Ch.14 Health psychology Flashcards
What is health psychology?
Its the branch of psychology that investigates the psychological factors related to wellness and illness, including the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of medical problems
What is linked in health psychology?
The mind and body are linked
How do the mind and body affect each other?
Good healthy and the ability to cope with illness are affected by psychological factors like thoughts, emotions, and stress coping
What is the focus on the immune system functions in health psychology?
System of the organs/glands/ cells that form our bodies natural defense in fighting diseases
What is Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)?
Its the study of the relationship between psychological factors, the immune system, and the brain
What is the relationship between the mind and body in psychoneuroimmunology?
The mind and body are dependent on each other where the emotional state and the success of immune system in fighting disease
What is stress?
A persons response to events that are threatening or challenging
What is a stressor?
Any circumstance or event that threatens our well-being
How can an event be challenging or threatening?
-It must be perceived
How is stress personal?
- It must be perceived to be challenging or threatening
- The person must feel the inadequacy of resources to effectively cope with the stressors
How can one effectively cope with stressors?
The person must feel the inadequacy of resources to effectively cope with the stressors
What are the 3 general types of stressors?
- Cataclysmic events
- Personal stressors
- Background stressors
What are cataclysmic events?
They are strong stressors that occur suddenly and typically affect many people simultaneously
Example for cataclysmic events?
Natural disasters, terrorist attacks…
What are personal stressors?
They include major life events
Major life events can be
Threatening (-) or challenging (+)
How can major life events be threatening (-)?
Death of a loved one, losing a job, major failure
How can major life events be challenging (+)?
Getting married, having a new baby
What are background stressors?
They are daily hassles, everyday annoyances that cause minor irritations
Example for background stressors?
Waiting in a long queue, being stuck in traffic..
How can background stressors cause long-term effects?
If they continue or combine with other stressors
What is a post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)?
A psychological disorder in which victims of major catastrophes or strong personal stressors feel long-lasting effects, and have significant difficulties leading a healthy life
Symptoms of PTSD
- Re-experiencing the event in vivid flashbacks and dreams
- Emotional numbing
- Sleep difficulties
- Drug abuse
- Suicide
What can stress cause?
It can cause both biological and psychological consequences
What is the most immediate consequence of stress?
The most immediate cause is biological
What is activated when stress occurs?
Activation of the sympathetic nervous system
Why does the activation of the sympathetic nervous system occur?
To cope with the threatening event/ situation
With long-term constant secretion of stress hormones
- It increases the risk of illness
- Slows down recovery from diseases
- Reduces ability to cope with stress in future
What are psychophysiological disorders (psychosomatic disorder)?
They are medical problems that are influenced by an interaction of psychological, emotional, and physical difficulties
What are the interactions of psychological, emotional, and physical difficulties?
- High blood pressure
- Headaches/backaches
- Indigestion
- Fatigue
- Constipation
- Common cold (linked with stress-lowered immune defense)
What is the general adaption syndrome model (GAS)?
Where a physiological response to stress follows the same set pattern, regardless of the cause of stress
A persons stressor response is composed of 3 stages
1-Alarm and mobilization
2-Resistance
3-Exhaustion
What is the response of alarm and mobilization?
Becoming aware of the stressor
What happens in the response of alarm and mobilization?
The sympathetic system gets activated- biological coping begins- if the stressor continues we move to the next stage which is resistance
What is the response of resistance?
Active fight with stressor
Example for resistance
Studying long hours before exam
Resistance affects
Some degree of physical, psychological well-being
If the resistance isnt enough
We move to the exhaustion stage
What is the response of exhaustion?
The ability to fight with stressor declines
When the ability to fight with stressor decline it results in
- Physical illness
- Psychological symptoms
What are the psychological symptoms?
- Inability to concentrate
- Irritability
- (Severe cases) loss of touch with reality
What are the main physiological consequences of stress?
- Increase in blood pressure
- Increase in hormonal activity
- Disruptions in the function of the immune system
What are the major harmful behaviors consequences of stress?
- Increased nicotine, drug, alcohol use and abuse
- Unhealthy eating habits
- Decreased sleep
What are the major indirect health-related behaviors consequences of stress?
- Low probability that the person will seek health care
- Decreased compliance with medical advice
What is the relationship between stress and the immune system?
- May decrease the ability of the immune system to respond to disease (lower lymphocyte production)
- Germs reproduce easier
- Cancer cells spread more rapidly
- Overstimulation of the immune system
- Immune system starts to fight the body itself where it damages healthy tissues (arthritis, allergic reactions)
What is coping?
