Chapter 11: Health and well being Flashcards
Health psychology
Studies the relationship between health and psychology
What is the purpose of health psychology?
To understand the interrelationship between thoughts, actions, and psychical and mental health
What is well being?
The positive state that one seeks through optimal health and life satisfaction
What is the biopsychological model?
A model that states that health and illness are the result of several factors, including psychological factors, social conditions, and biological characteristics
What is the body mass index (BMI)?
A standard method of measuring obesity, which measures a ratio of body wight to height
What number is considered obese for BMI?
30
What is a disadvantage of using the BMI?
Does not take into account age, gender, bone structure and more
What is one reason for increase in obesity?
More food is available
Why does dieting rarely have an effect?
When you eat 4too little, the body reacts by lowering its metabolism and starts using less energy
What are the 3 most common eating disorders?
Anorexia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa
Binge eating disorder
Anorexia nervosa
A condition in which patients are terrified of becoming fat and eat very little to achieve a significantly low body weight
Consistent lack of recognition of the severity of their current low body weight
Bulimia nevosa
Alternates between dieting, binge eating, and self induced vomiting (also known as pruning)
An attempt to get rid of negative emotions, people with tis disease eat large amounts of food in a short period of time
This leads to a feeling of guilt afterwards
They then turn to compensatory behaviours, such as purging, excessive exercise, or abuse of laxatives
Binge eating disorder
Involves binge eating at least once a week without purging
Having a binge eating disorder causes a lot of distress to the person
Patients often feel embarrassed and guilty and tend to be overweight or obese
What is one way commonly used to reduce smoking?
Nicotine replacement therapy
What is nicotine replacement therapy?
Examples are:
Chewing nicotine gum
Percentage of success for nicotine replacement therapy
10 to 30 percent
Stress
A form of reaction that involves an unpleasant condition, such as fear or tension
Results from the way we think about events in our lives
Objectively, does not exist
What is a stressor?
Somethings in the environment that is perceived as threatening or demanding, which creates a feeling of stress
What are the two categories of stressors?
Major life stressors
Daily concerns
What are major life stressors?
Changes or disruptions that are central to a person’s life
What are daily concerns?
Small everyday annoyances, such as waiting inline
What is a coping response?
A reaction to stress that attempts to reduce or avoid stress
What are the two types of stress?
Eustress
Distress
What is Eustress?
The stress of positive events, such as preparing for a party that you are really excited about
What is distress?
Usually referred to as just ‘stress’, refers to negative events
What are the two systems that a stressor activates?
A fast acting sympathetic devours system
A slow acting system that comes from the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis (HPA)
In case of stress what does the hypothalamus activate?
The sympathetic nervous system
What does the nervous system activate during stress?
Adrenal glands, which releases epinephrine and norepinephrine
What does epinephrine and norepinephrine do?
Increases heart rate, respiration, and blood pressure, making the body ready for action
What happens in the HPA axis during stress?
The hypothalamus sends a chemical signal to the pituitary gland, which then releases a hormone
What does the hormone from pituitary glands do?
The hormone reaches the adrenal glands, which then release cortisol
What does cortisol do?
Circulates throughout the body and to various brain regions, causing blood glucose levels to increase
What is a negative effect of chronic stress?
Can have a negative effect on long term memory
What is general adaptation syndrome (GAS)?
Consistent pattern of responses to stress
What are the 3 phases of general adaptation syndrome?
Alarm phase
Resistance phase
Exhaustion phase
Alarm phase
A reaction that prepares the body for an escape or fight response
Resistance phase
The body prepares for a longer, more sustained defence against the stressor
Exhaustion phase
Various psychological and immune systems no longer work
What is the fight or flight response?
The physiological response of animals to an attack by fighting or fleeing
Which gender usually respond with the fifth or flight response?
Males
How do females react to stress factors?
Tend and befriend response
What is the tend and befriend response?
In case of stress they will protect their offspring and seek allies
What is oxytocin?
A hormone that is important for the bond between a mother and her baby
The immune system consists of specialised white blood cells, what is their name?
Lymphocytes
What are the 3 lymphocytes?
B cells
T cells
Natural killer cells
What are the harmful effects of prolonged stress on the body?
Due in part to a decrease in lymphocyte production
This reduces the body’s ability to fight off disease and infection
What are the two types of personalities that predict heart disease risk?
Type A
Type B
What are type A behaviour patterns?
Found in people who are competitive, achievement oriented, and aggressive
What are type B behaviour patterns?
Found in people who are adaptive and relaxed
Type A and heart disease risk
Type A personality hostility is especially harmful, as it increase the frequency of negative physiological responses that adversely affect the heart
What are the 3 ways that stress can cause heart problems?
People often deal with this stress by engaging in behaviours that are bad for their health
Some personality traits, such as hostility and depression, have negative effects on people’s social lives, increasing their stress
Negative personality traits and stress can have immediate physiological effects on the heart
What does cognitive appraisal allows us to do what?
To think about things objectively and regulate our feelings
What do primary estimation (appraisals) involve?
Deciding whether a stimulus is stressful, harmless, or irrelevant
If a stimulus is considered stressful, secondary appraisal determines what?
Determines a way to deal with it (coping)
What are different approaches for coping strategies of stress?
Emotion focused approach
Problem oriented approach
Emotion focused approach
A person tries to avoid an emotional reaction to the stressor
Problem oriented approach
A person takes immediate steps to solve the problem
People use a problem focused approach when they think they have a situation under control
Problem focused coping strategies only work if the person struggling with the problem can actually do something about the situation
According to positive psychology, what are the 3 components of happiness?
Positive emotion and pleasure
Commitment to life
Meaningful life
What is the buffer hypothesis?
The idea that other people can help an individual cope with stressful events
How can spirituality increase well being?
Because spiritual people are likely to receive support from faith communities, certain health behaviours promoted by religions, and because of a meaning that can be derived from religious beliefs
What hormone has been shown to be involved in feelings of trust?
Oxytocin
