introduction to stress and health Flashcards

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1
Q

why is it important for healthcare workers to know about stress?

A
  • exposure to stress is linked with a greater risk of chronic mental and physical health problems
    -stressors and dysregulated stress responses linked to changes in immunity that can increase risk of infections
    -life stressors can alter biological processes & behavioural responses that promote the progression of illness
    -stress is linked to a greater use of health care services
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2
Q

in what 3 ways can stress be thought of and studied as?

A
  • stimulus models - ie what stressful events affect us?
    -transactional models/ psychological models - why does stress affect us?
    -response / reactions models - how does stress affect us?
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3
Q

what are examples of stressful events that can affect us?

A

-catastrophic events eg floods or earthquakes
-major live events - eg losing a job, getting married, getting divorced, giving birth, going on holiday
-hassles and uplifts - everyday transactions that cause demands eg traffic jamb

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4
Q

Describe Lazarus transactional model of stress - the stress coping paradigm

A
  1. stressor - something happens that challenges you and stresses you out .. may be external eg work or internal
  2. primary appraisal - you then decide how bad the situation is - you might think this is really bad or I ca handle this
  3. secondary appraisal - you then figure out what you can do about it - thinking about your skills eg strength and determination, support and resources
  4. coping - you try to deal with the stress eg talking to friends, taking a break - trying something to help feel less stressed
  5. outcome - either might feel better and less stressed or you might still feel v stressed and have a hard time dealing with it
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5
Q

describe the life events theory

A

this theory describes how certain life events can act as stressors that trigger both psychological and physiological responses

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6
Q

what are stress appraisals?

A

-they are the evaluations or judgements that a person makes about a stressful situation or event
-see it as a threat or challenge
-they are crucial as they influence how a person perceives and responds to stressors

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7
Q

what is a limitation of the life events theory?

A

its failure to account for individual differences in stress response and coping mechanisms

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8
Q

what are examples of factors that are associated with stress appraisals?

A
  • the perceived control - if a person thinks they have more control- they will likely see it as a challenge rather than threat
    -high amounts of life change
    -confidence, familiarity etc
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9
Q

in terms of appraisals, demands and resources, how does stress arise?

A

stress arises when there is a mismatch between our appraisals and demands and of our abilities and coping resources

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10
Q

briefly describe stress as a response - emotional, physiological and behavioural

A
  • emotional - annoyance, anger, anxiety, fear
    -physiological - autonomic arousal, hormonal fluctuations
    -behavioural - coping efforts, lashing out at others, blaming oneself, seeking help, solving problems and releasing emotions
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11
Q

define coping strategies

A

anything we do to reduce or overcome stress
- can be adaptive or maladaptive

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12
Q

what are examples of maladaptive coping strategies ?

A
  • poor nutrition
    -lack of exercise
    -alcohol and drug use
    -smoking
    -risky sex behaviour
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13
Q

what is the positive linear theory on the relationship between stress and performance ?

A

-suggests that stress increases as well as performance up to a certain point
- low moderate stress levels, the person may lack motivation and have a sub-optimal performance
at moderate stress levels, people experience arousal and motivation, leading to better performance
-peak performance - optimal level of stress at which performance peaks

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14
Q

what is an example of adaptive coping?

A

-cognitive reappraisal
-changing the way you think about a situation in order to alter its emotional impact.
- changing your interpretation or perspective of the situation.

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15
Q

what is the negative linear theory on the relationship between stress and performance?

A
  • as stress increases, performance decreases steadily
  • This theory suggests that any amount of stress, even at low levels, can have a negative impact on performance,
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16
Q

what are 3 factors that improve coping?

A

-social support
-optimism - appraise events in a less threatening
-perceived control - have a perception of control over our circumstances

17
Q

what are common coping responses in chronic illness?

A

-normalising - ie acknowledging symptoms but redefines them as normal to neutralise threaat
-denial - not acknowledging that something is wrong
-avoidance - avoid situations that make symptoms worse
-resignation - giving up or ceasing efforts
-accommodation - acknowledges and deals with problems - ie manages symptoms

18
Q

describe the inverted U theory of stress / Yerkes-Dodson law

A

-proposes that there is an optimal level of arousal or stress for performance on a task
-performance increases with arousal or stress up to a certain point, after which further increases in arousal lead to a decline in performance.

19
Q

what is the autonomic system response to stress?

A
  • activation of the SNS
    -SNS causes release of adrenaline and Noradrenaline
    -causes rapid breathing, dry mouth, increase in HR, decreases non essential functions like digestion and reproduction functions
20
Q

what is the endocrine response to stress?

A

-slow response
-activates the hypothalamic pituitary adrenocortical HPA system
-corticotropin releasing hormone / factor
-affects every major organ system
-eg increase in blood flow, decrease in immune system, decrease of inflammation of any damaged tissue

21
Q

what are some examples of practical stress ,management tips - for lifestyle ?

A

-sleep- get optimum sleep
- decrease caffeine intake as caffeine increases release of stress hormones
-regular exercise - endorphins
-time out/ pacing and maintaining a good work life balance

22
Q

what are examples of cognitive and behavioural stress management tips?

A
  • venting / support system
    -changing triggers - identifying situations that contribute to stress and changing them
    -identify triggers and practice behavioural responses
    -relaxation techniques eg breathing, meditation
    -cognitive techniques eg restricting / reframing - changes perspective