Health And Stress Flashcards
Fight or flight response
A response to stress in which the sympathetic nervous system triggers the release of hormones that prepare the body to fight or flee.
What is stress?
The physiological and psychological response to a condition that threatens or challenges a person and requires some form of adaptation or adjustment.
Stressors
Stimuli or events capable of producing physical or emotional stress
Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)
Holmes and Rahe’s measure of stress, which ranks 43 life events from most to least stressful and assigns a point value to each.
Hassles
Little stressors, including the irritating demands that can occur daily, that may cause more areas than major life changes do.
Uplifts
The positive experiences in life, which may neutralize the effects of many hassles.
Conflict
This just that arises from knowing that choosing one alternative means forgoing another.
Approach-approach conflict
A conflict arising from having to choose between equally desirable alternatives.
Avoidance-avoidance conflict
A conflict arising from having to choose between undesirable alternatives.
Approach-avoidance conflict
A conflict arising when the same choice has both desirable and undesirable features.
Stressors in the workplace
- workload
- clarity of job description
- physical variables
- job status
- accountability
- task variety
- human contact
- physical challenge
- mental challenge
Burnout
Luck of energy exhaustion and pessimism that can result from chronic stress
PTSD
A prolonged and severe stress reaction to a catastrophic event or to severe, chronic stress
Socioeconomic status
A collective term for the economic, occupational and educational factors that influence an individual’s relative position in society
General adaptation syndrome (GAS)
The predictable sequence of reactions (alarm, resistance, and exhaustion stages) that organisms show in response to stress
Alarm stage
The first stage of the General adaptation syndrome, in which the person experiences a burst of energy that aids in dealing with the stressful situation
Resistance stage
The second stage of the general adaptation syndrome, when there are intense physiological efforts to either resist or adapt to the stressor
Exhaustion stage
The third stage of the General adaptation syndrome, which occurs if the organism fails in its efforts To resist the stressor
Primary appraisal
A cognitive evaluation of a potentially stressful event to determine whether it’s effect is positive, irrelevant or negative. Developed by Richard Lazarus.
Secondary appraisal
A cognitive evaluation of the available resources and options prior to deciding how to deal with the stressor
Coping
Efforts through action and thought to deal with the demands that are perceived as taxing or overwhelming
Problem-focused coping
A direct response aimed at reducing, modifying or eliminating a source of stress
Emotion-focused coping
A response involving reappraisal of a stressor to reduce its emotional impact (eg optimistic reappraisal of stress or ignorance)
Proactive coping
Active measures taken in advance of a potentially stressful situation in order to prevent its occurrence or to minimize its consequences
