4) Stress and Coping Flashcards
What are the four main features of a stressor? (Stressor = something that causes stress)
- Unpredictable
- Control
- Novelty
- Importance
What factors influence the effect of stress on a particular individual?
- How stressed they are already (overload)
- Personality (optimism, hardiness)
- Resources (money, social support)
- Coping strategies
What is the value in using the transactional model of stress?
- Variation in individuals accounted for
- Psychological and social factors considered
- Suggests ways in which people can manage stress
What 4 ways did Cox et. al identify as ways in which stress can cause health problems?
- Physiological response causing physical damage
- Immune system depression - infection risk
- Unhealthy coping methods
- Negative impact on mental health (anxiety, depression)
What is the main problem when using the transactional model of stress?
It’s a complex model that is difficult to prove
Outline the stages involved in the transactional model of stress.
- Primary appraisal (what’s the problem? How bad is it?)
- Secondary appraisal (what resources do I have to solve the problem)
- Reappraisal (is it really that bad)
<p>
| Suggest what effects stress can have on the metal health state.</p>
<p> -More rigid and extreme thinking</p> <p> -Cognitive distortions (things are never gonna be good again, worst possible scenario etc.)</p> <p> -Rumination</p> <p> -Learned helplessness (loss of control, no will to fight against)</p>
Suggest some possible physical symptoms of stress.
- Headache
- Muscle tension/pain
- Stomach problems
- Sweating
- Faint
- Chest pains
- Dry mouth
- Sexual problems
Wide ranging due to catecholamines wide ranging action
Suggest some psychological symptoms of stress.
- Anger
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Sleep problems
- Eating problems and disorders
- Increased drug use (inc. alcohol, cigarettes etc)
What are the broad names for the interventions that can be given as stress management techniques?
- Cognitive strategies
- Behavioural strategies
- Emotional strategies
- Physical strategies
- Non-cognitive strategies (pharmacological intervention)
What are stressors?
External or internal events that trigger stress responses
What is the stress response?
How stress makes us think and feel
What is the purpose of the fight or flight response? What is it triggered by?
To mobilise resources to deal with short term stress. Triggered by catecholamines (noradrenaline, adrenaline etc)
In what ways does the release of catecholamines create a response to stress?
- Increased oxygen availability
- Increased fuel availability (lipolysis, glycolysis etc)
- Prep for damage - fluid conservation, blood clotting, immune and inflammatory response
- Enhanced mental function
- Conservation - knock off digestion and sexual desire to keep energy
- Increased HR, CO and BP
After being diagnosed with a condition what does a patient have to cope with?
- Diagnosis (emotional ‘jerk’ response)
- Physical impact (pain, disability)
- Treatment (discomfort, body image changes)
- Hospitalisation (loss of autonomy, privacy)
After being diagnosed with a condition how might a patient have to adjust?
- Biographical disruption
- Identity issues (change in the type of person the have to be)
- Chronic illness (change is indefinite, uncertainty)
- Terminal illness (acknowledgement of mortality)
After being diagnosed with a condition, what socioeconomic impact could this have on the patient’s life?
- Financial (job loss etc)
- Social (housing, nursing etc)
- Relationship problems (change in personality, stress etc)
Other than illness what other things might a patient have to cope with?
- Family problems (bereavement, divorce etc)
- Personal problems
- Workplace or colleagues
- Financial
What are the two main types of coping?
- Emotion focused coping (stop you feeling sad)
- Problem focused coping (sort the thing out that makes you feel sad)
Suggest ways in which a doctor can aid a patient with coping.
- Increase or organise social support
- Increase personal control
- Prepare patients before stressful events (reduce anxiety and uncertainty)
- Stress management techniques (cognitive, behavioural etc.)
What are some outcomes of successful coping?
- Tolerating/adjusting to negative events/realities
- Reducing threat (prep and planning for the future)
- Positive self image
- Emotional equilibrium
What kind of unhelpful thinking patterns can anxiety cause?
- Increased vigilance for threats
- Information of little importance can be exaggerated to be very important
- Increased amounts of threatening thoughts and/or memories
What types of patient are at increased risk of developing depression?
- Severity of illness
- How disabling is it?
- Those with negative life events going on
- Those without social support
Why can problems occur with patients when dealing with psychological problems?
- Belief that psychological problems are an inevitable part of illness and can’t be fixed
- Don’t want to be a burden/they underplay how serious it is
- Don’t want to be judged
- Stigma associated with mental health problems
Why can problems occur with healthcare professionals when asking patients about psychological problems?
- May avoid asking about the psychosocial side as it’s not in their role
- Reluctance to label people
- May not want to hear about psychosocial side so they can focus on physical side
Describe the difference between the medium and long term response to stress.
The medium response to stress works by a preparation to fight infection/pathogens and up regulation of the immune system. Whereas, long term there is depressed immune function and possible inflammation.
Describe general adaptation syndrome? I.e. why is the long term stress response damaging
Alarm! (fight or flight) -> Resistance (adapting to and resisting stressor) -> Exhaustion (no more ability to resist, so the defensive resources are depleted)
What are the limitations of the ‘fight or flight’ response? (stress as a physiological response)
- Not a complete explanation (just bio, not psychosocial)
- No differences between individuals
- Assume all stressors produces the same response
- Effects all seen as outcomes after exposure to stressors
What is the value of the ‘stressful events’ model in explaining stress?
- Objective way to measure stress
- Incorporates different impact of different stressors (I.e. bereavement is more stressful than Christmas)
- Evidence that stressful life events are associated with increased morbidity/mortality
What are the problems with the ‘stressful events’ model in explaining stress?
- Differences between individuals, some people react to bereavement differently etc.
- Recall bias (if you’re stressed, you are gonna remember being stressed more)
- Short vs. long term stressors
