Exam 2: week 6 Flashcards
What is stress
A negative emotional experience that results in predictable changes in the body
What is the ACE study
Adverse childhood experiences cause people to be more sensitive to stress later in life
- any form of abuse (sexual, emotional, physical)
- violence against a parent (usually mother)
- living with people who are mentally ill, use substances, or are incarcerated
What is the flight-or-flight response theory
Walter Cannon
- body prepares for threat to survival
- adrenal glands release epinephrine and norepinephrine increasing heart and respiration rates as well as causing mobilization of sugar and fat in the body to dull pain
- only studied animals and men
- men and women respond to stress in different ways
What is general adaptation syndrome
Hans Selye
- expands Cannons fight-or-flight theory
- talks about the HPA axis and its role in stress
- Three stages
- focuses on men
What is the HPA axis
Hypothalamus, Pituitary, and adrenal glands
- keeps the system on high alert in response to stress
What are the three stages of general adaptation syndrome
- alarm stage
- resistance stage
- exhaustion stage
What is happening during the alarm/acute stress stage
- activation sympathetic nervous system
- activation of HPA axis to stay on alert
What is happening during the resistance/adaptation stage
- resistance to the stressor
- recovery
- repair
- renewal
What is happening during the exhaustion stage
- resources are depleted
- stress may become chronic
What is distress
Bad stress that leads to:
- anxiety
- depression
- confusion
- helplessness/hopelessness
- fatigue
What is eustress
Good stress that leads to
- hope
- joy
- purposeful movement
What are some criticisms of the general adaptation syndrome theory
- focused on men (women respond to stress in different ways)
- different stressors bring different patterns of response
- the degree of stress is what is important
What is “tending and befriending”
A survival strategy used by women in response to stress
- Tend to the young
- befriend a close social group for support
What demographic is most susceptible to stress related disorders
Women
women are more sensitive to even low levels of corticotropin-releasing hormone released by the hypothalamus in response to stress
How does stress affect the immune system
- interacts with immune system during the alarm phase of general adaptation syndrome
- affects body’s ability to produce protective factors
- acute stress can boost the immune system
- chronic stress hurts the immune system
What is biofeedback
through a sensitive recording device, this tell you immediate and exact information regarding:
- muscle activity
- brain waves
- skin temperature
- heart rate
- blood pressure
- other bodily functions
What is cognitive reframing
A type of relaxation technique that aims to take negative thoughts and make them positive
- reassess and replace irrational beliefs
What are some trauma-related disorders
- reactive attachment disorder
- disinhibited social engagement disorder
- posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- acute stress disorder
- adjustment disorder
What are attachment disorders
Trauma from an inadequate caring environment can lead to this. There are two extremes to this disorder:
- reactive attachment disorder
- disinhibited social engagement disorder
Both these conditions are very rare and seen in children