stress to protect health. Themes health stress biology psychosomatics Mood concerned informative Type educational clinical When to use this quote - workplace pressure - personal illness - caregiver burnout - exam anxiety Key Concepts physiology neuroendocrine response Questions to Reflect On - What stressors are most harmful to you? - How can you reduce stress in daily life? A Different Perspective Stress effects can be mitigated with lifestyle changes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Immune system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immune-system/) [Stress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stress/) ## Related quotes > [“The experience of stress has three components. The first is the event, physical or emotional, that the organism interprets as threatening. This is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/the-experience-of-stress-has-three-components-the-first-is-the-event/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [Great rationalizations. All of which her adrenal gland middle-fingered and then carried right on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/great-rationalizations-all-of-which-her-adrenal-gland-middle-fingered/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [Evolution has meant that our prefrontal lobes are too small, our adrenal glands are too big, and our reproductive organs apparently designed by committee;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/evolution-has-meant-that-our-prefrontal-lobes-are-too-small-our/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [These changes-the more rapid pulse, the deeper breathing, the increase of sugar in the blood, the secretion from the adrenal glands-were very diverse and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bradford-cannon/these-changes-the-more-rapid-pulse-the-deeper-breathing-the-increase/) [Walter Bradford Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bradford-cannon/) > [Trying to describe a good marriage is like trying to describe your adrenal glands. You know they're in there functioning but you don't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-gurley-brown/trying-to-describe-a-good-marriage-is-like-trying-to-describe-your/) [Helen Gurley Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-gurley-brown/) > [I have no desire to work my adrenal glands any harder than necessary. I like lazing around; it's pretty important to my well-being. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-davies/i-have-no-desire-to-work-my-adrenal-glands-any-harder-than-necessary/) [Greg Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-davies/) > [I heard Professor Cannon lecture last night, going partly on your account. His subject was a physiological substitute for war-which is international sports and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mckeen-cattell/i-heard-professor-cannon-lecture-last-night-going-partly-on-your/) James McKeen Cattell > [“Stabilize your blood sugar Nurture your adrenal glands Support your organs of elimination Syncing with your menstrual cycle Engage your feminine energy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisa-vitti/stabilize-your-blood-sugar-nurture-your-adrenal-glands-support-your/) [Alisa Vitti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisa-vitti/) > [Your digestive system is your body's Fun House, whereby food goes on a long, dark, scary ride, taking all kinds of unexpected twists and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/your-digestive-system-is-your-body-s-fun-house-whereby-food-goes-on-a/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [“I don't think that, when future generations look at the apartheid struggle, they will see it as quite the momentous literary cauldron that recent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cartwright/i-don-t-think-that-when-future-generations-look-at-the-apartheid/) [Justin Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cartwright/) > [“I'll buy lunch." "Not Hungry." I laughed. He said, "I can't stand when you do that." "Do what?" "Assume I'm ruled by my digestive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kellerman/i-ll-buy-lunch-not-hungry-i-laughed-he-said-i-can-t-stand-when-you-do/) [Jonathan Kellerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kellerman/) > [“But the reformers were right: the bovine digestive system is an extraordinarily efficient mechanism for converting grass, fodder, and even forage into fertilizer.15 Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-johnson/but-the-reformers-were-right-the-bovine-digestive-system-is-an/) [Walter Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-johnson/) > [“Humble pie tastes horrible but is great for the digestive system.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sissy-silva/humble-pie-tastes-horrible-but-is-great-for-the-digestive-system/) Sissy Silva > [In college, I would eat a lot of Five Guys and burgers. Everybody eats differently, but that's not the best for your digestive system,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caris-levert/in-college-i-would-eat-a-lot-of-five-guys-and-burgers-everybody-eats/) [Caris LeVert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caris-levert/) > [I'm a big fan of the digestive system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-macaulay/i-m-a-big-fan-of-the-digestive-system/) [David Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-macaulay/) ## More by Gabor Maté > [“As parents who make every effort we can to raise our children in loving security, we do not need to feel more guilt than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/as-parents-who-make-every-effort-we-can-to-raise-our-children-in/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“The fact is, we in this society are often quite removed from our own emotional reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/the-fact-is-we-in-this-society-are-often-quite-removed-from-our-own/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Shame is the deepest of the “negative emotions,” a feeling we will do almost anything to avoid. Unfortunately, our abiding fear of shame impairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/shame-is-the-deepest-of-the-negative-emotions-a-feeling-we-will-do/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Many adults have not attained maturity — have not mastered being independent, self-motivated individuals capable of tending their own emotional needs and of respecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/many-adults-have-not-attained-maturity-have-not-mastered-being/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [Autonomy is impossible as long as one is driven by anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/autonomy-is-impossible-as-long-as-one-is-driven-by-anything/) [Gabor Mate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“If a mother has eight children, there are eight mothers. This is not simply because of the fact that the mother was different in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/if-a-mother-has-eight-children-there-are-eight-mothers-this-is-not/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Without attachment, the parent succeeds at most in cowing a child into obedience, at the price of grave damage to the relationship and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/without-attachment-the-parent-succeeds-at-most-in-cowing-a-child-into/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Attachment is our connection with the world. In the earliest attachment relationships, we gain or lose the ability to stay open, self-nurturing and healthy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/attachment-is-our-connection-with-the-world-in-the-earliest/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“So what you've actually got is traumatized children. When children are traumatized that affects how they feel about themselves, which is deeply ashamed because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/so-what-you-ve-actually-got-is-traumatized-children-when-children-are/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Even without world wars, revolutions and emigration, siblings growing up in the same home almost never share the same environment. More accurately, brothers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/even-without-world-wars-revolutions-and-emigration-siblings-growing/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“We think that there are people who are normal over here, and then there’s the pathological ones who have depression, anxiety, addiction or schizophrenia…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/we-think-that-there-are-people-who-are-normal-over-here-and-then/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“One cannot get much more vulnerable than to expose oneself psychologically. To share oneself with another and then be misunderstood or rejected is, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/one-cannot-get-much-more-vulnerable-than-to-expose-oneself/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“The areas of the cortex responsible for attention and self-regulation develop in response to the emotional interaction with the person whom we may call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/the-areas-of-the-cortex-responsible-for-attention-and-self-regulation/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“Peer-oriented children live in a universe of severely limited and superficial attachments. The quest for sameness being the least vulnerable way of attaching, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/peer-oriented-children-live-in-a-universe-of-severely-limited-and/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [“The United States contains less than 5 percent of the world’s population but houses nearly a quarter of the world’s prisoners.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/the-united-states-contains-less-than-5-percent-of-the-world-s/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) [Explore all 244 Gabor Maté quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) ## More Adrenal glands quotes > [These changes-the more rapid pulse, the deeper breathing, the increase of sugar in the blood, the secretion from the adrenal glands-were very diverse and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bradford-cannon/these-changes-the-more-rapid-pulse-the-deeper-breathing-the-increase/) [Walter Bradford Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bradford-cannon/) > [“Stabilize your blood sugar Nurture your adrenal glands Support your organs of elimination Syncing with your menstrual cycle Engage your feminine energy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisa-vitti/stabilize-your-blood-sugar-nurture-your-adrenal-glands-support-your/) [Alisa Vitti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisa-vitti/) > [I heard Professor Cannon lecture last night, going partly on your account. His subject was a physiological substitute for war-which is international sports and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mckeen-cattell/i-heard-professor-cannon-lecture-last-night-going-partly-on-your/) James McKeen Cattell > [I have no desire to work my adrenal glands any harder than necessary. I like lazing around; it's pretty important to my well-being. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-davies/i-have-no-desire-to-work-my-adrenal-glands-any-harder-than-necessary/) [Greg Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-davies/) > [Trying to describe a good marriage is like trying to describe your adrenal glands. You know they're in there functioning but you don't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-gurley-brown/trying-to-describe-a-good-marriage-is-like-trying-to-describe-your/) [Helen Gurley Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-gurley-brown/) > [Evolution has meant that our prefrontal lobes are too small, our adrenal glands are too big, and our reproductive organs apparently designed by committee;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/evolution-has-meant-that-our-prefrontal-lobes-are-too-small-our/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Great rationalizations. All of which her adrenal gland middle-fingered and then carried right on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/great-rationalizations-all-of-which-her-adrenal-gland-middle-fingered/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) Browse all 8 Adrenal glands quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Selye discovered that the biology of stress predominantly affected three types of tissues or organs in the body: in the hormonal system, visible changes occurred in the adrenal glands; in the immune system, stress affected the spleen, the thymus and the lymph glands; and the intestinal lining of the digestive system. Rats autopsied after stress had enlarged adrenals, shrunken lymph organs and ulcerated intestines. 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