Health

Question 1

What is the biopsychosocial model?

Answer 1

The causes and effect of physical and psychological well-being are a combo of biological, psychological and social factors

Question 2

What is Burnout?

Answer 2

long-term exhaustion and loss of motivation caused by chronic stress

Question 3

What is stress?

Answer 3

physiological response to an event that is appraised taxing or exceeding one’s ability to adapt and is magnified by the social context

Question 4

What is stress appraisal theory?

Answer 4

cause of stress is one’s interpretation of an event

Question 5

What is primary appraisal?

Answer 5

evaluation of the situational demands and wether they are challenging or threatening

Question 6

What is secondary appraisal?

Answer 6

evaluation of our available resources and wether we have enough of them to deal with the challenge or threat

Question 7

Name 3 common situations that lead to stress response?

Answer 7

1. psychological uncertainty: inability to predict what happens next/ outcome of an action
2. time pressure: making complex decisions under time pressure/lack of info
3. goal conflict: stuck between goals

Question 8

What is goal conflict?

Answer 8

• approach-approach: wanting 2 opposing desirable things
• avoidance-avoidance: choosing between 2 bd things
• approach-avoidance: wanting 1 goal that has good and bad consequences

Question 9

What is the biological stress response?

Answer 9

• Set of physiological responses to stress
• has 2 pathways: SAM axis and HPA axis

Question 10

What is the HPA axis of the stress response?

Answer 10

slow reaction, beginning in hypothalamus that, through ACTH stimulates the adrenal gland and releases glucocorticoids

Question 11

What is the SAM axis of the biological stress response?

Answer 11

fast reaction, beginning in hypothalamus that activates parasympathetic system and through adrenal gland, releases catecholamines

Question 12

What are catecholamines?

Answer 12

Epinephrine/ Adrenaline and Norepinephrine: hormones secreted by adrenal gland involved in activating sympathetic system

Question 13

What is the difference between Epinephrine and Norepinephrine?

Answer 13

Epinephrine/Adrenaline: main effects on the body
Norepinephrine: psychoactive effects on the brain

Question 14

How do Catecholamines relate with the fight or flight response?

Answer 14

actions of catecholamines will very quickly suppress digestion, increases focus and increase respiration and heart rate

Question 15

What is cortisol?

Answer 15

• stress hormone released through HPA axis secreted by adrenal gland
• main function is regulating energy used by body by increasing amount of sugar in blood
• improves brain function and speeds healing of tissue
• slower effect than catecholamines but longer lasting

Question 16

What is the General adaptation syndrome?

Answer 16

• 3 stage response to stress
  1. alarm phase
  2. resistance phase
  3. exhaustion phase

Question 17

What is the alarm phase?

Answer 17

Catecholamines and cortisol activate sympathetic NS and get body ready to cope with stressor

Question 18

What is the resistance phase?

Answer 18

In response to prolonged threat, ongoing effects of cortisol are felt, including modification of normal biological functions

Question 18

What is the exhaustion phase?

Answer 18

Body can no longer properly deal with the stress, and physical emotional and psychological resources are drained, increasing susceptibility for long-term consequences

Question 19

What is amplification?

Answer 19

other people are reliable stress triggers

Question 20

What is coping?

Answer 20

Cooperation can help us cope with stressors better than we could alone

Question 21

What is good stress?

Answer 21

• Short term stress response is critical for survival and allows our bodies to act rapidly and with more energy
• in moderate amount enjoyed

Question 22

What is bad stress?

Answer 22

when stress is chronic it leads beyond alarm phase and into exhaustion

Question 23

What is the biopsychosocial model of disease?

Answer 23

1. biological effect can be inhibited/magnified by social and psycho factors
2. psycho factors are predictors of likelihood, severity and course of health issues
3. patient-doctor relations influence medical outcomes
4. patients should be treated with empathy

Question 24

What studies support the biopsychosocial disease model?

Answer 24

- Poison ivy study: participants who had their skin touched with poison ivy but were told it was harmless plant showed a lot less swelling - Bone marrow transplant study: patients who had better stress coping skills experienced less post-operational pain than those with poor stress coping skills

Question 25

Name a health benefit of acute stress

Answer 25

increased resilience: students who report experiencing a moderate level of lifetime adversity find it easier to withstand a mild experience of physical pain

Question 26

Name risks of acute stress

Answer 26

- changes in brains structure - Increased risk of cardiovascular disease - Problems in regulating immune function - Gastrointestinal issues - Aging

Question 27

What is the prefrontal cortex?

Answer 27

- cortical brain region largely involved in control of goal-directed behaviour and inhibition of impulses - reduced PFC function > low impulse control, poor emotion regulation, inflexible behaviours

Question 28

What is inflammation?

Answer 28

release of cytokines by immune system in effort to fight potential diseases chronic stress > disregulation of cytokine production > more inflammation

Question 29

What is Coronary heart disease?

Answer 29

condition where the heart's blood supply is blocked/stopped by built up substance in arteries leading to heart attack

Question 30

How is stress a predictor of coronary heart disease?

Answer 30

- Prolonged increased blood pressure can damage heart arteries - Cortisol reduces liver function > cholesterol breakdown becomes less efficient - Chronic inflammation can affect arteries > reduced ability to carry blood

Question 31

What is a type A personality?

Answer 31

ambitious and driven, but also controlling and aggressive

Question 32

What did the Baboon tuberculosis study find in regards to stress?

Answer 32

- troop of baboons were exposed to tuberculosis → deaths were overwhelmingly amongst the highly aggressive alpha-males, rather than the rest of the troop

Question 33

What is Inflammatory Bowel disease?

Answer 33

- disorder of the gastrointestinal tract that causes severe pain, damage to intestines, chronic fatigue, etc - causes stress > increases inflammation and worsens IBD

Question 34

What is a peptic ulcer?

Answer 34

lesion in stomach lining caused by bacteria that causes significant pain and discomfort

Question 35

What are Telomere?

Answer 35

- Chemical caps that prevent chromosomes fraying and sticking to each other. - With age they wear away.

Question 36

What are telomerase?

Answer 36

- enzyme that rebuilds Telomere and slows down process of aging - chronic stress slows down production of telomerase

Question 37

What is defensive/avoidance/repressive coping?

Answer 37

- minimizing stress by distancing ourselves from triggers - avoid/withdraw from stressor

Question 38

What is learned helplessness?

Answer 38

Due to prolonged stress and trauma an agent becomes convinced they have no control over the situation, failing to take action even when given an opportunity to

Question 39

What are the 3 stages of remembering?

Answer 39

- acquisition/encoding: first step where attention plays a role in remembering - consolidation: memory becomes fixed in long-term storage - recall: process of retrieving memory

Question 40

What are flashbulb memories?

Answer 40

- Exceptionally clear memories of emotionally significant events - vivid and detailed