They are efforts to control, reduce, or learn to tolerate the threats that lead to stress
What is emotion-focused coping?
Managing emotions in the face of stress
What does emotion-focused coping seek?
It seeks to change the way one feels about and perceives a problem
Example for emotion-focused coping
- Looking at the bright side of the situation
- Accepting sympathy and help from others
What is problem-focused coping?
Its attempting to modify the stressful problem, or the source of stress
What does problem-focused coping lead to?
It leads to change in behavior
What does problem-focused coping motivate?
It motivates the development of an action plan to deal with stress
Example for the motivation of problem-focused coping
Starting a study group to increase cGPA, taking a day off to de-stress before continuing to cope
Emotion-focused strategies
More when the situation is perceived as unchangeable
Problem-focused strategies
More when the situation is seen as relatively modifiable
What are the strategies that are less successful
- Avoidant coping (the least successful )
- Defense mechanisms
What is avoidant coping?
Its using wishful thinking, or ineffective direct escape routes to reduce stress
Example for avoidant coping
- Drug, alcohol use
- Overeating
Avoidant coping results in
It results in postponing the stressful situation often making it worse
What does avoidant coping focus on?
It focuses on short-term, temporary relief without any productive change in behavior, mood, thinking patterns
What are defense mechanisms?
They are unconscious strategies that people use to reduce anxiety by concealing the source from themselves and others
What is emotional insulation?
When a person stops experiencing any emotions at all, and hence remains unaffected, unmoved by both positive and negative experiences
What is learned helplessness?
Its a state in which people conclude that unpleasant or aversive stimuli cant be controlled
What happens when the stimuli cant be controlled?
It leads people to strop trying to heal the negative circumstances even when they actually can cause some changes in the situation
Assuming no link between their responses and outcomes
“I am not good in english- why study anyway”
“No matter how hard i try- this situation will never change”
Feeling no sense of control over a situation leads to
More physical symptoms of stress and increased susceptibility to depression
What are coping styles?
- Hardiness
- Resilience
What is hardiness (possesed by people who most successfully cope with stress)?
A personality trait defined by a sense of commitment, perception of problems as challenges and a sense of control over conditions
What is the sense of commitment for hardy people?
Its throwing themselves into whatever they are doing believing that their activities are important and meaningful
What is the sense of challenge for hardy people?
Hardy people think that anticipation of change is something positive change is not a threat to their security
What is the sense of control for hardy people?
Hardy people are marked by a sense of control the perception that they can influence the events in their lives
Hardiness is associated with
Lower levels of stress related illness
What is resilience?
Its the ability to withstand, overcome, and actually thrive after profound diversity
What is the key ingredient of psychological recovery?
Resilience
Resilient people are
- Generally optimistic
- have good social skills
- work with what they have and make the best of the situation they find themselves in
What are the 5 pillars of resilience?
1-Energy 2-Future focus 3-Inner drive 4-Flexible thinking 5-Strong relationships
What is social support?
Its the knowledge that we are part of a mutual network of caring and interested others
How does social support help us?
- To experience lower levels of stress
- To better cope with stressful situations
How can we experience lower levels of stress?
When we feel being an important and valued member of the social network
How can we better cope with stressful situations?
When our social network can provide us with information/ physical help and advice
What are effective coping strategies?
- Turn a threat into a challenge
- Make a threatening situation less threatening
- Change your goals
- Take physical action
- Prepare for stress before it happens
How to turn a threat into a challenge?
When a stressful situation might be controllable the best coping strategy is to treat the situation as a challenge and focus on ways to control it
How to make a threatening situation less threatening?
When a stressful situation seems to be uncontrollable you need to take a different approach it is possible to change your appraisal of the situation, view it in a different light, and modify your attitude toward it
How to change your goals?
If you are faced with an uncontrollable situation, a reasonable strategy is to adopt new goals that are practical in view of the particular situation
How to take physical action?
Changing your physiological reaction to stress can help with coping
Example for taking physical action?
Biofeedback, exercise
How to prepare for stress before it happens?
A final strategy for coping with stress is proactive coping, anticipating and preparing for stress before it happens
What is proactive coping?
Its anticipating and preparing for stress before it happens
Which psychological components are gaining recognition in major health problems?
- Heart disease
- Cancer
- Smoking
What does coronary mean?
Related to heart, or to arteries supplying blood to sustain heart tissue
What is the 1st leading cause of death?
