CH5 Flashcards
WHat is stress
“Stress arises when individuals perceive that they cannot adequately cope with the demands being made on them or with threats to their well-being.” (R.S. Lazarus (1966). Psychological stress and the coping process. New York: McGraw-Hill.)
“Stress results from an imbalance between demands and resources.” (R.S. Lazarus and S. Folkman (1984). Stress, Appraisal and Coping. New York: Springer.)
“Stress occurs when pressure exceeds your perceived ability to cope.” (Palmer, 1999)
Long-Term Stress and Relation to CHD
Long-term stress can make us feel miserable, drained, and unwell
It can affect our attitude or ‘state of mind’ and make us rely on ‘short-term fixes’ like smoking, drinking, not exercising, unhealthy eating, all of which DO contribute to heart disease…
ALSO stress can affect the heart by releasing certain hormones that increase blood pressure and can encourage clotting of the arteries.
Stress can also make us feel less motivated to spend time on healthy behaviours such as relaxation or exercise.
VICIOUS CIRCLE OF STRESS/ANXIETY
Thoughts:
“There’s something wrong with me; I can’t take this!”
“Life is always going to be this stressful”
Feelings:
Raised anxiety, fear, frustration
Physical effects:
e.g. increase adrenaline (increase HR, faster breathing, tension etc.)
Behavior:
Stop healthy coping strategies, reduce overall activity, lose fitness etc.; unhealthy eating
Stressors
external demands
stress
the effect that stressors create
coping strageties
efforts to deal with stress
Distress
Bad stress
Stress and the DSM
Stress and the DSM
The role of stress is now recognized in diagnostic formulations
PTSD is included in a new DSM-5 category called trauma- and stressor-related disorders
Adjustment disorder and acute stress disorder also included in this category
Involve patterns of psychological and behavioral disturbances that occur in response to identifiable stressors
Allostatic load
the biological cost of adapting to stress
Stress is an underlying theme in our understanding of virtually all physical illness
Cortisol
stress glucocorticoid that prepares the body for fight-or-flight
psychoneuroimmunology:
the study of the interactions between the nervous system and the immune system
Stress-induced immunosuppression:
when a person’s behavior and psychological state affect immune system functioning
Understanding the Immune System
The immune system protects the body from things like viruses and bacteria
The front line of defense in the immune system is the white blood cells
Leukocytes (lymphocytes)
) are produced in the bone marrow and then stored in various places throughout the body
Two types of leukocytes
B-Cells: mature in the bone marrow
T-Cells: mature in the thymus
Antigens
Antigens are foreign bodies like viruses and bacteria, as well as internal invaders like tumors and cancer cells
Cytokines
Stress and Cytokines
Cytokines are small protein molecules
Serve as chemical messengers
Allow immune cells to communicate with each other
Play an important role in mediating the inflammatory and immune response
Can be divided into two categories:
Proinflammatory (IL-1, IL-6, and TNF) affects the healing of wounds when production is disrupted
Anti-inflammatory (IL-4, IL-10, IL-13) decrease the response that the immune system makes
Correlational study
a research design that examines the relationship between two or more variables without manipulating any of them
telomeres
protective end parts of chromosomes
Stress shortens the length of telomeres
Type A person
Type A behavior pattern
Characterized by excessive competitive drive, extreme commitment to work, impatience and time urgency, hostility
The hostility component is the most closely correlated with coronary artery deterioration
Type D
Type D personality type
Tendency to experience negative emotions and to feel insecure and anxious
Associated with the risk of having more problems after cardiac surgery
positive psychology
Positive Emotions
Positive psychology focuses on human traits and resources that might have direct implications for our physical and mental well-being
Humor, gratitude, compassion
There are psychological benefits to forgiving people
Acts as a buffer against the effects of stress on mental health
Adjustment disorder
Adjustment disorder: a psychological response to a common stressor (e.g., divorce, death of a loved one, loss of a job)
Results in clinically significant behavioral or emotional symptoms
Symptoms must be begin within 3 months of the onset of the stressor for a diagnosis to be given
Symptoms lessen or disappear when the stressor ends or when they learn to adapt to the stressor
Probably the least stigmatizing and mildest diagnosis a therapist can assign to a client
Acute Stress Disorder
Acute stress disorder is a diagnostic category that can be used when symptoms develop shortly after experiencing a traumatic even and last for at least 2 days
People with symptoms don’t have to wait a whole month to be diagnosed with PTSD
If symptoms persist beyond four weeks, the diagnosis can be changed to PTSD
PTSD is not the only psychiatric disorder that can develop after a traumatic experience
DSM-5 recognizes 20 symptoms of PTSD grouped into four main areas:
Intrusion: recurrent reexperiencing of the traumatic event
Avoidance: efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or reminders of the trauma
Negative alterations in cognitions and mood: includes symptoms like feelings of detachment, negative emotional states (anger, shame), or distorted blame of self or others
Arousal and reactivity: hypervigilance, excessive response when startled, aggression, and reckless behavior
Stress-inoculation training is
Stress-inoculation training is the use of cognitive-behavioral techniques to help people manage stressful situations
Treatment for Stress Disorders
Telephone hotlines
Crisis intervention
Psychological Debriefing
Medications
Cognitive-Behavioral Treatments
Prolonged exposure: the patient is asked to vividly recount the traumatic event over and over, until there is a decrease in their emotional responses
