HEALTH 3

Question 1

Defensive / Avoidance Coping

Answer 1

Avoid or withdraw from the stressor, hoping it will be better at a later time

Question 2

When is defensive coping a good strategy?

Answer 2

When the stressor will go away on its own, else it is not.

Question 3

Examples of defensive coping that back fire

Answer 3

1. Use of drugs and alcohol –> alleviate the negative feelings of stress and distract themselves –> LR patterns of coping and become stressors themselves.
2. Stress eating –> activates reward centers –> alleviates the negative feeling of stress –> LR problems for our diets
3. Lack of positive coping practice –> stop us from looking for better strategies

Question 4

Learned helplessness

Answer 4

A state in which - as a result of perpetual chronic stress and punishment - an agent becomes convinced that they have no control over the situation, and therefore fail to escape or change the situation even when given an opportunity to do so.

Question 5

Examples of learned helplessness in humans

Answer 5

Tests: when tests have the hardest questions at the beginning, they tend to do more poorly.

Test anxiety: learned helplessness is thought to be a major moderating factor predicting why some students with test anxiety do worse on tests independent of difficulty.

Depression: some depressive symptoms are tied to learned helplessness in response to persistent trauma

Question 6

Chronic stress can have various unintended and maladaptive influences on various brain circuits:

Answer 6

1. Neurogenesis: stress slows down the growth of new neurons.
2. Amygdala: stress can significantly impair the functioning of the amygdala and the link to the hypothalamus, leading to problems in emotional self-regulation and an increase in future responses to stress.
3. Prefrontal cortex: Stress reduces the activity of the planning and decision-making areas of the brain, making us less able to exert self-control and discipline.

Question 7

Flashbulb memories

Answer 7

Incredibly vivid and specific memories tied to specific, intense, often negative events that we experience.

Stress causes our attention and memory to singularly focus on the task at hand

Question 8

Long-term stress can cause attention and memory impairments:

Answer 8

1. Multitasking: willingly shifting attention from one task to another becomes more difficult with chronic stress.
2. Long-term memories: while retaining good memories of the stressor itself. stress is a source of distraction for other information, leading to worse memories for adjacent events.

Question 9

Burnout

Answer 9

A state of overwhelming exhaustion, feelings of cynicism and detachment from work/ school, and a sense of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment.

Question 10

Three components of burnout

Answer 10

1. Exhaustion: caused by chronic stress including demands that are higher than ability (SIMILAR TO second or third stages of GAS)
2. Cynicism: loss of belief in the long-term value of the work
3. Inadequacy: belief that one cannot do or accomplish anything in the setting; frequently coupled with social withdrawal.

Question 11

Three stages of burnout

Answer 11

1. Recurrent stressors: especially those related to tasks that are ill-defined (do something without know-how)
2. Individual strain: we become emotionally exhausted and anxious, moving past the alarm phase into resistance phase.
3. Defensive coping: if stressors are out of our control, we naturally become more cynical as a method of reducing value of our work, trying to minimize its impact.

Cycle: but if none of this helps, then the work stress continues and pushes us into the exhaustion phase, where the worst effects are felt.

Question 12

Highest predictors of burnout

Answer 12

1. Lack of control
2. Lack of reward
3. Lack of community / support

Question 13

Consequences of burnout

Answer 13

1. Job dissatisfaction: low organizational commitment, absenteeism, intention to leave the job, and turnover.
2. Spillover effect: on workers’ home life
3. Exhaustion is typically correlated with such health symptoms as headaches, chronic fatigue, gastrointestinal disorders.
4. Burnout has been a predictive of depression and other emotional symptoms, such as anxiety and irritability.

Question 14

Post-Traumatic Stress disorder

Answer 14

A clinically diagnosable disorder characterized by recurrent and intrusive memories, dreams, flashbacks, nightmares, social withdrawal, anxiety, and insomnia that lingers for at least one month after a traumatic event.

Question 15

What can be a PTSD event?

Answer 15

The even can be either experiences, witnessed, learned about, and can be one-time or recurrent.

Question 16

People suffering from PTSD - traumatic event

Answer 16

Have the inability to fully remember all aspects of the traumatic event, and distorted beliefs about their own blame for the event

Question 17

How does stress affect people suffering from PTSD?

Answer 17

1. Hyperactive Amygdala: leads to regular feelings of fear and threat that activate the HPA axis (“hypervigilance”)
2. Prefrontal Cortex: the sudden activation of the amygdala is not regulated by the prefrontal cortex due to stress, leading to issues in self-control, concentration, and increased risky behaviors.
3. Hippocampal Volume: the hippocampus can volume, leading to problems with forming new memories and sudden recall of old ones.

Question 18

Explain the vicious cycle in PTSD:

Answer 18

Memories and flashbacks trigger the stress response to resurface, sending catecholamines and cortisol back through the system without any recognizable external triggers.

This impairs everyday function, allowing them to ruminate and re-experience the event, sending further stress hormones through the body

There is some genetic risk factor to PTSD: identical twins in the army are more likely to experience PTSD than two random soldiers.