Coronary heart disease
What are the coronary arteries?
- Right coronary artery
- Left main coronary artery
- Posterior descending artery
- Diagonal artery
- Left anterior descending artery
What is type A behavior pattern?
A group of behaviors involving hostility, competitiveness, time urgency (always needing to hurry), and feeling driven (feeling we have to do things in certain ways)
What is type B behavior pattern?
A group of behavior that include being patient, cooperative, non-competitive, and non-aggressive
Most people fall in between which two types of behavior?
Type A and type B
Type A is linked to what?
Its linked to coronary heart disease
Which type is more likely develop coronary heart disease?
Type A is 2x more likely than type B
Which type has more fatal heart attacks?
Type A
What is the main component in Type A that is related to coronary heart disease?
Hostility
Why is hostility so toxic?
It produces excessive physiological arousal in stressful situations
What happens when excessive physiological arousal is produced?
- Increased secretion of stress hormones (mainly adrenaline and noradrenaline)
- Increased blood pressure and heart rate
What is type D behavior pattern?
“Distressed” insecurity, anxiety, and the negative outlook of life
Type D have a higher risk of what?
Have a higher risk for repeated heart attacks
What is the 2nd leading cause of death?
Cancer
Positive (+) emotions increases what for cancer?
Increases immune response to cancer
Negative (-) emotions decrease what for cancer?
Decreases immune response to cancer
There are clear links between tobacco smoking and what?
- Cancer
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Respiratory tract disease
- Aging of the body
What is the leading preventable cause of death?
Smoking
What are the genetic factors to why smokers claim they want to quit but cant?
-Getting addicted
-How much people will smoke
-How easily smokers will quit
(genetically influenced enzyme activity in breaking down toxic chemicals in tobacco smoke)
What are the situational factors to why smokers claim they want to quit but cant?
- Starting the habit
- Mediatic image of being cool
- Peer pressure
There is a complex relationship between what and what with smoking?
With nicotine levels, the smokers emotions, and smoking habit
A certain what becomes associated with nicotine levels?
A certain positive emotional state becomes associated with a certain nicotine level
Why does a smoker consume tobacco?
To regulate emotional state and the nicotine level
What are the effects of nicotine intake?
- Receptors become more sensitive to nicotine
- Same receptors become less interested in other kinds of reinforcement
What does nicotine bind to?
It binds to nicotinic receptors that are abundant in nucleus accumbens which increases dopamine release
What happens when receptors become more sensitive to nicotine?
It increases rewarding response
What happens when receptors become less interested in other kinds of reinforcement?
Stimuli other than direct nicotine binding gets less and less effective in leading to receptor function
What are the withdrawal symptoms of smoking?
- Strong craving for the drug
- Irritability
Methods to help quit smoking
- Nicotine replacement drugs (most effective)
- Behavioral strategies
- Changes in societal norms and attitudes toward the habit
- Long-term effect of information about the negative consequences
What is the best method for quitting smoking?
Nicotine replacement and behavioral therapy
Patients that do not comply with their doctors
- Noncompliance
- Creative non-adherence
What happens with noncompliance?
- Failing to visit doctors in scheduled appointments
- Not following prescribed diet
- Stopping medication during the course of treatment
What happens with non-adherence?
Altering a treatment prescribed by a doctor by substituting own medical judgement (ill-informed due to lack of medical knowledge)
What are contemporary medical trainings?
- Includes communication skills, allowing patients to talk first
- Encouraging them to ask questions
- Acquiring empathy skills
How can patients help effective communication?
- Make a list of health related concerns before the visit
- Before visit write down names and dosages of all medications
- Determine whether your provider will communicate via e-mail, phone, only in person
- If you feel intimidated, bring along a friend/relative who can help you communicate
- Take notes during the visit
Ways to increase compliance with medical care?
- Providing clear instructions to patients concerning drug administration
- Being honest and clear about the nature of drugs, medical problems, and the treatment process
What is the emphasis of positively framed messages?
A change in behavior will lead to gain- emphasis on benefits of health- related behavior
Example for positively framed messages
Sun screening benefits for preventing skin cancer
What is the emphasis of negatively framed messages?
Its what you will lose if you do not perform a certain behavior- emphasis on the drawbacks
Example for negatively framed messages
If you do not use sunscreen, you are more likely to get skin cancer
Positive frame is good for?
Its good for motivating preventative behavior
Negative frame helps with?
Helps in acquiring behavior for early detection of a disease
