2.4 Influence of Stress on Mental and Physical Health Flashcards
What is stress?
Exposure to stressful situations or events is a common human experience. These range from daily pressures to long lasting challenges.
What is acute stress?
High arousal levels for short periods of time.
What is chronic stress?
Ongoing demands and pressures that are long lasting.
What is eustress?
A positive psychological response to a stressor as indicated by the presence of a positive psychological state.
What is distress?
A negative psychological response to a stressor such as anger, anxiety, nervousness.
What is an example of eustress?
A concert, birthdays, etc.
What is an example of distress?
Lining up before an exam, financial pressures.
What are the aspects of fight, flight, freeze response?
Fight - confronting and fighting off the threat.
Flight - escaping by running to safety.
Freeze - keeping still and silent.
What reactions are involved with the fight-flight response?
- Increased heart rate.
- Increased breathing rate.
- Increased glucose (sugar) for energy.
- Dilation of pupils (so eyes can take in as much light as possible.
What reactions are involved with the freeze response?
- Body movements stop.
- Vocalisations stop.
- Heart rate slows.
- Tense muscles collapse.
What is adrenaline?
What is cortisol?
The body cannot maintain the intensity of fight and flight reactions for a prolonged period. It is also the body’s main stress hormone, helping to wake us up and give us energy, as well as putting us to sleep at night.
What are some negative effects of the fight flight response on health?
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Digestive Problems
What is Selye’s General Adaption Syndrome?
Selye exposed rats to a variety of stressors such as painful tail-pulling, exposure to heat or cold, electric shocks etc, and found that physiological arousal pattern in response to each of these stressors was generally the same.He concluded that stress is a condition that is non-specific and can be brought on by internal or external stressors.
What are the three stages of the GAS model?
Alarm reaction (immediate response), resistance (maximise resources to cope and adapt), and exhaustion (vulnerable and weak).