17. Emotions, Stress, And Illness Flashcards
1
Q
- What do patients sometimes relate their illness with?
A
- stress in their lives
- they believe that they have been under a certain amount of pressure in their lives
(either at home or at work) - they believe this has affected them mentally and
physically
2
Q
- What is Stress?
A
- stress is a reflection of an incompatibility between the individual and their environment
3
Q
- When we look at stress as a Stimulus, what is the stimulus-based approach concerned with?
A
- identifying aspects of the environment which have an adverse effect on the individual
- ADVERSE= harmful
4
Q
- How does the Stress as a Stimulus (Stimulus-Based) response equate stress to?
A
- it equates stress to inanimate objects
- it concerns itself with identifying stressful situations
- and determining how and why they have harmful effects on psychological and physiological processes
5
Q
- What are the issues with the Stress as a Stimulus (Stimulus- based approach)?
A
- particular situations are not inherently stressful
- this is because there are variations in the effects that the
environmental stressors have on people - this means that there are large differences in the
individuals responses to the environment - this approach does not account for the variations
amongst individual responses
6
Q
- What are some conditions that are caused by Stress?
A
- PTSD
- Schizophrenia
- Divorce
- Anxiety
7
Q
- What does the Stress as a Response Method refer to?
A
- it refers to stress being seen as a response to an adverse or stressful situation
- this method has a three stage process
- this is called the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
8
Q
- What are the three stages of the General Adaptation Syndrome?
A
- Initial Alarm Reaction Stage
- Resistance Stage
- this represents the functional recovery to a lever
- this lever is superior to the pre stressor level
- Exhaustion
- there will be a depletion if the stressor continues
- a breakdown will follow
- the recovery process is activated in the previous two
stages
9
Q
- What is the issue with the Stress as a Response (Stressor) Method?
A
- it is too inflexible
- it is mechanistic
- it views the stress response as non specific
- it views it as automatic to all stressors
10
Q
- What does the view of stress as both a stimulus and a response maintain?
(this Stress as a Perceived Thread theory was proposed by Lazarus in 1976)
A
- it maintains that stress occurs when there are demands
on an individual - and the individual cannot cope or adapt to it
11
Q
- With the Stress as a Perceived Thread Method, what is stress NOT associated with?
A
- the stress is not associated with a specific stimulus or a specific response
- stress arises when an individual perceives and evaluates a situation as threatening
12
Q
- What is the evaluation of a situation as threatening based on?
A
- the evaluation is based on an assessment of the demands of a situation
- as well as the individual’s capacity or coping mechanisms when dealing with these demands
13
Q
- What factor results in variations amongst the individuals responses to stressors?
A
- the evaluation of the situation by the individual
14
Q
- Why is the adrenal gland important?
A
- the adrenal gland plays a central role
- it regulates the responses of an animal to the threats or demands imposed on it
15
Q
- What is the Initial response to stress brought about by in animals?
A
- it is brought about by an increased activity of the sympathetic system
- this acts in conjunction with the secretions of catecholamine
- this is done in the adrenal medulla