health psychology Flashcards
what is health psychology?
health psych looks at the bidirectional relationship between psychology and thoughts
- how and why illness develops
- How to stay healthy
- The impact of illness
- Management of illness
Treatment of illness.
how has health psych changed from the past to contemporary?
lots of theories about the body and it’s equilibiram, churches, to now the great advances in technology etc.
what is the biopsychosocial model of health? and how does each factor lead to understand various contributors of health & disease?
the biopsychosocial model talks about 3 factors that are interrelated in determining the body illnesses
biology, psychology and social factors
what is in biology factor of biopsychosocial model of health?
biology
- genetics
- immune system
- endocrine ystem
- neurochemistry
what is in psychology factor of biopsychosocial model of health?
Psychology:
- Perception
- Cognition
- Memory
- Attitudes & emotions
Appraisal and coping styles
what is in social factor of biopsychosocial model of health?
- Social support
- Family relationships
- Culture
Socio-economic status
what is the difference between stress response & stressor ?
Stress response: tension, discomfort, symptoms that arise following experience of a stressor
Stressor: situation/ stimulus that strains our coping abilities
Stress is a:
* Stimulus
* Is a response
* Is a process
what is appraisal on stress?
appraisal is the interpretation or evaluation of a situation (usually very quick)
two main stages of appraisal:
1. Primary appraisal: relevance/ salience and valence - "is this important for me?" - "is this good or bad?" 2. Secondary appraisal: coping "do I have the capacity to deal with this?"
- we have habits in our appraisal stages e.g. we have habits that can make us to positively or negatively appraise a situation.
what are some more specific distinctions in appraisals?
- Challenge vs threat appraisals:
- Same situations, same potential stressor, but two different ways of conceptualising it
- It will dictate what it is you do to deal with the situation.
- Dispositional similarities and situational differences:
- Individual appraisal styles
e.g. being an optimistic, negative.
- Individual appraisal styles
what are the different types of coping? & give specific definitions of each:
- reappraisal
- actively trying to evaluate or reframe how we think about a situation - acceptance
- what can you control in the situation - distraction
- procrastination - rumination
- repetitive thinkiing
difference between problem-focused and emotion-focused coping?
Problem focused:
* Coping behaviours that externally deal with a problem e.g. organising a schedule etc
Emotion focused:
* Coping strategies you engage that deal with the emotion that you feel out of distress.
e.g. meditation
difference between practical/active vs avoidant coping?
practical:
- planning an assignment
avoidant:
- distraction
coping can either be;
- emotion or problem focused
- practical/ avoidant
- adaptive/ maladaptive
important thing to know about coping:
- they can be good or bad depending on how you use each.
how does stress affect health?
physiologically and psychologically
physiologically:
- increases blood pressure
- release of stress hromones
- suppresion of immune system (other parts of systems are suppressed to focus on something else)
psychologically:
- less sleep/rest
- less exercise
- less social support
- less healthy good
what are some physiological response to stress (including benign stressors to functional somatic health disorders)
Benign:
- increases blood pressure
- release of stress hromones
- suppresion of immune system (other parts of systems are suppressed to focus on something else)
Functional somatic;
- functional gastrointestinal disorders: - disorders of braiin-gut interaction
- irritable bowel syndrome
what is the process of pain:
- situmulation at local tissue site
- chemical release
- travelliing through many brain regions
is pain psychological?
yes, because pain can be generated without physical input e.g. the rubber hand illusion
- negative mood causes same input to be more painful
what is the placebo effect:
- Positive effect results not from any active treatment, but purely from patient’s belief in or expectations of treatment:
- There are different variations of placebos
Can question whether if pain can be created in the mind. Can we treat through the mind?
how can placebo effect change health psychology?
Can question whether if pain can be created in the mind. Can we treat through the mind?
what is an example of placebo effeect for pain management?
- the use of VR for pain management
what is the mechanisms of placebo:
- expectancy theory
- conditioning
- conditioned response beween stiimulus and respnse of what you thiink yooure takiing and the experience you had in the past.
what is involved in placebo?
happens through endogenous opiods and neurotransmitters (dopamine and serotonin) - parts of prain that light off and light up when involved in pain regulation and management.
what are the ethics of placbeo?
- deception but can be solved by letting people know they may be in control or placebo group.
questions of functinal somatic health disorderS?
does psychological distess cause GI symptoms or do GI symptoms cause psychhoological distress?
although: mental health preceeds before GI symptoms
what is a popular functional somatic health disorder?
e.g. FGID
functional gastrointestinal disorders:
- disorders of brain-gut interaction
- irritable bowel syndrome most common and have high comorbidity with mental health issues
more in depth of the biopsychosocial model in order
- genetics & environmental factors
- early life experiences
- parental beliefs and behaviours
- social support
- culture
- trauma
- social learning
these influence
how is the brain-gut connected?
coolonies of bugs stimulate body’s immune response & activate the HPA axis!
this axicus allows for communication between gut microbiota, immune system, metabolism, central nervous system.
what are some psychological treatment of GI? and how is hypersensitivity related to it?
cognitive behavioural therapy, behavioural therpy, hypnosis, mindfulness, relaxation
- people with IBS found that there is more brain activation when prrocessing pain thann those without, from same level of stimulation and it’s not a conscious perception, but just reacting to pain.
what can psychotherapy increase and decrease?
psychotherapy decreases;
- gi specific anxiety
- catastrophising - believing things that are worse than already is?
increases;
- reinterpretation of pai symptoms
- non reactivity
- brain activity in pain processincentres
how can psychologist help individuals achieve optimal mental & physical health?
psychotherapy:
- e.g. CBT
they can help through understanding how people might respond to and cope with the threat, and thenmake changes according to:
what is the nocebo effect?
The nocebo effect is the opposite of the placebo effect. It describes a situation where a negative outcome occurs due to a belief that the intervention will cause harm.
Placebo is defined as an inert substance that provokes perceived benefits, whereas the term nocebo is used when an inert substance causes perceived harm.
